Travel Gadget Review – Lowepro Inverse 100AW Beltpack

I’m flying off to Europe next week! 🙂 How am I packing my photo equipment? What equipment am I bringing along? How am I going to haul those equipment for a whole day out in Europe? How can I travel light without putting much weight on my shoulder? The answer is here: Lowepro Inverse 100AW beltpack. Click HERE to get it from Amazon for only USD62.39 as of the date of this post being written.

In case you still don’t know by now, I have been carrying Lowepro Cirrus TLZ15 on my waist since Nikon D60 until now Nikon D7000. It is still the best waist belt bag to carry around my D7000 when I go shooting around town with my kids and family, or shooting a photo project with only one lens needed. I even used only this little Lowepro for my whole trip to Europe last year. Yes. It is that good that I could walk a whole day out without feeling any burden on my shoulder or waist and both of my hands were absolutely free to do anything from climbing up ladders to hugging Jean when we saw the romantic scenes in Venice!

Off course, there is still weakness of it. The only draw back of using this waist bag was that I could only bring one camera body with 1 single lens attached. However, I need a slightly bigger bag for this year’s Europe travel to fit in extra 2 lenses on top of my Tamron SP10-24mm Ultra Wide Angle lens attached to Nikon D7000. So I decided to buy another waist bag.

Then I bought this Lowepro Inverse 100AW beltpack (as shown in photos above and below). I know Think Tank Speed Demon is more preferred by some of the professional photographer, but I chose this Lowepro Inverse for its lighter weight (only about half of Speed Demon’s weight).

Lowepro Inverse 100 AW camera beltpack offers a full set of thoughtful features to help you capture the moment with ease; protection and ultra comfort.  A detachable and padded, 360-degree shoulder strap adds a comfortable, additional carrying option. SlipLock attachment loops let you organize your gear to suit your needs.

The 3D contoured mesh lumbar belt distributes weight evenly and offers cushioned support and helps wick away moisture.

The quick-access top lets you work out of your pack with minimal effort. From top you can see 2 adjustable divider inside the bag. I put my charger at 1 side, Nikon D7000 at the middle compartment and 2 extra lenses into another side.

Underneath the top cover are 2 small pockets for my SDHC memory cards. I have to fit in 6 of them inside these 2 pockets. 🙂

Mesh side exterior pockets are found at both sides of this Lowepro Inverse 100AW

A patented All Weather Cover is provided for serious protection from rain; sand and dust.

Measuring 7.9 x 10.1 x 8.8 inches and weighing 1.7 pounds, Lowepro Inverse 100AW is not actually a small bag but still reasonably easy to be maneuvered around my waist. There is also a padded  swivel shoulder strap included for an alternative carrying solution or for an extra security measure to prevent the beltpack from dropping accidentally.

This is Lowepro Cirrus TLZ15 on my waist, if you wish to know how much size difference between TLZ15 and 100AW.

The above photo shows how big is Inverse 100AW if compared to Nikon D7000 camera body attached with Nikkor 18-105mm lens.

Putting a D7000 body at the middle compartment, I have a small space at left compartment for a flash, and a bigger right compartment for my extra lens.

Click HERE to view more high resolution photos of the beltpack via Flickr.

I’m still experimenting the ease and usefulness of carrying this Lowepro Inverse 100AW beltpack on my travel. My initial feeling after using it for half a day in town was quite pleasant. While it is much bigger and heavier than its little brother Cirrus TLZ15, it is still acceptably compact and manageable. With this gain in size, Lowepro Inverse 100AW beltpack manage to fit all the photography stuff I plan to bring along my Europe trip next week. The best part is I still have both of my hands free to wonder around town in Barcelona and cycling in Copenhagen!

The only problem I found out from using the beltpack is that it could be very heavy to carry it on my waist if, too much unnecessary stuffs are squeezed into the bag! If you are thinking to put also your wallet, city maps, note pad, bottled water, batteries, flashes and glasses into the beltpack, make sure to use the padded shoulder strap together to reduce your waist burden after a full day out! 🙂

What’s my initial thought? It’s an useful beltpack for traveling light, but just don’t put too much stuffs in it even though it fits.

What’s my conclusion? I will tell you once I got back from my 2 weeks trip to Europe. – Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel blog

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.