4 Best Hiking Photography Backpacks for Every Adventure

Although landscape photography and hiking are undoubtedly a match made in heaven, they do come with their own unique challenges, including finding the best hiking photography backpack.

It can be hard to figure out how to carry your photography equipment while also carrying all the other non-photography-related equipment necessary for an enjoyable and safe hike.

Unlike other fields of photography, a good quality backpack is essential for the hiking photographer.

This backpack can make or break a photography hike.

It must be comfortable, large enough to carry everything you need for the trail (but not so large that you are tempted to overpack it), weatherproof enough to withstand all four seasons, durable to handle the wear and tear of outdoor life, and importantly, allows good access to your camera gear.

If accessing your camera is cumbersome, you’ll inevitably miss photographic opportunities.

Read more: 6 Top Tips for Hiking Photography

Single-day hikes

If you are planning to mainly go on single-day photo adventures, there are a number of high-quality camera backpacks available that will suit your requirements perfectly.

One thing to keep in mind, regardless of the season, is that you will need to carry a certain amount of non-photography-related equipment to ensure your own safety. As a bare minimum, you will need to carry extra clothing, waterproofs, water, food, and a first aid kit.

A good backpack will allow you to comfortably carry this extra equipment alongside your photo gear. Here is a selection of backpacks that are great for hiking photography adventures.

Lowepro Whistler BP 350 AW II backpack

I can personally vouch for this backpack after using it for nine months on the road during a backpacking trip to New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

This backpack is extremely well made and has a separate compartment to keep your photography gear apart from your hiking gear (although I did find on longer hikes that I had to put some non-photography gear into the camera-dedicated section).

This backpack is very durable, extremely waterproof, and also happens to be very comfortable. One downside, though, is the weight—it is a very heavy backpack even before you load any gear into it!

Shimoda Explore 35 backpack

With a large capacity of 35 litres and a height-adjustable harness system to ensure it fits your body perfectly, the Shimoda Explore 35 is obviously designed with the hiking photographer in mind.

It has ample pockets and compartments to store essential gear and keep it close to hand. It also features a modular storage system for your photography gear, allowing you to choose a larger or smaller camera compartment to store your precious equipment.

Mindshift Rotation 34L backpack

Another photography-based backpack with a twist – literally. The Mindshift Rotation enables hiking photographers to quickly access their camera gear without removing their backpack by simply rotating the integrated belt pack to the front of their body.

One thing I have learned over the last twenty-odd years of hiking and photography is that having a camera you can access quickly will ultimately lead to more shots.

F-Stop Loka 37L – Ultra-light backpack

I use a couple of different F-Stop backpacks mainly because of the integrated ICU (Internal Camera Units) available for them.

I have a selection of different-sized ICUs that I use for different camera systems (Shallow Small for my Micro Four Thirds gear, Pro Small for my drone, and Slope Medium for my full-frame equipment), and I simply swap the ICUs out as and when required before going on a hike, sometimes even combining more than one ICU in a backpack (Micro Four Thirds and drone, for example).

This flexibility allows me to carry only the gear I actually need while leaving me plenty of space for non-photography-related gear.

I have featured the F-Stop Loka as it is my favourite hiking backpack for a few reasons, with the main ones being that it is extremely lightweight, has side pockets suitable for water bottles and tripods, a front pouch (with drainage) suitable for storing wet waterproofs, and above all, is extremely comfortable to hike with.

I am also pleased to say that after years of abuse, it is very hard-wearing.

Other backpack options

One other reason I like the F-Stop system is that I often use the ICUs in other backpacks.

The advantage of doing this is that it can often be a very cost-effective way to get a dedicated hiking backpack that is more suitable for extreme hikes, especially if you are planning to do a multi-day hike or an overnight camp.

The main disadvantage of using an ICU (or similar) in a non-photography backpack is that access is limited to the top of your backpack (unlike the rear and side access of dedicated backpacks).

However, I tend to work around this limitation by using a Peak Design Capture Camera Clip system fitted on the strap of my backpack, which means my camera is always close to hand.

If the weather takes a turn for the worse or I simply want to concentrate on my hiking, I store the camera safely in the ICU located in my backpack.

Over the years, I have completed numerous multi-day hikes (including the Cumbria Way), and the reality is that I would not have been able to undertake them using a dedicated photography backpack.

By choosing a backpack designed for hiking as opposed to photography, I was able to use one that was well-cushioned, fully adjustable, large enough to carry all my essential gear – including food and water – extremely waterproof, and durable enough to withstand everything I threw at it, all at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated photography backpack.

In conclusion

If you plan to combine hiking and photography, choosing the right backpack is more critical than even selecting your camera.

I strongly recommend visiting a physical store to try on different backpacks before purchasing – or at least shopping with an online retailer that offers a flexible return policy.

Finally, resist the temptation to pack too much camera gear. Sometimes, carrying less weight results in greater enjoyment on the trail and more energy for getting creative with your photography.