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Lowepro Tahoe BP 150: two-minute evaluate
The temptation for many photographers is to hold as a lot gear as doable. In any case, you don’t need to get caught with out the proper package for the scenario. Lots of the best camera bags will allow you to do precisely that: pack your whole arsenal of lenses and equipment, so that you’ll by no means miss a shot.
That’s not what the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 is about. This can be a neatly packaged backpack with simply sufficient house on your capturing necessities, plus a handful of extras. That restricted capability means most lovers might want to depart a few lenses at residence. However the pay-off is a pack that majors in portability.
It’s additionally one which balances performance with affordability. One of many most cost-effective Lowepro backpacks you should purchase, the Tahoe BP 150 is a no-nonsense resolution for toting a lean pictures setup in your travels. Impressively for the cash, it’s additionally one which comes with only a few compromises.
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The primary compartment could be comparatively modest, however intelligent division means that you can profit from the accessible house. The highest third is taken up by a zippered field pocket which is stitched in place, with a versatile base that may be moved utilizing velcro tabs. So can the padded partitions which construction the remainder of the house.
Relying on what you shoot with, you’ll must spend a little bit of time enjoying with the place of those dividers to discover a format which most closely fits your setup. With some experimenting, you’ll uncover that the Tahoe BP 150 can carry fairly much more than you’d first count on, though a pair extra of the small dividers would make the house much more versatile.
As it’s, the bag can comfortably match an APS-C mirrorless physique with a chief lens hooked up, together with a telephoto and a regular zoom, plus a charger with room to spare. You would squeeze a pancake lens and a small flashgun in there, too. A bigger DSLR physique makes for extra of an ungainly match, whereas lovers with top-tier glass will discover that the capability quickly evaporates.
This could be a backpack for touring gentle, however Lowepro has nonetheless put thought into optimizing it. There’s an SD card slot on the within of the primary flap, whereas the entrance panel is angled barely to create a usable house within the secondary pocket. That’s the place you’ll discover a key clip, accent slots and a pill sleeve that’s simply sufficiently big to suit a 13-inch MacBook Air.
There’s additionally an answer for touring with tripods. Elasticated mesh pockets sit on both facet of the pack, along with clips for securing tripods in place. Realistically, the shallow depth of the pockets means you wouldn’t need to threat maintaining something taller than a mini-tripod on the skin of the Tahoe BP 150.
The one design blunder to talk of is the place of the tripod clips. These fasten throughout the zipper for the primary compartment, which suggests you need to undo them each time you need to entry your digital camera package. This isn’t a quick-access pack at the perfect of instances, with a good bit of unzipping wanted to get at your gear. Having clips within the combine shortly turns into irritating.
Nonetheless, the LowePro Tahoe BP 150 is in any other case a digital camera bag that hits the candy spot of practicality, value and safety. Regardless of its compact dimensions, the shell advantages from padding in all the proper locations. Granted, I wouldn’t need it chucked round on a baggage carousel, however I by no means felt that my gear was in danger whereas carrying it.
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The identical goes for the straps and again panel. That is removed from a technical pack and also you don’t get the sort of help or adjustment discovered on the Lowepro PhotoSport BP 24L AW III, however there’s sufficient cushioning to make the Tahoe BP 150 comfy to hold absolutely loaded on a journey.
From the zips to the seams, the entire thing feels sturdy. That’s not a shock from Lowepro, nevertheless it’s a welcome truth for the worth. And it’s all of the extra spectacular when you think about that the Tahoe BP 150 weighs simply 800g, making it one of many lightest digital camera luggage you should purchase.
The one factor lacking is a rain cowl. The backpack is water resistant sufficient to shake off a summer time bathe, nevertheless it’s not absolutely waterproof. Then once more, given how inexpensive it’s, you may at all times purchase a third-party rain cowl in the event you’re nervous about downpours.
If you would like an unfussy backpack with minimal bloat and travel-friendly dimensions, it’s laborious to go flawed with the LowePro Tahoe BP 150. Different digital camera luggage could be larger and extra adaptable, however this one will get the fundamentals proper on the proper value.
Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 evaluate: value
The Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 has been that can be purchased since 2015. At launch, it was priced round $95 / £85 / AU$175. The backpack’s value has dropped a number of instances over the previous few years and it may possibly now be discovered on-line for round $75 / £65 / AU$100.
A fast have a look at value monitoring web sites additionally confirms that the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 is usually discounted throughout sale occasions, equivalent to Amazon Prime Day. It’s already a great-value digital camera bag, however if you need a fair higher deal, we recommend holding out in case it’s diminished once more within the subsequent seasonal sale.
The Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 is on the market in 4 shade variations: blue (as examined right here), black, purple and inexperienced (which options city camouflage sample detailing).
Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 evaluate: specs
|
Exterior dimensions |
27.5 x 21.7 x 40.3cm |
|
Inner dimensions |
25.5 x 12.8 x 36cm |
|
Weight |
800g |
|
Whole quantity |
11L |
|
Carry-on pleasant |
Sure |
|
Pill sleeve |
Sure |
|
Waterproofing |
Waterproof |
Ought to I purchase the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150?
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 evaluate: Additionally take into account
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Lowepro Tahoe 150 |
Lowepro PhotoSport BP 24L AW III |
Mindshift Backlight 26L |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Exterior dimensions |
27.5 x 21.7 x 40.3cm |
27 x 22 x 50cm |
29 x 51.5 x 20cm |
|
Inner dimensions |
25.5 x 12.8 x 36cm |
26 x 13 x 48cm |
26 x 49 x 15cm |
|
Weight |
800g |
1500g |
1800g |
|
Whole quantity |
11L |
24L |
26L |
|
Carry-on pleasant |
Sure |
Sure |
Sure |
|
Pill sleeve |
Sure |
No |
Sure |
|
Waterproofing |
Waterproof |
Rain cowl |
Rain cowl |
How I examined the Lowepro Tahoe 150
- Filled with a DSLR and two lenses, plus equipment
- Carried round every day for a fortnight
- Wore in all climate circumstances
When testing the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150, my intention was to evaluate its real-world practicality for various photographers. That began with loading it up. To get an thought of its true capability, I performed round with becoming each APS-C and DSLR capturing setups into it. I re-arranged the inner dividers a number of instances, to see what mixtures of digital camera physique, lenses and equipment it may take.
I additionally packed out the Tahoe BP 150 with as many equipment as doable, together with a mini journey on the facet and a laptop computer within the entrance sleeve. This was partly to see simply how a lot gear it was realistically capable of accommodate, but additionally to get a really feel for a way comfy the bag was to hold when absolutely laden.
With that in thoughts, I walked with the Lowepro on my again day-after-day for a number of weeks. This primary-hand expertise gave me a real impression of what the Tahoe BP 150 is prefer to work and journey with, together with how simple it’s to entry the assorted pockets and compartments on the transfer. I additionally wore the backpack in numerous climate circumstances, to place its water-resistance to the take a look at.
First reviewed June 2025