Crumpler Warm Shower Review

I thought it worth giving a review of the Crumpler Warm Shower now that I've owned and used it for a few weeks.

Simply, it's a rucksack/backpack that has compartments for camera kit, a laptop and other goodies as well.

It sits nicely on my back. The bag is padded with sufficient space to allow airflow. The straps are a step above the quality that I'm used to. One of the main points about all the Crumpler bags I've come across is the amount of small touches that make them nice to use. In this case, there are small clips to hold the remaining part of the shoulder strap and stop it flapping about.

What's missing for me is a strap around the waist. I knew that before I bought the bag, but thought I wouldn't notice it much. What it does mean is that you have to set the shoulder straps exactly right (i.e. both the same length). If one is a centimetre or two longer than the other, then the bag will rest lopsided. More so than any other bag I've used. However, get them level (easy enough to do) and it will sit straight.

When walking, the bottom of the bag will rub very lightly left-to-right across the lower bag. Not uncomfortable but after a short distance, the noise of the rubbing can become annoying.

I've recently been on a 3 hour flight to Spain. In the bag, I was able to comfortably put:

- Nikon D80 with attached 28-70mm lens

- 70-300mm lens

- MacBook

- Power adaptor for laptop

- Charger for D80 battery

- Phrase Book (my Spanish is not good enough to cope alone)

- Book

- Bottle of Water

- Passport, etc

- Various other little items

The bag fits within the Department of Transport's cabin luggage guidelines. Not all airlines allow passengers full size cabin baggage. I was fortunate, my carrier did.

The bag also fits under the seat. It's a tight fit and doesn't allow for much legroom afterwards but I was able to comfortably survive a 2-and-a-half hour flight.

On the outside, the bag looks good. It doesn't look like a camera bag, nor a laptop bag. It looks like a decent, fashionable backpack. It extends a bit too far from my back for my liking.

Inside, the bag is split into three main compartments. The lower part takes a SLR/DSLR body plus 2-3 lens. In my case it's the DLSR with lens, plus a blower and another lens. The dividers are securely velcroed, allowing you to change the shape of the individual compartments. It's great for storing the kit, but not very good for providing easy access to it. I like how I can put the camera it and carry it around. I don't like the rigmarole of getting the bag off my back, onto the floor (depends how muddy the floor is), open the compartment, struggle to get the camera out. It could be easier by storing the body and lens separately, but then I'd have to fit them together every time I wanted to take a photo.

The next compartment up stores pens, books, paper, gloves (for those cold tripod legs). It's an odd shape, with a flat back and a bulging front. I found that I could get a lot in here, more than I thought at first, but that it wasn't very easy to get things in and out quickly.

Between these two compartments, there's a divider that can be remove, as can the dividers for the camera compartment. This then allows the bag to be a more usual backpack.

On the outside, just above the camera compartment, there is another section with webbing. Good for holding media, card readers and other relatively flat items. You can actually store bulkier items in here, but they'd eat into the space in the main compartment, making that a more awkward shape.

Behind all the above compartments, running the length of the bag is a separate padded compartment for the laptop. This fits a MacBook perfectly.

With all the kit in as mentioned above, the bag comes to between 8kg and 9kg. That was enough to notice when carrying it by the sturdy handle. But put it on your back and it's a comfortable fit.

Security is becoming more of an issue. I don't like the fact that someone can open a bag on my back and I can't see anything about it. Imagine standing waiting to cross a road, backpacks can make a good target. Fortunately, the Crumpler bag has zip tags that are hidden from casual view. The zip lines are also hidden by the change in colour across the bag. All zips were easier to open if you knew where to look, but could still take some fumbling. It was a good compromise between access and security.

There are two side pockets, big enough for a small mp3 player, quick change for a memory card, chewing gum. There's not much room, not enough for a wallet. Unlike a lot of bags, there was no separate compartment for a drinks bottle.

Points I liked:

- The fit of the laptop

- The compartment and dividers for the camera kit

- The straps

- The overall design

- The comfort

- Cabin luggage sized

Points that could be improved:

- Access to the camera compartment

- The bulk sticking out the back

- A tripod holder

- A separate water bottle compartment

- Bigger side compartments

- Remove the mesh compartments and allow more usable space in the main compartment

- Addition of a waist-strap

Overall, a great bag for carrying equipment to a location. Even better if you use it as a laptop bag and only use the camera part every so often. Not so good for day-to-day camera bag when you need quick access to the camera.

More details of the bag at crumpler.co.uk