ALTA SKY 68 Backpack for up to 800mm lens

It is very rare that an item arrives that is impressive beyond what you expect. The Alta Sky 66 is one of those rare items. It fits my Sony A7 with attached Sony FE 200-600 lens with lens hood attached comfortably. There is even cushioning in the base which will wrap around the lens hood to keep it stable The materials it is made from appear good quality. It has lots of pockets for bits and pieces, none of them large but for me this bag is for transporting this camera and lens combo plus a tripod and possibly a monopod as well. There are all the straps and attachments I need to do this. You can tell that whoever designed this bag put a lot of thought into it which I appreciate. I have yet to carry it any distance but I have adjusted the shoulder harness and waist strap to fit and they are well padded and appear up to the job.

Delivery was quick and item as expected. Partitioning fits my camera and lenses with some space to spare. Gopro and casing, fits nicely in the bottom, section of the rugsack. The shoulder straps are comfortable to wear. Obviously, with all good things, there are some challenges, namely, accessing your ipad or extra lenses, etc, is awkward, as the shoulder straps have to be repositioned to allow for any unhindered access. In hindsight, the hindered access to the general storage area, does offer extra security for any of your gear being stored, especially when your are trekking. 2ndly, it is a pity that no rain cover is included as the UK does not provide enough dry weather, to warrant the exclusion of the extra protection. In general, the Alta Sky 45D is well built, fits comfortably and is a versatile camera rugsack for short daily trips.

Tired of hauling around my daily camera bag with all my lenses when I knew I was only going to be taking shots of wildlife I decided a dedicated bag was the way to go. I looked at Lowepro, Manfrotto as well as others but didn’t see any that grabbed me. I came across the Vanguard Alta 66 and I liked the looks and I knew from fellow photographers the brand is good. So I took a chance. Price - The first thing that grabbed me was for what the bag offers comparatively to the competition at the lower price point it is relatively good value for money, especially when combined with the Amazon offer to spread the payment over 5 months with Prime next day delivery. Packaging - the packaging is very simple, a clear bag protecting from scuffs in transit, an attached information tag, all inside a suitably sized bog that while bigger than the item is not overly so as can be the case with certain products. Design - The bag stands about a metre tall, is sleek in appearance, maintaining a minimalist look and not shouting photography gear. The outer materials are what feel like an easy wipe woven fabric that feels very robust and will wear well. The base has a further Cordura type fabric that again is easy wipe, adds extra protection to scuffs, water repellent properties and is reinforced is a stitched fabric strap to support the weight of a lens. There is a small pocket on top of the bag. By the main carry handle that is a good size for a lens cloth. A side pocket again good for maybe a few cloths or some small accessories or a phone as there is a pass through hole for a cable. On the opposite side a mesh pocket that stretches well and would be good for tripod, monopod or water bottle. On the front there are some small loop straps for additional pouches, a fold out bag to hold the feel to of a tripod. There are two further pockets, one being big enough to store memory cards, batteries and a battery pouch as pictured. Interior - One of the most striking and welcome parts is the bright yellow interior, which really helps see equipment. The sides are made of felt until about half way down allowing for Velcro pads to be attached. The other is an easy wipe nylon type material which should help with any moisture and helps keep the bag light weight. There are two padded supports that come with the case, one of which has a soft cushioning fabric to it. Pictured I have a Sigma 150-600mm w/ hood reversed and a EOSR and battery grip attached. As you can see this only fills about half the bag, so plenty of space for a divider and carry more items if on a days trek. Comfort - The bag feels very light despite the build quality and the adjustable harness is easy to adjust to allow for the best carrying height. Pro - lightweight, good value compared to competition. Stealth outer appearance and easy to see inner appearance. Easy to adjust and open with good good quality zippers. Integrated rain cover which is a nice touch some other manufacturers make you pay extra for. Once setup is a well built and reliable bag. Cons - The top handle is designed to be slack so as not to get in the way of the zippers opening the main compartment, but is slack enough it make it harder to pick up while padded enough it can still get in the way. Zippers while good quality and open well do not appear to be fully splash proof which is disappointing . The side pocket is too small with the internal dividers being fiddly and some parts inaccessible, reducing the use for them. Waist belt while big enough even for a large individual does not feel like it offer a lot of support and despite adjusting the height of the straps never sits right. But this is a personal thing, your experience will vary. Having a monopod or tripod on the sides doesn’t work as it quickly unbalances the weight of the bag. Carrying on the back of the bag works fine for carrying actually adds a good layer of stability. However you won’t be able to remove your camera without first removing the tripod/monopod. The internal padding is good but a bit soft to offer quite enough stability. I will be looking to get an extra section of foam to attach. Overall verdict - while it may seem the cons far outweigh the pros it is not the whole story. The key is is to plan and setup the bag with what works for you. Like any bag. I would recommend this bag at the price point as so far once I have set it up right and have gotten used to the quirks it has, have been able to get out and about, getting the camera in and out quickly and have enough room to carry lots of gear.

used to carry a Canon R6ii + EF 500 F4ii as one unit. The quality is good and well thought out. There are several (but not enough) pockets to carry e.g spare batteries and memory cards but they are a tight fit. The built in rain cover is not obvious, but it exists and once located should be valuable should the need arise. Loading/unloading is relatively quick, but don't expect to be shooting immediately after seeing a sight. This is best for carrying a combo over distance to reach a set site, enabling the combo to remain connected. It is a tall, thin, bag, which is relatively comfortable to use.

A large bag suited to carrying a lot of kit. Versatile interior layout and lots of smaller compartments for various components. It can be heavy if it is filled with camera bodies, tripod and lenses but this is not a fault of the bag. Top quality construction.

I think this is the best camera bag I have ever owned. Lots of space to comfortably hold two bodies and a range of lenses. Can be configured any number of ways, and has excellent capability to store food/drink for a full day out. If you've a drone, you can configure to have it internally stored, or the flap on the back has really good connection points too. I'm not sure there is a way where you can gain access - really good, and it's going to do for for a fair few years.

I bought both the 49 and 53. These bags have really good padding in the top straps and waist straps and has a really solid construction. However, this makes the bag heavy to start with. I think the 49 version weighs 2.5 kgs - and it has a tag on the side saying it can only support around 11 kg's - so that is worth keeping in mind once you fill it with equipment. The 53 is slightly too large for the 56cm carry-on requirement as it is 57cm - though I am sure you could fit it if you needed to. I ended up returning both bags - there is no additional storage space, for example, to add a rain jacket and some other accessories - unless you put them in the main camera area. There are a few pockets on the sides, but these are not suitable for a rain jacket. I also found the top opening area to be a waste of space, especially on the 53 version. There is no way to seal this from the main compartment, which would have made an ideal place to store some extra items. As it is, if you have a mirrorless camera (I used the A7r III) - you have this huge area around it that you can't do much with. If you look at the pictures of this product, you will see one showing the camera body with a 70-200 attached - all that space above is the wasted space I am talking about. You could try balance stuff on top of it, but then that defeats the point of the top access.

Carries lots of gear, big lenses. Heavy pack.