A good bag for mirrorless/compact systems

<p>I recently took delivery of a bag called the Rush MOAB 6 from 5.11 Tactical. i'm not affiliated with these folks at all but really like this bag and wanted to share for folks who might be interested. This company makes gear primarily for law enforcement and first responders and the emphasis is on durable, highly functional equipment. A colleague of mine showed up at work one day with this and it caught my eye and after having a closer look at it I immediately started coveting it (this is like breaking the 11th commandment i think..) so I ordered one for myself.<br>

The MOAB 6 is a sling style bag (you can see it here: http://www.511tactical.com/rush-moab-6.html) that has a single main compartment with a front pocket and lots of built in storage compartments. Because its a marketed as a 'tactical bag' it has a velcro opening between the front pocket and the main compartment that is intended for concealed carry of a handgun, but i put things like handkerchief and other stuff in there that i want easy and ready access to. I've only had it for a little bit but so far I am loving this bag. It is small (compact may be a better word) but carries all the stuff I want and is very comfortable for hiking around with in either urban or more natural settings. I regularly carry binoculars, a 10" tablet, a book, my a6000, mini mag flashlight, small notebooks (moelskine style) and there is plenty of room for other accessories you might need during an outing. It wears very comfortably and is easy to slide around to access stuff when you need to. It has a lot of ability for attaching accessories (like a water bottle holster) and is thus expandable/modular to a point. I'm not sure you could put a DSLR with more than its attached lens in this bag but for compact systems I think this offers a lot of capability.</p>

<p>except it's not designed as a camera bag and has zero padded dividers. what that means is if you had to carry more than a camera with an attached lens in the main compartment, such as additional lenses, you'd encounter problems. there are plenty of sling bags designed for cameras on the market, if you like that style. i personally prefer a messenger/shoulder-type bag for fast access, but I do have a lowepro sling which i used for a DSLR rig. with mirrorless, i find that some of my bags dont work that great because they are designed for deeper/longer DSLR bodies or lenses. thinking about the Think Tank line, they have mirrorless-specific bags. another solution is to buy the divider section separately, and put it into any bag you choose. that's great for when you dont want a bag which looks like a camera bag. </p>

<p>There are backpacks specifically for cameras of similar size and facility. Specifically, a Thinktank Perception or Airport Essentials (I have one of each for mirrorless systems). Thinktank has a few Molle attachment points, but sadly, no pockets for 30 rd AR magazines and no instant access for a Glock 19 (http://tacticalgear.com/511-rush-moab-10-black). Thinktank does, however, provide ample padding for expensive, fragile gear. The G19 (or equivalent) goes somewhere else ;)</p>

<p>I'm using a LowePro Slingshot 200 AW <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=lowepro+slingshot+200+aw&rlz=1C1AVSA_enUS436US436&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv1PeS68jJAhVujoMKHSpLAZkQsAQIRw&biw=1280&bih=717">HERE</a>. Works great for a compact mirrorless system or DSLRs and rugged. Has the standard LowePro All Weather cover you can deploy if needed. This is what I use on hikes and it's secure enough for scrambling/climbing. I don't know if they are making this version new anymore but the whole Slingshot series, in general, is decent.</p>

<p>Most of my day-to-day carry is with the LowePro Event messenger bags. The 100 for the A6000 and the 200 forA7 kit. Found <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=lowepro+slingshot+200+aw&rlz=1C1AVSA_enUS436US436&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv1PeS68jJAhVujoMKHSpLAZkQsAQIRw&biw=1280&bih=717#tbm=isch&q=lowepro+event+messenger+100">HERE</a></p>

<p>Thanks for the observations, you are all correct - this isn't designed for camera equipment, which I actually think is a positive. For me, I've never been too concerned about having padded dividers to protect my gear - there are always solutions to that particular problem, and I've hauled gear in a lot of rough conditions. Ultimately, this bag seems to work for me as it carries better than bags designed for cameras that I've used or tried in the past and isn't nearly as bulky. And for me it offers a good mix of functionality between a backpack (for support and load distribution) and a messenger style bag (for ease of access). Like most things these are pretty personal choices that balance a number of compromises. I won't carry a lot in this bag but for a compact system with a 2-3 lenses and other accouterments I think this hits a sweet spot. As for the G19 and extra AR mags, I'll let the LEOs worry about that. As usual, YMMV.</p>