Benro Ranger 200 Inside With Olympus E-M1 and Mavic Pro

Anyone who follows my photography should know that I am not really a backpack kind of guy. The reason I shoot with Olympus Micro Four Thirds equipment is because I want to travel as light as possible and whenever possible remove the need for a backpack. Instead of a backpack I use the Cosyspeed Camslinger system. This is great when I’m not going far from the car and I can carry my tripod in my hand, but what about when hiking? That’s when I turn to the Benro Ranger 200 backpack.

Benro Ranger 200 with tripod
My quest for a backpack started squarely with the ability to carry my tripod with the weight evenly distributed

I have to be honest, my search for a backpack started from the premise of wanting to be able to easily carry my tripod on my back and I searched around for some kind of dedicated tripod holder that simply held the tripod and distributed the weight evenly across my shoulders. I could find nothing online and after a fruitless day searching at The Photography Show last March I found myself chatting once again to Mark Hoskins on the Benro stand. Now, it’s no secret that I use and love the Benro Travel Angel tripod (see review) so I asked Mark if they did anything that matched my requirements. “I’m afraid not”, he said. “Well”, I replied, “I’d be happy to go for a small bag, as long as it’s light and the tripod is carried in the centre and not on the side!”. Why do bag manufacturers do that? Are they trying to cause the user back problems? Do Manfrotto and Lowepro own shares in a global chiropractors? To me it’s simple, the weight of a backpack should be distributed evenly and it can’t be if they force you to shove a 2kg lump of carbon fibre on one side!

Mark listened to my rantings and then gently led me to their new backpack range display where he handed me the Ranger 200. That was 6 months ago and I have been using the backpack regularly ever since, so what’s my verdict?

Benro Ranger 200 Backpack
The Ranger 200’s airflow system does a pretty good job of keeping the sweat off your back whilst the cross straps keep it securely on there.

Qauality

Before we get into the nitty gritty of whether the bag is actually any good or not let’s address the quality. At £129 it’s not the cheapest backpack on the market but then it’s not the most expensive either and the quality certainly lives up to the price tag. It is manufactured from water-repellent nylon with soft lined internal compartments. The dividers inside are adjustable and Benro describe the zips as “durable” which I have found over 6 months use to be true. I have mistreated the bag quite badly since I received it and apart from being a little grubby it is still as it was the day I bought it. In short, the quality is superb.

Fitting It All In

The Ranger 200 is small and lightweight but really packs a punch in it’s carrying capacity. Weighing just 1.4kg it’s exterior dimensions are 27 x 46 x 32 (W x H x D) cm. This gives a really good carrying capacity, even for DSLR users, and as can be seen below I have managed to pack a lot in, including a spare Olympus E-M1 body with lens attached, spare lenses and my Mavic Pro with 2 spare batteries. There are 2 interior zip-close storage compartments for all those little things such as batteries, cables, etc that just don’t fit anywhere else.

Benro Ranger 200 Inside With Olympus E-M1 and Mavic Pro
Despite being a pretty compact and lightweight backpack the Ranger 200 can still hold a spare body and lenses as well as a Mavic Pro drone and spare batteries, plus much more.

The dividers, which attach to the walls of the interior with Velcro, are of various shapes and sizes and can be configured to suit your individual requirements.

There is also a padded front pocket for a small laptop or iPad. My iPad fits in it beautifully but my 15″ Macbook Pro won’t. This isn’t an issue for me because Lightroom Mobile is now so good that I pretty much do all of my post processing on the iPad and never take my Macbook out of the house. I reckon a 13″ Macbook would probably fit in.

Benro Ranger 200 Carrying iPad
As I do just about all my post processing on my iPad these days the ability to slip that in a pocket on the Ranger 200 is an added bonus.

Externally the tripod is carried (fanfare please) centrally and sits securely in a little pouch that can be tucked away when a tripod is not being carried. An adjustable strap secures the tripod at the top and I can even tuck my drone landing pad in the tripod with no problems.

 

In Use

The first thing to say about using the bag is that when fully loaded and on your back the weight is distributed extremely evenly. I don’t want to sound like a broken record but this is really important. It’s incredibly bad for your back and shoulders to have unevenly distributed weight. Not only that but your backpack will become less comfortable much more quickly if it is pulling to one side.

The Ranger 200 features a ventilated padded harness system with plenty of adjustment and cross straps to ensure that the harness straps stay securely on your shoulders. I have to say that it all works extremely well and I have found the fully loaded bag to be incredibly comfortable for long periods. Although the Ranger 200 is water-resistent Benro have also included a rain cover.

At the bottom of the bag is a water-resistent pad that it sits upright on meaning you don’t need to lay it in the mud every time you take it off. On the right-hand side is a quick access opening to allow you to grab your camera. There are a couple of little pockets inside the flap for SD cards. On the left-hand side there is an open elasticated pocket that will hold a small water bottle or similar.

Benro Ranger 200 Inside Pockets
There are plenty of pockets for storing those bits and bobs that just don’t belong anywhere else

Verdict

All in all the Ranger 200 is a well made, well thought out backpack that I am extremely happy with. I have been very careful to make sure I have really used this backpack and properly put it through it’s paces before reviewing it and now having used it for over 6 months I can definitely say that in my opinion it is well worth the money. It fulfils my criteria but I realise that everyone is different. Is it the right backpack for you? I can’t say but what I can say is it’s definitely worth serious consideration.

Benro Ranger 200 Side Opening
Despite carrying my main body round my waist rather than in my backpack I am surprised how often I have accessed my spare through the handy side opening.