Review - Think Tank Photo Urban Access 15 Backpack

A few years ago we reviewed the Think Tank Photo Trifecta 10 backpack, a camera backpack which had the feature of being able to access the interior of the bag from both sides via two side panels.  While it was a good design, there was room for improvement. Now Think Tank Photo has come out with the Urban Access series and they have sent us the Urban Access 15 for review.

The Urban Access 15 has been slightly enlarged from the Trifecta, which now allows for a dedicated laptop pocket to be added to the interior of the backpack.  

Unfortunately, although this bag is advertised as being able to hold up to a 15.4” laptop,  I was not able to fit my older unibody 15” MacBook Pro into this pocket.  It was only able to slide it in about 3/4 of the way in before the fit got so tight that I would have had to use considerable force to push it in any farther.  I was able to wiggle it in a little further, but not all the way in. Plus, it then became a huge struggle to pull it back out again.

If you have one of the newer MacBook Pros which are slimmer, they will probably be a better fit, but I did not have one available to test with this backpack.  However the laptop pocket does fit my 13” MacBook Air or my 12” iPad Pro with no problem.

The front pocket of the Urban Access is very large and is accessed by releasing two magnetic claps.

The pocket is large enough to store an AD200 with MagMod accessories.

The Urban Access 15 includes straps and a fold out pocket which allows you to mount a tripod to the outside of the backpack.

The side panels on this backpack are wider than on the Trifecta, allowing for more access to the interior.  Another improvement that has been made is that the interior panels on both sides now have pockets. 

The top section is very roomy, and can hold another AD200. The sides of the interior of this section are also lined with mesh pockets to hold batteries, memory cards, keys, etc.

Like the rest of Think Tank’s bags, a seam sealed rain cover is included.

On the outside of both side panels is a large expandable pocket, which easily fits a good sized water bottle.

The bag features an integrated waist belt to help take the load off your shoulders.  It can be stowed away when not needed.  It is also removable, so you can replace it with a Think Tank Speedbelt.

The back of the Urban Access also has a luggage pass-thru so that it can be slid over the handles of a roller bag, I found this to be very useful while traveling abroad and hope that this feature will be made standard on all backpacks.

The interior of the Urban Access is quite roomier compared to the Trifecta and the backpack also ships with more dividers. 

The main sectional dividers incorporate a new type of attachment that connects to loops on the edges of the interior.

Thanks to the larger interior, I was able to easily fit everything that I normally carry for weddings in my Airport Navigator roller bag into the Urban Access 15 (minus the 15" laptop).

A7rii body with battery grip

A7II body with battery grip

16-35mm f4

24-70mm f4

70-200mm f4

35mm f2.8

55mm f1.8

85mm f1.8

fisheye lens

2 Godox AD 200 flashes with MagMod attachments, grids and filters

2 Godox triggers

business cards

air blower
Think Tank Photo Pro Speedbelt with Spiderholster

At several beach weddings this past month, I found the Urban Access 15 to be much better to use than the Trifecta. The combination of a roomier interior and larger side access panels made it easier to get gear in and out of the bag quickly without having to set the bag down.  

About the only things I would like to see improved on a v2 of this bag would be a larger interior (perhaps an Urban Access 20?) and maybe a larger laptop pocket.

If you're interested in purchasing the Urban Access 15 or any other Think Tank Photo bags, please consider using the links in this article.  A small portion of the sales will go toward helping us continue to do these reviews for our readers.

Review - Think Tank Photo Trifecta 10 Backpack

When shooting weddings on the beach, I usually prefer to work out of a shoulder bag or a belt system.  Each has their own pros and cons and as a result, I'm always on the lookout for ways to keep my gear accessible to me when shooting events.

Think Tank Photo recently announced their new Trifecta Series Backpacks and I had the chance to review one for a few weeks to see if I could use it in a typical wedding scenario.

The Trifecta 10 is similar in size and shape to the Urban Approach 15, which I've also reviewed on this site in the past.

There are currently two models in the Trifecta series of backpacks - the Trifecta 8, which is intended for use with smaller mirrorless systems, and the Trifecta 10, which is designed for DSLRs.

Even though I shoot with the Sony mirrorless system I chose to review the Trifecta 10.  This is mainly because I tend to use battery grips on my Sony a7II cameras when shooting weddings, which makes the bodies larger than the average mirrorless camera.

First thing to note out of the box, unlike Think Tank Photos other bags, the Trifecta 10 does not come with a lot of extra dividers.

You get 3 - count 'em,  3 dividers. Plus the main divider that splits up the backpack.  That's it.

These dividers are much sturdier than the average camera bag divider, as they help support the structure of the bag itself.  One of the issues I've run into with typical soft removable camera bag inserts is that eventually the inner foam material has a tendency to fold over on itself inside the divider, so you have to massage it back into shape.  That shouldn't happen with these sturdier dividers.

I spoke to a Think Tank Photo rep and was told that they can ship you additional dividers if you need, but this is how it comes standard. If you like to haul a lot of additional gear with you, Think Tank Photo's Streetwalker series will better fit your needs.

The Trifectas are unique among Think Tank's lineup of backpacks in that it they are the only backpacks that Think Tank Photo has designed with side access zippers so that you can access the contents from both sides of the backpack while still wearing it over your shoulder. This concept has been done by other camera bag manufacturers where they have a side opening for just a camera with 1 lens attached, but Think Tank goes a bit further by letting you access a whole half of the bag from each side.

On the inside of the left side of the bag are some pockets that will fit memory cards and a couple of spare batteries.

The bag can also be opened from the other side.

However, there are no pockets on this side.  

They probably could have added some more pockets on this side. As it is, this is a bit of wasted space.

The iPad pocket will hold up to a 10in tablet.  12" iPad Pro users like myself are out of luck.

The Trifecta 10 comes with an integrated waist belt.

This allows you to swing the pack around to the front and hold it horizontally to you like a tray table so that you can access your gear from the back of the bag while still having the bag on you as opposed to taking the pack off and laying it down.

This is a handy feature and I'm wondering why they did not also include that on the Trifecta 8.

Though would be nice if they could design it so that you could tuck the straps away when you don't want to use them.

Like other Think Tank bags, the Trifecta 10 also includes a raincover.

The Trifecta 10 is very comfortable to wear. The padding, especially the lumbar support, is a bit thicker than other bags.  

One thing that I liked on the Urban Approach 15 that I missed on the Trifecta 10 was the handle on the back of the bag that you could use to slip over the handle of your roller bag.  I wish Think Tank could have found a way to also incorporate that feature here as well.

Something else I noticed - most other Think Tank backpacks have the style of zippers that can be padlocked like this:

On the Trifecta 10, however, the zippers are not lockable.

I kind of understand their thinking on this one - as the large opening of the backpack is concealed against your back when you are wearing it, no one can open it but you.

However that still leaves both side panels accessible, so be aware of this if you are wearing this bag in a crowded area.  I would have preferred if Think Tank had standardized on the lockable zippers for all three access panels.

 There is a compartment on the top of the bag which is not accessible from the back or side panel.

This is roomy enough to fit a flash and  remote trigger.

There are a few pockets in this section as well as an attachment point for your keys or Think Tank Memory Card wallet.

In here you'll also find the straps for attaching your tripod to the front of the bag.

The pocket is also large enough to fit a water bottle if you don't need to carry your tripod.

I tested this bag out on a few beach weddings with the following gear:

Main compartment:

Sony a7RII with battery grip
Sony a7II with battery grip
16-35 f4 Zeiss
24-70 f4 Zeiss
70-200 f4 G
4 extra batteries

Although the Trifecta 10 is designed for DSLR systems with one body and the 3 main workhorse lenses,  it works equally well for mirrorless systems as well.  An added benefit is that you can fit a second backup mirrorless body - essential for anyone shooting weddings.  If you're shooting with a DSLR setup, I think you might have difficulty getting a second body in there with your three zooms, especially if you have battery grips. Like I mentioned before, this is not the bag for you if you need to carry a lot of gear.  It's mainly designed for a single camera body and three main zoom lenses.

Top compartment:
2 Phottix Mittros+ flashes
Phottix Odin transmitter
Think Tank Pixel Pocket

In actual use, I found the side access panels quite useful when I needed to switch lenses.  While it was not as fast as using a belt system like the Think Tank Modular set, I did like the fact that my gear was more protected from the elements by being in the bag as opposed to being in pouches on my belt.  I also liked using it better than a shoulder or sling bag as the weight was distributed to both shoulders instead of just one.

It also made it easier for times when I needed to get the gear off of my body so that I could climb up a tree or lie down low in the sand to get a shot - situations that would normally be problematic when using a belt pouch system. With everything housed in the Trifecta I could quickly take off the bag, hang it on my lightstand, and go get the shot.

Swinging the Trifecta around to the front and accessing gear from the back while the waistbelt held the bag on me - "tray table position" - was a nice feature, but in practice I found I didn't use it much in that manner.  In actual use, it was faster to just use the side panels to grab a lens and swap it.

Also when using the bag in "tray table position", the entire weight of the backpack is in front of you supported only by the unpadded belt around your waist.

This made it a bit unwieldy as the bag kept wanting to tilt forward.  This is mostly because I had more gear in this bag than the designers intended.

To counteract this, I would put one foot forward and rest the bottom of the bag against the upper thigh.  This had the effect of tilting the top of the backpack back towards me which made it slightly more stable and easier to access the contents of the bag.

While I didn't feel that the belt buckle was in any danger of unbuckling while using the bag in this manner,  I preferred not to use the bag in this position too often.

I also wished you could access the top compartment of the bag from the back and side panels. That would have been more useful.

Overall I liked this new backpack from Think Tank Photo.  The side access panels are actually pretty handy to use and as long as you're not planning to haul a lot of gear around, you should definitely check out this bag.

We are a part of Think Tank Photo's Photographer Support Program, so whenever you use the links on this blog to shop at Think Tank Photo, you will receive a free gift from them whenever you order $50 or more.  You also help support this blog in the process and we greatly appreciate that.