This is my review on Think Tank Photo Airport Essentials, the smallest camera backpack of Think Tank Photo's Airport series. I have been using it for over one year and I am extremely happy with my purchase.
Over two years ago I switched from a Nikon full-frame DSLR to a Nikon mirrorless system. The change made me look for a smaller backpack. My obvious choice fell on the smallest backpack in the Think Tank Photo Airport series.
I decided to update my original review since I started using this backpack also to carry my latest purchase: a drone.
The Airport Essentials comes in the usual Think Tank Photo elegant black exterior design with minimal visible features and straps. Honestly, without a tripod in the side pocket, you would never guess it's a camera backpack. It looks more like an ordinary laptop backpack — one of those you often see carried by businessmen in suits.
Also, unlike the bigger Airport Commuter, it doesn't look boxy. It's a sturdy backpack with great handles. As a carry-on, it offers the perfect size and capacity for most of my travels.
MAIN FEATURES
- Meets most of international airlines’ carry-on size requirements; Contoured adjustable harness with lumbar support;
- Large comfortable handles;
- Height adjustable sternum strap and elastic pockets on shoulder strap;
- Robust handles on two sides of the backpack for easy over head lifting;
- Includes tripod/monopod mounting system;
- Cable lock & locking YKK zipper sliders for added security; Useful top zippered pocket for boarding pass;
- Water bottle (or tripod) pocket
DIMENSIONS
- Exterior Dimensions: 29.2 × 45.7 × 17.8cm
- Internal Dimensions: 27.9 × 41.4 × 12.7cm
- Laptop compartment: 25 × 38 × 3cm
- Weight: 1.4–1.6 kg
Inside my Airport Essentials there is enough room for my Nikon Z7 II body with a SmallRig L-Bracket attached and three Nikon f/4 pro lenses. Incredibly, it also fits a DJI Air 3 drone, its DJI RC2 remote controller, and a couple of batteries. I also carry filters, memory cards, small accessories, and my JBL Tour One M2 wireless headphones — in that case I move the drone's remote controller into the laptop compartment.
I have been seriously impressed by how much this backpack carries.
There is not enough room for a gripped full-frame DSLR like the Nikon D850, though.
Like most camera bags, it includes plenty of dividers to customize the space for your gear.
NO BUILT IN RAIN COVER :-(
What I really miss in the Think Tank Photo Airport series is a built-in rain cover stored at the bottom of the bag. You find it in many other camera backpacks — but not here.
For its Airport series, Think Tank Photo opted for a seam-sealed rain cover packed in a separate small bag. This means that if it starts raining while you are out, you must open the main compartment — where your camera and lenses sit — to retrieve the rain cover bag and put it on. By the time you do all that, the backpack will already be wet. Think Tank Photo does claim the bag is waterproof, thanks to its durable water-repellent polyurethane 1680D ballistic nylon coating.
FITS PERFECTLY MY 14" MACBOOK PRO (AND EVEN A 16" ONE!) :-)
The two large see-through zippered pockets inside the lid are big enough for my K&F Concept 150×100mm filters and cables. The side handle lets me carry the bag like a briefcase when my shoulders need a break.
The front zippered compartment has two pockets. The larger one fits my 14" MacBook Pro perfectly — even a 16" model slides in without issue. The smaller one holds my 7" e-reader, though a 10" tablet fits too.
In the upper part of the front compartment there is a handy pocket for pens, keys, a smartphone, a notebook, and small accessories.
Just underneath the top handle there is a useful zippered top pocket. It's ideal for quick access to your passport, ID, and boarding card at check-in or security. There is also enough space for a few business cards.
There is also a small business card holder in the upper part. In my opinion, it would make more sense if it were transparent for easier visibility.
STRAPS AND POCKETS
Like the other Airport Series bags, this one has no dedicated straps to secure your tripod. I really miss this. I would have preferred a second bottle pocket on the other side, allowing me to carry both tripod and water bottle. Better still, I would have liked the tripod strapped to the front of the bag, as on other dedicated camera bags.
Like other Think Tank Photo products, there is a small side pocket with a cable lock. It lets you lock the zipper and secure the backpack to a fixed object, like a table, when you're out.
The shoulder straps are adjustable. By tightening them, I can shift the weight further up my shoulders to relieve strain on my spine. That matters a lot when you walk for hours with nearly 10 kg of gear on your back!
The waist belt at the bottom of the backpack is easily removable.
BRING THE AIRPORT ESSENTIALS ON BOARD
Think Tank Photo says the Airport Essentials fully meets international carry-on standards. It fits inside the overhead compartments of most planes.
This camera backpack also fits under economy-class seats on most commercial aircraft.
I tested it on many aircraft: Airbus A220, A320, A321, A330 and A340, and Boeing 737 and 787 Dreamliner. It even fits under the seat of smaller regional jets like the Embraer 175 and 190.
Airlines I have flown with this backpack include Swiss, United, Turkish, Vueling, Lufthansa, Austrian, Air Dolomiti, and more.
At only 17.8 cm deep, it also fits the smaller overhead bins of turboprops and regional jets.
WHAT I WISH THIS CAMERA BAG HAD
I would love to see a stowable harness on the Airport Essentials. A pair of zippered flaps that encase the entire harness system. This would make sliding the bag into tight spaces — like overhead lockers — much easier, and it would reduce the bag's visual bulk.
Stow the straps and you enter the airport with a clean, minimal-looking bag. No dangling side straps, no hip belts, no hardware jangling around!
The cleaner a bag looks, the less technical it appears. In my experience, that makes staff far less likely to ask you to weigh or measure it at check-in.
CONCLUSION
Think Tank Photo Airport Essentials is a practical, compact yet spacious camera backpack. It has excellent storage and solid build quality. It fits my full-frame mirrorless camera with L-bracket attached and my three f/4 lenses.
This bag is reasonably priced for the quality of materials used. I am very happy with my purchase.
PROS
- well made and robust camera backpack with high quality materials;
- fully meets the international carry-on standards;
- fits overhead compartments on board;
fits under (economy class) seats of most of commercial planes, smaller included; - lighter than other camera bags with similar size;
- useful top zippered pocket dedicated for storing passport and boarding cards;
- removable waist belt;
- elegant design
CONS
- no built in rain cover at the bottom of the bag like in other camera backpacks;
- unlike other camera bags, straps to secure tripod are on the side of the bag and not in front of it which means you can’t use the stretch pocket to hold water bottle;
- business card holder not transparent