A new carry on size, and a sling light enough to forget you are wearing it.
Shimoda refreshed its Action X backpacks at the start of the month and added a sling to the range. The headline for anyone who flies is the new size.
The X35 exists because of overhead lockers
The Action X v3 now runs in five sizes, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 litres, and the 35 is the new one. It stands 50.8cm tall, which is built to carry on rather than to be argued about at the gate, and it still swallows a long telephoto.
Every size gets another 7 litres of roll top expansion when you need it. Laptop sleeves take up to 14 inches on the X25 and up to 16 inches on everything above it. Shimoda has changed how the pack opens and made the harness adjustable for height with swappable straps, which matters more than it sounds if you are not the shape the average camera bag is designed around.
The Insider Sling
The other new piece is a sling at $129.95 and under 500 grams. It takes a body without a grip plus two mid range zooms, or a body with a 70 to 200 or a 100 to 400 attached.
Under 500 grams is the number to pay attention to. A sling you resent carrying stays at home, and the whole argument for a sling is that it goes with you on the days a backpack feels like too much commitment.
What it costs
Backpack pricing starts around $300, with Shimoda listing the X40 at $359.95 and the X50 at $369.95. In the UK the range runs roughly £305 to £370 for the bag alone, and £380 to £465 once you add one of the starter or pro kits with the core unit inserts. The sling is $129.95.
Prices across the listings we checked did not fully agree, so confirm the current figure before ordering.
Do you need it
Probably not, and that is fine. A 35 litre pack is for people carrying long lenses into places with weather, and most black and white work does not need anything like it.
The sling is the one to look at twice, because it answers a question a lot of us actually have, which is what to carry on the walk where you only really want one body, one lens and nothing you will not use.