I take photos and videos of biking for a living, and most of it is done by the seat of a bike. Most days I have a backpack strapped to my back, or on my bike, and 9 out of 10 times that bag is made by Shimoda Designs, especially when I’m traveling for work. That’s why I’m so thrilled about the new Shimoda Designs Women’s Camera Bags – they took everything I love about their camera bags (that I use for everything including mom life, hiking, and personal travel trips) and improved them to fit a woman better.
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Meet the Shimoda Designs Camera Backpacks
Shimoda Designs are known for their adventure camera backpacks. Only in the market for a few years, they have made their mark, and every adventure filmmaker or photographer I know of has one of their bags. Ian Miller, known for his work designing F-Stop camera bags, founded Shimoda and it has been a lot of fun following the evolution of the bags, and the Shimoda camera bag brand.
I’ve personally been using the Action X50 for 2 years as my “travel camera bag”. When I’m flying or need to live and work out of only one bag, it is this one. I carry 2 camera bodies (Sony FX3 and A74) with lenses (24-105 and 16-35) and normally a prime or two, audio gear, 14″ laptop, a ton of batteries, monitor, and more. I then pack my clothes on the top or front pockets. You can easily unzip the side pass-through pocket, grab a camera, and start capturing without having to take off the whole bag. I love that I can remove the core unit with all my camera gear allowing it to be moved to a roller bag or in tight airplanes I will pull out the core unit and my laptop to carry it on if I have to check my bag. The shoulder straps with phone and zip pockets are irreplaceable, and being able to work off the side or top of the bag saves so much time as a solo creator.
When the Explore V2 launched, I quickly picked up the Explore 25 V2, and that has become my everyday carry. I take it everywhere, even if I’m not carrying camera gear, because it is so comfortable and I swear by the shoulder straps when biking. Keeping my keys, wallet, and phone right on my shoulders without being too bulky has changed my life!
There are so many small design features that really make the Shimoda bags stand out, especially for someone looking for the ideal bag for biking and content creating, or even just having a comfortable bag for biking that has a lot of universal uses. If you’ve looked at Wandrd Prvke bags, you really should look at Shimoda!
Shimoda Designs Women’s Camera Bags
Shimoda introduced women’s shoulder straps a while ago, and while they are comfortable, they weren’t as padded as the standard shoulder straps which I needed for all-day carrying of 40-80 pounds on my back, and the shoulder pockets weren’t as functional as the original, so I didn’t use them.
Fast forward and Shimoda commits to the female creator and designs bags specifically for us in a nice, but not too girly, colorway of teal!
What makes the Shimoda Designs Women’s Bags Different?
A Women’s Harness (shoulder straps and belt) – Every women’s series pack comes equipped with our Women’s specific Tech Straps and Women’s Adjustable Belt. The straps curve away from the chest area while the dual sternum straps eliminate any awkward pressure points. The belt can be adjusted by 2.4 in (6cm) to help women with a smaller waist find a better fit around their hips.
The Teal color – a very unique color that is softer than the black, army green, and yellow of their other bags but not over the top.
I’ve personally been testing out the Action V2 X30 and it has been a joy to use, even when fully loaded the bag is super comfortable but the straps don’t pinch my chest or hips like general “one size fits most” bags. The pockets on the shoulder straps are improved over the original women’s tech straps, and as I mentioned I find them much more comfortable when the bag is fully loaded. I will post a full review of the bag setup soon!
Bag Sizes Available in the Shimoda Women’s Camera Bag Line
Explore 25 v2, Explore 30 v2, Action 25 v2, Action 30 v2, Action 40 v2
See the whole women’s collection here
Wrapping Up
It is amazing to see a niche camera bag company invest in a women’s collection. If you have specific questions you want to be covered in the Explore X30 v2 review please let me know in the comments below!