Rotation 360 Review part 2

This is part two of our review. In Part One [link] we looked at first impressions out of the box. Here we look at how it works in practice.

Click “FULLSTORY” to see the review in full

Utilising the Space:
Like any case, you really do need to investigate how best your equipment is going to fit in it and in the case of the 360 Rotation that’s even more true. Reason being that you want to plan what kit is going to be in the always accessible Rotation pouch, and what is going to be stored round the back and only accessed when you take the bag off and set it down.

Both storage sections provide more soft dividers than you’ll even need. In the 360 pouch they help you divide both vertical and horizontal space, so you can use the space as efficiently as possible. The dividers are sturdy and provide good padding, and of course secure in place with the obligatory Velcro strips.

360 Pouch:
The 360 pouch will hold a variety of small items. It will comfortably take spare a Nikon D2 body, or a Canon 350D with its 18-55 zoom, plus numerous memory cards, filters, possibly even a small flash unit.
Everyone is going to work differently. We would like to have been able to tuck a D2, with its 17-55 f2.8 lens in place, in the pouch but the space was a bit too tight for that.

Back Storage:
The back section can take a spare body, a hard drive storage device, like Epson P5000, and a couple of medium sized lenses. We doubt anyone would want to carry medium format kit in a case like this and it wouldn’t be practical anyway.

Other features:
There’s an additional mini pouch on the belt. This could also be a good place to store full memory cards.
In various places on the body of the case and the belt there are anchor points to carry numerous accessory holders and cases. For instance, we would like to have carried a scope along with out camera kit and this could be accommodated with a long lens accessory case… the scope might have gone in the back section but would have made very inefficient use of the space.
The zips on the main rear section and the 360 pouch both have lugs which will allow you to attach a padlock.
There’s also a document pouch with multiple sections, which can be very handy when having to get your press pass or paper money out in a hurry.

Camera anchors:
With standard equipment getting heavier and heavier these days photographers are complaining neck and shoulder injuries. The 360 Rotation goes some way to address this. A set of camera straps are provided with the case. These replace your existing straps. Instead of wearing them around your neck they attach to the much sturdier shoulder straps at chest height with G clips, like on your dog lead, so they quickly attach and detach as needed. In case you want to use them in traditional mode they are also full neck straps, however they are quite narrow, by today’s broad strap standard, so you may not want to do that for too long.

A camera can be attached to each shoulder strap, so that for instance if you were in a hide or other static position you could have both cameras with different lenses at the ready. I doubt you want to walk around with two cameras dangling from your chest though, well at least not too far. If you are carrying just the one camera in the way, you can employ the small chest strap, which bridges the two shoulder straps, to keep the camera tight against your chest whilst walking around an uneven terrain.

When not in use the G clips are stored in little socks on the straps. These socks can also be used to carry items like a mobile phone.

Having heard a number of photographers relate stories of serious medical problems caused by camera neck straps, we are really pleased to see Think Tank give us this very different way of taking the strain from camera weight.

Wearing the back pack:
Getting the bag on your back is no problem. The strap adjustments are generous enough for a person with even the fullest figure, and there are places to tuck any excess strap left over.
Plenty of attention has be paid to where the bag is in contact with your back. There is substantial padding at the key pressure points and these in turn create really good gaps for plentiful airflow, so you should never even up with a sweaty back.

As well as sitting on your shoulders, the bag also needs to be secured around your waist. The belt not only keeps the back pack from bouncing around but is also key to the operation of the 360 pouch.
The clip that fastens the belt is positioned level with your right hip. Now maybe I’m just getting old and inflexible but this was a tad too far round for me to use comfortably. Can I add that I have a fairly modest waistline, but if I didn’t I think I’d have an even harder time. I’d have preferred it if the buckle was two inches/ 5 centimetres or so further to the front.

360 pouch in operation:
When you put the full back pack on the 360 pouch sits in its housing below the back section. Once you have buckled yourself up you can release its lock and start using it.

At first this seems like magic, but is achieved in quite a natty and simple way, it’s the execution and attention to detail which actually enables this simplicity to work. To unlock and lock the 360 pouch you pull sharply at a grey tab on the side of the belt. Whilst the pouch is in its housing two pairs of cushioned Velcro strips press against one another, when the lock is de-activated, by pulling the grey strap, a plastic strip slides between the Velcro “slicing” the two pairs apart. Thus released, you can pull on either of two grab handles to slide the 360 pouch around to the front and start using it. When you rotate the pouch the whole belt slips around your waist too. Probably due to the materials used, this works without much friction and is quite smooth.

One of the nice things is that you can use the 360 pouch independently of the whole back pack It also has its own rain hood, nattily stored in its own custom pocket. Though chances are that you would use it by itself just temporarily, for instance when moving a few meters away from an established position when you didn’t need to drag the whole back pack with you.

Tripod carrying:
Here the 360 Rotation provides good options for carrying a range of medium sized tripods. A net pocket near the bottom of the pack takes the feet. A Velcro strip also releases an extension to make this pocket lower if your tripod is slightly longer. To secure the top of the tripod you unzip a custom pocket at the top of the pack to reveal a sewn in strap which just for this purpose. In practice this is a really great way to carry your tripod.

Conclusions:
The materials and construction are top class. It’s a substantial bit of kit and should provide years of hard use.
Think Tank are going to look at one small area of concern, which is the string tags on the smaller zips. These are prone to becoming untied, but we are pleased to say production will be changed so this doesn’t happen.

The back pack is stuffed with features and custom pockets to enable many of these features. Very little is left to chance. But therein lies its own problem. Although it comes with a multi-page picture guide what we really wanted was a clearly labeled diagram of what and where all the features are.

Do the compartments fit the needs of today’s photographer? Well of course everyone’s needs are slightly different. You may indeed choose to make some changes to your regular routine just to take advantage of the unique 360 rotation pouch facility. Some testers have said they’d use the space to store a wider range of stuff than camera kit alone, like light-weight waterproofs. In our view space for such items is limited.
Looking at the way the compartments are presented to you would make you think of all the lenses, filters and rolls of film that you used to carry in the past. Certainly Think Tank have provided everything you’d need to cope with that scenario, but of course there’s no need to use it this way. Today’s photographer tends to work with a more restricted range of lenses, preferring high quality zooms rather than fixed focal primes. Part of the reason for this is the really great optics that modern zooms are built with, the other being the desire not to detach the lens from the body thus not allowing any dust or other alien particles to be attracted onto the sensor. If you employ this strategy then your high quality, large aperture lenses are going to be pretty bulky… and if you want to leave them coupled to your camera body they are going to take up quite a bit of space. We have to say that carrying a back pack is a far better solution than a bag slung over one shoulder and this should be a big consideration in your choice.

Think Tank have given us an innovative design which lets you carry quite a lot of weight on your back in comfort, takes the strain away from your neck when cameras are in use, and gives you access to some key bits of equipment without having to stop and dismount the back pack.

link: Rotation 360