Mountainsmith are no strangers to outdoor camera gear. The company has made a line of camera bags for as long as I can remember. Read more for our review of the Borealis AT.

In my experience, there are generally two types of backpacking photographers. There are those that go backpacking and like to take some photos along the way. These people tend to want to minimize the amount of camera gear they carry and only take along the essentials. Then there are the second group of photographers. These are the people that go out to take photos and backpacking is just the way to get those shots.

For hiking, the Borealis AT will appeal mostly to those in the second group. Throughout the pack there are details that make it apparent that this is first and foremost a camera bag. The entire bottom half of the bag is dedicated to camera equipment. This will comfortably hold a standard size SLR, 3 lenses, a flash, and a couple small accessories. The hip belt has filter and memory card slots so you can easily access any accessories you need. Instead of the usual ice axe loops, there is a very nice tripod holder on the outside of the pack.

At the same time, the usual hiking touches are included. The side pockets will hold a pair of trekking poles nicely. There’s a rain cover included for those not so dry days. A convenient fleece lined sunglass pocket on the outside of the pack has you covered for bright days. There is plenty of padding on the shoulder straps and the adjustable sternum strap helps to keep things in place. For more urban adventures, a laptop sleeve is also built into the bag. I’ve found that this will also work quite nicely to hold a water bladder, and the hose can be routed through the shoulder strap.

At 1282 cubic inches, this is not a multi-day pack. It simply doesn’t have enough room to suit this purpose. It is however a fantastic option for longer day hikes that you’d like to bring a decent amount of camera gear along. I loaded up the Borealis AT with about 25 pounds of gear and found the bag to be well balanced on a 5 mile hike in northern Washington.

This bag isn’t for everyone however. Due to the placement of the camera section in the bag, you must take it off to access any of your equipment. If this doesn’t fit your shooting style, it may be a problem. You can also pair this bag with a holster style bag and then be able to bring along quite a few more lenses and a tripod. At $179 MSRP, the Borealis AT isn’t cheap. It’s roughly the same price as a full size backpack. However, this is a well constructed bag that I would trust to keep my camera equipment safe. In my mind, spending an extra $50 on a backpack that will protect a $1000 lens in a fall is money well spent.