AllOutdoor Review: F-Stop AJNA 37L DuraDiamond Adventure Backpack
Patrik Orcutt 05.29.23
F-Stop Gear is a camera bag company that has been around since 2005. Initially, the company’s goal was to combine camera bags and performance backpacks into one, creating a bag to fill this void in the market at the time. Fast-forward 18 years and in the photography community they are a brand synonymous with quality and cutting-edge designs. When I was living and working in Europe I did a lot of traveling and hated to pay for extra checked baggage because its very expensive across the pond. I needed a bag that could function as a travel bag and just as well as a camera bag on the same outings. I had already been using the Tilopa from F-Stop at that time and loved it, but wanted something a bit smaller as many airlines would not let me use it as a carry-on given its size. I reached out to F-Stop and they sent me out at the time, the brand new F-Stop AJNA 37L DuraDiamond Adventure Backpack.
The AJNA was provided by F-Stop for this review and while I am allowed to keep the product indefinitely, this will not change my opinion on this product or any of F-Stops current or future offerings. I have been using the AJNA for the last 24 months on many weekend and extended trips around Europe and America. It has been used for Rucking, Travel, Hiking, and Photography during this time.
Stats – F-Stop AJNA 37L DuraDiamond Adventure Backpack
- Height: 60.6 cm | 23.8″
- Width: 32.7 cm | 12.8″
- Depth: 25.8 cm | 10.1″
- Weight: 1.47 kg | 3.2 Lb (empty)
- Torso Length: 36.5 cm | 14.4″
- 37-Liter Capacity
- DuraDiamond™ Material is proprietary to F-Stop Gear
- BLOOM™ Foam (algae-based) in Shoulder Straps and Hip Belt
- Combination T6 Aluminum and Plastic Hardware
- Upgraded Weather-Resistant Zippers
- MSRP $440
Quality and Comfort – F-Stop AJNA 37L DuraDiamond Adventure Backpack
Camera bags tend to get very heavy very fast due to the weight of the equipment you’re carrying. What are the things I love about F-Stop bags, to include the AJNA is that comfort is a priority. My old Tilopa pack from F-Stop was one of the most comfortable camera bags I had ever owned and I like to think of the AJNA as kind of a spiritual successor to the older Tilopa pack. Once the bag is loaded and fitted to your body it literally feels like you’re carrying half the weight that you really are. When you’re carrying between 35 and 40 pounds of gear, clothes, and candy bars, this makes a tremendous difference.
The shoulder straps and hip belt have a foam that I’ve never heard of before. The foam is called “Bloom” and it is an algae-based one that is an environmentally-conscious, high-performance replacement for traditional petroleum-based products including foam. Something to note about F-Stop is that they are a very environmentally-conscious company. They certainly go out of their way to use more sustainable materials whenever possible. With that being said, the shoulder straps and hip belts are very comfortable and have a much more lower profile work to them, in comparison to the Tilopa.
The shoulder straps are fully adjustable and the back panel is well-padded. The external material of the bag is F-Stop’s proprietary, ripstop nylon that they call DuraDiamond™. DuraDiamond™ is both lighter, and tougher than ripstop or nylon so it’s a pretty impressive material. It’s also highly water resistant. The zippers on this pack are fantastic and come from YKK. One of the things that impressed me the most about this pack was the warranty that F-Stop puts behind it. They have a 20-year Limited Customer Warranty so obviously they think this pack is going to last. This warranty does not cover neglect or inappropriate care. I love it when a company is willing to stand behind their products like this, it really shows how much they care about their products.
Organization – F-Stop AJNA 37L DuraDiamond Adventure Backpack
Most F-Stops bags are built around their ICU system with ICU being short for the Internal Camera Unit. Like the name suggests this is a place for all your valuable camera goodies to go. The ICU is also fully customizable with hook and loop dividers giving the user the ability to tailor the unit to their specific needs. F-Stop is far from the first company to use a system like this, but in my opinion, they have nearly perfected it with a few smart ideas. Unlike many similar systems, the ICU can be Velcroed into the bag’s aluminum frame. This allows the ICU to be locked in tight and essentially become a part of the bag’s internal structure.
The reason I like this feature so much is that you don’t have a big heavy cube moving around in your pack while you’re walking. Keeping that weight secure and mostly static makes it much easier on your back when you are really putting on the miles. Using Velcro to attach the ICU’s also means there’s nothing stopping the user from taking the whole unit out and swapping it for something else. The ICU that I was given by F-Stop was their large variant, but they sell different sized ICUs to fit different needs. There is also nothing stopping you from removing the ICU system altogether with the aforementioned aluminum frame helping the bag keep its shape.
This amount of modularity allows this pack to be useful in so many different situations. If you were going on a big photo shoot and needed to bring all your gear in one bag, use the XL ICU. Imagine you were planning an overnight camping trip and needed to bring a sleeping bag or food and camera gear was a secondary concern to you. You could simply slide into the medium ICU so you have more space for other goods. I have even taken out the ICU altogether and just used the entire main compartment to house all my clothing for a flight.
Externally, the back of the bag has a large stash pocket for extra items. I found this to be a good place to store, jackets or rain layers inside of that pocket. There is another zippered pocket for smaller items. On both sides of the bag, there are generously large, zippered pockets that are designed to hold 32-ounce Nalgene bottles. There’s also a mesh lining inside of these pockets for retaining other items.
The sides of the bag have small anchor points, where you can attach buckled straps for carrying tripods and other large bulky items. I like that they decided to make the straps an optional add-on and if you don’t want to have them on the bag, you don’t have to have them. This gives the bag a much cleaner look when we’re not using the straps. The top of the pack has a nice admin pocket and inside the admin pocket, you have a small metal clasp for attaching keys. There are also two-segmented, zippered pockets that are fleece lined, and are designed to hold filters or sunglasses.
Inside of the main compartment, there is a small zippered mesh pocket that is a good size for things like granola bars, or smaller snack items. Behind the ICU system, there is a sleeve to store a large laptop. This weave is not padded, but you really don’t need to have padding in this compartment because it’s quite protected already. As mentioned before the ICU unit is accessible via the zippered back panel. I used to think this was a silly feature on backpacks, but I’ve come to love it on this particular bag it gives you instant access to everything inside your bag.
The back of the back panel has a number of pockets, 4 of which have magnetic closures. There are three very small pockets that are good for holding SD cards, one medium-sized zippered, see-through pocket, and one padded medium-sized magnetic pocket. I found these to also be a great place to store either batteries or additional filters.
Likes
- Fully Modular Design
- Constructed from top-tier materials
- 20 Year Limited Warranty
- Incredibly Comfortable
Dislikes
- Very expensive
- Only available in a few colors
- Non-removable hip belt
Wrap Up – F-Stop AJNA 37L DuraDiamond Adventure Backpack
F-Stop has not just designed a fantastic camera bag here, they have designed an incredible, travel backpack. Well, I do wish you could remove the hip bell completely. There’s really nothing else I can complain about on this bag. It’s incredibly modular with the ICU unit being able to be removed. This means that you can take this back from being a photo-oriented backpack to instantly becoming a travel, backpack or whatever you need it to be. At this point, I have taken this bag to probably close to a dozen countries and it shows a little signs of wear. This is one bag that I will never sell because whenever I need a good travel backpack, this is the one I always reach for above all else. If you’re a traveling photographer, and you’re on the fence about picking up this backpack, don’t be, snag one as soon as you can and you’ll thank me later.
