The Mountain Light 45L Travel Backpack Review

The world’s first fast and light mountain pack for photographers.

The Strohl Mountain Light is the first ultralight outdoor camera bag. Designed by Alex Strohl, it eliminates the need to choose between a mountain pack and a camera bag. With this bag, you get both.

From day hikes to overnights, this bag is designed to be lightweight and nimble. With rugged custom materials, taped seams, thoughtful external storage, and modular elements, it’s weatherproof and adaptable to any type of mission you can think of. Quick Back panel access and a compact camera unit allow easy camera carry and fast capture. We also prioritized space for noncamera gear so you can bring what you need for long days in the mountains. Did we mention it’s the lightest camera backpack we’ve ever seen? Free yourself from clunky camera bags of the past, and welcome to Mountain Light by Alex Strohl.

This bag perfectly balances camera gear (1 camera body, 2 lenses, batteries, and memory cards) and outdoor gear necessary for overnight missions in all weather (down jacket, shell, tent, sleeping bag, pad, food, and water). Most camera bags take an 80/20 approach to gear, leaving 80% of space for camera gear and 20% for ‘the rest’. However, for this bag — we’re switching it up. Strohl packs fast and light for his overnight missions, needing only a handful of space for his camera and camera accessories. Instead of encouraging a stuffed bag with tons of extra bells and whistles, we wanted to slim down to a minimalistic approach by uplifting the customer to travel with 80% overnight gear and only 20% camera gear. Adaptable to any type of mission you can think of, this pack allows you to bear down to the essentials without feeling the burden of extra weight.

Sounds silly, but we wanted to make a bag that looks good according to sophisticated mountain standards: simple lines, wider at the base to hug the shape of the back, simple, clean, not bulky, resistant, waterproof, and self sufficient. After using this bad boy throughout the soft, clean backdrops of the Sonoran desert, the colors stand bright against any imaginable landscape. It’s sleek and clean looking, not bulky or messy. We wanted to create a bag that feels good but aligns with our design ethos.

Did we mention this thing is totally weatherproof? After our hike, we placed one of the bags full of stuffed materials on top of a chair in our Air BnB’s backyard while Joshua sprayed a hose on it with full force. While the outside mesh pocket gets wet, the rest of the bag’s materials wickered away all water droplets. For big days in the mountains with unpredictable weather. This bag is as rugged as they come for how sexy it looks and feels.

Key Features

• 1kg, this is the lightest 45L camera bag.
• Ultralight, waterproof Cordura ripstop fabric.
• Taped seams for rugged protection
• Back panel zipper access with crushproof, removable camera insert
• Ergonomic shoulder straps and waist belt for comfortable carry
• Low-fuss top closure works with and without brain
• Stretch shoulder pockets for water bottles, phones, and snacks
• Large outer stretch pockets for quick stashing of extra gear
• Molded back panel for ventilated comfort
• Removable Internal frame for better load carry
• Camera clip attachment points on waist belt and shoulder straps
• Attachment loops for ice axe/trekking poles
• Side straps for tripod, tent poles, and other long items
• Expandable drawstring top closure adds 10L of storage
• Removable waist belt pocket

Which Size Should You Get?

I'm not sure if you should get the Medium or the Large. Ultimately, the right bag is the one that fits your body and, more specifically, your torso. If you don’t know how to measure your torso length, read our tips below.

How To Measure:

1. Grab some measuring tape or a piece of string and a ruler! Tilt your head forward and locate the highest bony bump at the base of your neck. This is your C7 vertebra — the top of your torso length.
2. Tilt your head back up and place your hands on each side of your body to find the top of your hip bones— this center point along your spine is the iliac center and the bottom of your torso length.
3. Grab a friend and measure the distance to find your torso length! You'll want the large if it is over 18”. If it falls between 17 and 18.5”, get the Medium. And if it’s under 17”, know that we see you! We hope to introduce a Small size in the future.

Camera Loaders

Most camera bags that hit the market are full of features added ‘just in case’ that seldom see use from the simplicity oriented photographers. This results in bags weighing more than needed and not looking as clean as possible. Camera loaders are often too bulky for mountain use; we teamed up with Alex Strohl to design something better. Simplified down to the essentials, the Mountain Light Camera Loader is built with ultralight, rugged, waterproof Cordura, and padded just enough to protect your camera gear. With a quick access zipper top lid, it can be mounted in various ways, from hip belt, shoulder strap, to chest rig. Sized to fit the latest mirrorless setups, it even has an included 1/4-20” thread mount so you can attach it to your bag using a quick-release camera clip. If you’re looking for a lighter, more low-profile camera loader, look no further.

Key Features

• Waterproof, ultralight Cordura™ ripstop fabric for weatherproof protection
• Low profile padding with soft inner material to protect your gear
• 1/4-20” thread plate included for use with camera clip attachments
• Slide through panel for hip belt attachment
• Quick access zipper top lid opening
• Under lid quick zipper pocket for small items
• Flat packable when empty
• 4 corner attach points for mounting as a chest rig
• Adjustable Internal divider for under-camera storage

What It Carries

• Fits up to 5D size camera body with 70-200 lens
• Great for smaller mirrorless rigs
• Great for smaller drone setups

Camera Insert

Drop or take it in; this camera insert keeps your gear organized in the Strohl Mountain Light Pack. Created with a unique, dual-density hardshell, this EVA camera insert is lightweight and crushproof. With padded dividers, you can customize and organize your kit. And if you’re not bringing camera gear, it’s easily removable via a simple velcro attachment system. We also highly recommend leaving it in and using it to organize all your snacks and loose bits.

Key Features

• Dual Density, crush-proof molded EVA shell to protect camera gear in a fully loaded pack
• Attaches into Strohl MtnLight backpack via velcro mount system
• Included padded dividers for simple organization
• Stronger and lighter than a traditional camera insert
• Soft inner lining to protect gear