Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II Review: Is It Still Worth Buying?
Camera bags. Most of us need one and most of us have at least two of them - they’re probably the most frequently replaced pieces of kit that I have. Not because the ones I have are no good, but because there always seems to be a need for something different. Sometimes you want to travel light (sometimes you have to travel light), sometimes you want a mix of camera gear and other stuff and sometimes it’s a kitchen sink situation and you need all of it, because you simply don’t know what you’re going to run into at the other end and you need to have catered for everything.
TL;DR: The Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II is a huge, comfortable and incredibly flexible camera backpack that can carry an enormous amount of gear. It is discontinued now, but if you can find a clean used example at a sensible price, it is still an excellent option for photographers who regularly need to carry multiple bodies, lenses, a drone and a laptop. Its biggest drawbacks are its size, the weight once fully loaded and the limited options for carrying a large tripod.
But can you buy a good, useful camera bag in decent condition second hand? I am going to say yes, absolutely you can! I have proved that already with this purchase and I will explain why in this review.
I got lucky and one just fell into my path, but if you’re prepared to do even just five minutes of research, then you too will be able to grab a bargain! I paid £90 and got a lot of bag for my money.
I now have four bags. Fairly recently, I added the Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II (catchy isn’t it) to my arsenal. This is an old bag that Lowepro stopped making five years ago and has since ‘replaced’ with the Trekker series, which does essentially the same thing but in a different package.
Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II
I secured a bargain on this bag and quickly realised that buying a second hand camera bag was absolutely worth it if you find the right one for you.
Why did I do this? Well, I hadn't planned to. I was walking through Kendal (a town just outside the Lake District National Park, for those of you who don’t know the area) and I saw it in the window of a charity shop. A quick check showed they were asking £90 for it, and after a thorough inspection, this thing turned out to be in what looks like new, hardly used condition - the straps were all still folded and the waterproof cover looks like it has never been out of its sleeve. It hasn’t been used in anger, in any case.
This is a serious amount of bag for the money, and because it’s Lowepro, you know you are getting a quality product.
The bags I now have are as follows:
Lowepro Tahoe 150 (my first ever camera bag, and now my choice for travelling light)
Lowepro Fastpack BP AW III Pro (for carrying camera gear and other stuff, such as food, a jacket etc., in two compartments)
Lowepro ProTactic 350 AW II (easy access, lots of gear and longer distances, as it has hip straps)
Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II (my kitchen sink bag)
A lot of photographers want bags that do as much of this in one package as possible, but I don’t mind moving stuff between bags. I can keep the basics (lens cloths, batteries etc.) in each bag and it’s just a case of moving cameras, lenses, laptop etc. between them.
I have linked all of them below, but have replaced the Pro Runner with the Pro Trekker, which I think is a seriously good replacement line for the bag we are talking about.
Why Buy a Camera Bag That Has Been Discontinued?
This was largely about the bargain price, the condition and what I need it for. Most of my shoots are either out on locations that I have walked to, or ones where I have parked in a car park or outside a client’s premises/studio and don’t have far to go.
All of the Pockets!
You can fit just about everything you need or can think of into the pouches on the Pro Runner. I have just quickly thrown some stuff in here to grab this image, but I didn’t need to think about it; I knew it was all going to fit!
This bag can hold a lot of gear. It does mean that it has the potential to be really heavy, but the hip straps help to distribute the weight well, though I won’t be walking fully loaded up the side of any mountains. The big draw is that it holds a lot of kit, it’s comfortable and it’s really sturdy - I have no qualms about loading this into the boot or chucking it on the back seat of the car. It, and my gear, are going to survive.
As you would expect from Lowepro, the inside is also well padded and the compartment section is fully customisable. It will hold two DSLRs and a plethora of lenses. If you don’t want a second DSLR in there, then your drone and controller will fit. If you’re a wildlife shooter, then longer lenses are going to fit in here.
I carry a gear pouch with me in my other bags, but the Pro Runner has its own gear pouch which sits at the bottom end of the bag. I can load this and forget about it.
It holds up to a 13” laptop, which isn’t going to fit my huge MacBook Pro, but this is something that doesn’t worry me as I don’t carry it out in the field with me. This bag holds so much that I can carry my laptop separately and it’s not going to cause me any issues.
Are there newer bags available? Yes. Of course there are, but when this bag does what I need it to do, does it well and is available at the price I found it at, it wasn’t worth, in my case, spending the extra money on buying the latest bag. I don’t need it to have wheels or a handle to drag it with. I need it to be hard-wearing, flexible, lightweight and comfortable - it does all of those things and it does them well.
If you’re buying a second-hand bag, here are some things I would check when you’re inspecting it:
Zips
Shoulder straps and stitching
Internal dividers
Rain cover
Buckles
Padding
Signs that the base has been repeatedly put down on wet ground
If you’re seeing things that give you cause for concern when you’re checking these, then you need to ask yourself: “Can I live with this?”, “Does it compromise the overall integrity of the bag?” and “Is this something that can be easily or cheaply repaired?”. If you’re uneasy about any of these things, then you can always walk away, though I know this isn’t easy when there’s a bargain staring you in the face.
Can You Still Buy the Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II
Yes - I did and I wasn’t even looking! There are plenty of these bags knocking around on eBay, Marketplace, MPB, Wex etc., and I seriously think it’s a bag worth considering. You are going to get a lot for your money. If you’re looking for the equivalent, more recent edition of this bag, then I would be giving serious consideration to the Trekker line of bags that Lowepro are currently producing.
How Does the Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II Perform?
In a word, well, two actually: very well.
Tons of Space!
The pouches and compartments in the Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II hold just everything you could need on a shoot.
I have been using it for a while now and haven’t run into any issues. The straps are the most padded I have come across on any camera bag in Lowepro’s offering, which means it’s really comfortable to wear. It has hip straps and a chest strap, which are really good for distributing the weight and saving your back.
The front of the bag has two long pouches, which can be used for things like your keys, phone etc. These are probably the two weakest pouches on the whole bag in terms of their flexibility of use - they are very long and narrow.
The whole front of the bag unzips and folds down, and in here you will find the laptop sleeve, space for a tablet (great if you’re editing on the go or need a tablet for clients to view images in Capture One) and a zippable mesh pouch, which is fab for sticking odds and ends in. There is also a Velcro pouch on the back of the front cover, which is great for holding your laptop/tablet chargers.
The main compartment of the bag is huge. I have it in its default configuration, but all of the dividers are removable to allow you to get it just how you want it. Like I mentioned earlier, this will easily hold two DSLR/mirrorless bodies + lenses, or you could swap out a camera for a drone, or carry two cameras, a drone and fewer lenses - it’s that flexible.
The tech pouch is great and I have filled it with things like spare cables, chargers, memory cards and a camera multitool. It’s fully zippable and pulls out of the bag completely, so if you don’t have a need for it, you don’t have to take it. Conversely, it does mean that you can just grab this when you’re out shooting and bring it closer to you if you’re using it for something like ND/polarising filters.
Fully Loaded
The Lowepro Pro Runner holds just about everything you need. I have opted for my tech bag in the “pocket” on the left hand size, but this would comfortable hold a small drone, or a larger one if you reconfigured.
Inside the flap you’ve got three more zipped pouches, with a plastic cover allowing you to see what’s inside, and a couple of spots to store memory cards/CF cards etc.
When I have this fully loaded out, I can fit in a DSLR with a 70-200 attached, a drone + controller, an 85mm prime, a 24-105mm, 50mm prime, 10-18mm super-wide, 16-35mm and a 100mm macro. All of this fits with real ease, though in spite of the bag’s light weight, as you can imagine, it’s quite heavy!
On the left-hand side of the outside of the bag, there’s a pouch and some webbing/clasps that will accommodate a modestly sized tripod, and the right-hand side has a briefcase handle and some space to store/transport smaller accessories.
If you’re after transporting a big tripod, like the Benro Mach 3, then you might want to think about whether you want to carry this in your hand or in another bag, as attaching it to the bag is a non-starter. Some people might see this as a drawback, so it’s worth bearing in mind.
The one thing I haven’t tested is the waterproofing - we simply haven’t had the weather and I wasn't about to take it into the garden and soak it with a hosepipe! The majority of the waterproofing with this bag comes from the waterproof cover, which is secreted in a pouch at the bottom of the bag. It’s made of the same stuff as all of the other waterproof Lowepro covers, which all work really well, and I have no reason to doubt that this one will be any different.
This is a comfortable, lightweight bag with a flexible layout which lends itself to carrying an awful lot of gear with you!
Who is this bag for?
It’s not for everyone. It’s going to be ideal for commercial shooters who need to transport large amounts of kit from car to location, it’s going to suit wildlife photographers who are moving from the car to a hide and staying there, or the person who doesn’t know what they are going to need to be able to execute a shoot.
It’s not for someone who wants to have a leisurely afternoon walking around the Lake District shooting for pleasure with one body and a couple of lenses.
Best for
Commercial photographers, wildlife photographers and anyone who needs to transport a large amount of equipment.
Not ideal for
Lightweight travel, long hikes or photographers carrying one body and a couple of lenses.
Would I buy it again?
At £90 and in this condition, absolutely. I wouldn't necessarily go hunting for one at any price, but if another clean example appeared for similar money, I wouldn't hesitate
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Huge amount of storage space | Very easy to make it extremely heavy when fully loaded |
| Highly flexible internal layout with removable dividers | Too large for photographers who only carry a small amount of kit |
| Comfortable, well-padded shoulder straps | Long, narrow front pockets are fairly limited in their usefulness |
| Hip belt and chest strap help distribute the weight | Not ideal for carrying a large tripod such as the Benro Mach 3 |
| Can comfortably carry multiple camera bodies, lenses and a drone | Discontinued, so you will need to buy used if you specifically want this model |
| Dedicated laptop and tablet storage | Its size makes it less suitable for travelling light |
| Removable tech pouch is genuinely useful | Waterproofing relies heavily on the separate rain cover |
| Plenty of additional zipped storage for accessories, cables and memory cards | A fully loaded bag may be uncomfortable for very long walks despite the excellent straps |
| Built-in tripod attachment for smaller tripods | Current replacement models may be easier to find with a warranty |
| Integrated Lowepro AW waterproof cover | |
| Excellent build quality | |
| Very good value if you can find a clean used example | |
| Surprisingly lightweight considering its capacity | |
| Excellent choice when you need to carry a large and varied amount of equipment |
The Technical Detail/Specifications
Lowepro Pro Runner BP 450 AW II Specifications
*Airline cabin baggage restrictions vary. Always check your airline's current size and weight limits before travelling.
Final Thoughts
So, can you buy a genuinely good camera bag second hand? Absolutely. In my case, £90 bought me a bag that looks barely used, is incredibly well made and carries more gear than I am likely to need on most shoots.
The Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW II is not going to be the right bag for everyone. It is big, it can become very heavy once you start filling all of that space and I certainly wouldn't choose it for a relaxed afternoon walking around the Lake District with a couple of lenses. That isn't really what it was designed for.
Where it does make sense is when you need to transport a lot of equipment safely and comfortably. For commercial work, wildlife photography, travelling between locations or those shoots where you simply don't know what you are going to need until you get there, it is an incredibly useful bit of kit.
Would I have paid significantly more for the latest equivalent? Probably not, because this does exactly what I need it to do. If you can find a Pro Runner 450 AW II in good condition at the right price, I think it is still very much worth considering. If you would rather buy new, then Lowepro's current Pro Trekker range would be the obvious place to start looking.
For me, though, this was one of those occasions where buying older, used equipment made far more sense than buying the latest version. I got a serious amount of camera bag for £90, and I can't really argue with that.
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