The Kata bag (R102) was engineered to carry a LOT of stuff, protect it, and let you haul it comfortably around. How much stuff? We took our typical "on assignment" setup of camera gear + tool case and managed to put it ALL into the R102!

That comes to 2 bodies, 4 lens (500mm, 35-105, 28mm, 75-150mm), winder, flash+mount, filters, film, tools, battery packs, and a whole lot of other misc bits. The amazing thing was the case still had room for more stuff! We didn't show the tripod carrier or the other accessories because we thought they would make more sense in the First Outing Report.

I have traveled all over with the Andiamo hard case. It has held up extremely well under some pretty tough conditions. The one thing I could not do with the hard case is take it with me on hikings. I have always brought along a standard day pack and picked the gear for that day. I think I'm going to be taking this pack with me a lot more often than the hard case from here on out.

Here is a good view of the "quick access" panel. Notice how thick the padding is in the center section! The camera is completely cradled and securely held in place, but immediately accessible.

The next segment of this series will be our First Outing Report. We'll take the bag out on assignment and let you know how well it performs on its first field test. We'll have a full "In The Wild" report for you after a few months of using this bag.

Kata is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures high quality “Carrying Systems ”. KATA's products are mainly targeted for professionals in the Video-Photo, Defense - Security, and High-Tech Industries markets.

We think their gear are perfect for the type of traveling we love to do...rugged, but relaxed.

This series of reviews will be done over the course of the next six months. The first in the series will be a look at the case itself, the second review will be our initial impressions after the first outing. The last report will be our "In the Wild" review where we'll detail our findings of how the gear hold up after a few months of use.

So check back periodically to see how things are going. We are as eager as you to see how this Kata Bag hold up to our abuses!

In this review, we are going to see if we can put all this gear into the R102!

Reviews:

1. A Look At The Bag.

2. How Much Can It Hold?

Review Summary:

Initial Impression- Excellent

Usability- Excellent

Durability- Test in progress

Price- Good