Benro Reebox II 150N professional drone bag review
Possible the best DJI Mavic pro bag available.
Trying to find the perfect camera bag is nearly an impossible task, most photographers own many many many camera bags and none of them work perfectly for us. Now try and add a drone into the mix and the situation becomes much worse. Just over a year ago, I bought my first drone to add to my work gear but it soon becomes obvious that carrying the drone around with me was not going to be easy.
I tried carrying my drones in these boxes in my normal camera bag but they are just too bulky and take up too much space.
The DJI Mavic Pro is not a big drone but it is still bulky and trying to fit the drone and a camera into my normal camera bag become a huge pain in the ass. I was consistently having to make compromises because I just did not have enough space in any of my bags to carry the drone with a camera and a lens.
This is the gear I want to take out when I go exploring.
After doing a lot of research and looking at hundreds of bags on the internet, I came across the Benro Reebox II 150N professional drone bag, and I decided to give this bag a shot. I usually hate backpacks, they make most people look like a Ninja Turtle, but this bag looked a little smaller so it was with great trepidation that I placed my order and waiting for it to arrive.
Some of my bags that I consistently use for work and play. My bags work hard, just like my gear.
My first impression of the bag was, “It’s so small”, there is no way I am going to fit all my gear in there. Oh boy, was I wrong. This bag is a black hole when it comes to gear and I could fit a ton of gear into it.
Comparing the Benro to the Lowpro bag the I own and hate.
So let’s take a detailed look at this bag and you will see why I love this bag so much.
The shoulder straps and thick and well padded so the bag is comfortable on your shoulders. The back section of the back is also padded so you will not feel any gear digging into your back,
The bag is well constructed and has many clever design details, I especially like the tripod or water bottle pocket on the side of the bag. The pocket is constructed from a plastic based material and can stretch to accommodate larger objects.
The other side of the bag has the quick access zipper to get to your camera and s much smaller flap to store something. I usually keep my bike’s keys here when I am out and exploring with the bag.
The construction of this bag is extremely good. The bag is made out of Nylon and it is extremely durable and watertight. I have used the bag in mud and in snow storms and the inside of the bag stayed perfectly dry, even when it laid down in the snow while I flew my drone. Even if the bag does get a little dirty because it is made out of Nylon, it cleans very easily, so maintains with this bag is very easy and hassle-free.
My bag is a little dirty, I have been flying around the countryside recently and the only place for my bag has been the dirty fields of farmers. But the bag does clean easily, just a damp cloth and all your troubles are gone.
The bag can pack a lot of gear for such a small bag, but some compartments are bigger than others. The main compartment is the back compartment and it is designed to keep your DJI Mavic Pro, a controller, a digital camera and a lens. The best part of the compartment is that you need to take the bag off to access the drone so it is perfectly safe from thieves while you are wearing the bag. There is a quick access panel to the side of the bag to access your digital camera but the rest of your gear is safe. This is such a good design. While walking around, you only need access to your camera, if you want to fly, then you will take off your bag and set up the drone anyway, so there is no need for quick access to the drone and it keeps the drone safe from thieves.
The main compartment for the drone, to access this section, you have to take the backpack off. The main compartment also has a small sleeve to store some stuff. I usually keep my filters in there.
The quick access panel on this bag is so useful. I can get to my camera quickly but its location means it is difficult for a thief to access. Notice how only the camera is available in this section.
Small little-zipped pocket on the quick access panel. Really useful for keeping small objects like keys or memory cards. I usually keep my keys in here so that they are away from my gear and cannot accidentally scratch my lens or cameras.
You can lock the zips if you are traveling with the bag and you are worried someone might snoop in your bag while you are sleeping.
The top part of the back compartment is a big empty compartment which I usually keep a film camera, some lens and my wallet in it. It is fairly big and can hold a lot of smaller items. This is also protected from thieves as they need to take the bag off to gain access to it as well.
This section of the bag usually carries my film gear, so I usually have my Nikon F2 with a 50mm lens in there, and two prime lenses. Usually, I can squeeze my wallet into there as well.
The front of the bag has two front flaps. The first is a large flap that is unfortunately very slim. I usually keep my spare drone batteries and my DJI Gimbal in there. It is a deep pocket but it is very narrow so nothing very thick can go in.
This is a very deep pocket but it is very slim. I keep my DJI Mavic pro batteries in here and my DJI Gimbal. I guess you could fit an Ipad in here if you wanted, but I would never do that as it could be easily accessed by thieves.
The second front flap is much shallower but it will allow thicker objects into it. I usually carry my business cards, memory cards, and filters in here.
I seldom carry much in this front section of the bag, just some film and business cards. I could get more into it, but I have no need.
So how to wrap up a review of a bag like this, I don’t like backpacks, I hate looking like a ninja turtle but this bag fits my needs perfectly. The bag well constructed, light, water resistant, and fairly pickpocket resistant. It is comfortable to carry and easy to maintain. So if you have a DJI Mavic Pro, then you really should consider this bag. It is by far the best drone bag that I have ever seen and fairly useful as a camera bag, even if you don’t own a drone.
Shaun.