Mindshift Stash Master 13L Camera Cube Travel Insert REVIEW | Mac Sources

Mindshift Stash Master 13L Camera Cube Travel Insert

9.3

Travel with camera gear and know it’s well-protected.

I’ve been very fortunate to have some really nice, protective camera backpacks. But sometimes you don’t want to travel with a full camera backpack along with your bag full of personal items. This camera insert — the Stash Master 13L — is designed to be used inside other backpacks, larger cases, and duffle bags so that you can take your camera gear anywhere with any possible carrying case.

DETAILS

The Stash Master 13L is a ‘travel cube’ that is intended to store photo gear in large capacity bags. Stash Master can also be used to expand existing storage for camera gear inside the MindShift Backlight Elite 45L. The insert is padded and made with water-resistant fabric with DWR coating. It’s sized to fit pro gear including a gripped body with a 70–200mm lens attached. Inside the cube, users will find high-density velex interior and reinforced vertical dividers. They are attached via Velcro, which means they can be changed to fit custom equipment configurations. The cube features carry handles on the front and top that make lifting easy and side webbing loops to attach an optional shoulder strap (not included).

DIMENSIONS

• Interior Dimensions: 11.8" W x 11.8" H x 7.1" D (30 x 30 x 18 cm)
• Exterior Dimensions: 12.2" W x 12.2" H x 7.5" D (31 x 31 x 19 cm)
• Total Volume: 13L
• Weight: 0.9 lbs. (0.4 kg)

HOLDS

• One gripped DSLR with lenses attached up to a 70–200mm f/2.8 plus, 2–3 standard zoom lenses and a flash.
• Two ungripped DSLRs with lenses attached up to a 70–200mm f/2.8 and 1–2 standard zoom lenses.
• Two gripped mirrorless bodies with lenses attached up to a 70–200mm f/2.8 plus 3–5 additional lenses.

MATERIALS

• Exterior: For superior water resistance, all exterior fabric has a durable water-repellent coating, plus the underside of the fabric has a polyurethane coating. It also has highest-quality YKK® RC-Fuse zippers, 100D ripstop nylon, nylon webbing, 3-ply bonded nylon thread.
• Interior: 200D polyester, high-density velex, high-density closed-cell foam, PE board reinforcement, 3-ply bonded nylon thread.

IMPRESSIONS

The Stash Master is really high-quality piece of protective gear. It didn’t arrive inside any other packaging but shipped well. About a year ago, I had the opportunity to review one of the FirstLight Camera Backpacks from MindShift Gear, but it wasn’t the size that can accommodate the Stash Master. That said, a lot of the same design features are in place on the Stash Master that are on the FirstLight backpack. For example, the zipper pulls are designed the same way on both storage bags. They are very easy to operate and are a highlight of this bag brand.

Just like the FirstLight bag, the Stash Master comes with a cardboard insert that shows the different configuration possibilities users might want to select. It specifically calls out a Nikon Kit, Canon Kit, and a Sony Kit. Just because these are the options shown doesn’t mean those are the only ones that can be configured in the Stash Master. The Velcro sections are very easy to remove and replace, which is a huge benefit of this pack in my opinion.

I really like that this case is specifically meant to only hold camera gear inside its compartments. As I mentioned above, one of the possible uses of this pack is to add it to a large duffle bag. And that is the primary reason I wanted it. A couple of years ago I traveled to CES and even though I had taken a camera backpack, I found that I ended up using it for SWAG items from the show floor as well as my camera gear. With that in mind, it would have been more beneficial for me to use a good large capacity all-purpose backpack like the Mission Workshop Rhake VX Backpack along with this insert.

The cube seems to be really well-made. The handles are double stitched into place and the nylon straps seem to be very strong. Time will tell whether or not they hold up to continual stress of the weight of camera gear. Even though a strap is an optional accessory for the Stash Master, I do wish it was a standard inclusion with the cube. That would make it easier to carry as a regular bag. That’s another reason that I liked the design of this bag. It can serve as a quick use travel bag for your camera without the ‘fluff’ of a full camera backpack.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Stash Master is a really great add-on piece for photographers. Even if you don’t have a backpack large enough to accommodate it, it can serve as a quick-use protective pack for camera gear when you have a quick photo shoot. I love that it has the same design features as its larger backpack cousins from MindShift Gear, but I wish that it had a few additional add-ons — like the shoulder strap — to make the cube a standalone bag as well as an insert.

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Originally published at https://macsources.com on June 14, 2019.