little backpack Gen III
Innovation & tradition in a camera backpack: Natural German bull leather and modern Hybrid-Canvas from Scotland. Water resistant, durable, functional, comfortable and beautiful. Now with a more compact footprint. The little backpack.
- Order number: 632
- Model color:
Sand / Darkbrown
What fits inside? 
Fabrics & Production 
Video
Dimensions & weight 
Customer Reviews 
Features & Specs
Fabrics and Craftsmanship
- tradition meets modern specs, natural and cutting edge. The tasteful but innovative Hybrid Canvas looks just like the historically made waxed canvas used for early marine sails and our backpacks from the beginning. Hybrid Canvas is just as water repellent, durable and dependable. Without any of the drawbacks.
- with the new Hybrid Wax technology having a seemingly wet feeling bag exterior, waxy remainders on the fingers or being prone to any dirt are things of the past. The wax, which brings the massive water repellent functionality is still there, but it remains locked in fiber itself. It won't be noticeable on the surface of the bag at all
- Hybrid Canvas durability, weatherproofing and toughness is identical to traditional waxed canvas but offers a weight saving of around 10% (compared to backpack 1.0)
- our latest Hybrid Canvas is still made by our traditional canvas creator based in the United Kingdom with the same craftsmanship and quality. The result is a fiber that is incredibly tough, dependable, and needs less care and maintenance than regular canvas fibers
- the amount of patina on Hybrid Canvas fabric is fairly minimal. If you love the aged, characterful look of traditional canvas, you can simply apply our "canvas wax" to the fiber to achieve the style and feel of historic canvas
- fair responsible manufacturing with minimized ecological footprint is crucial for us. The hide for our famous leather originates from pastures in southern Germany, often even directly from our home region itself. We do not believe in all-time animal housing, and we do not purchase hide of cattle kept inside too much. Our leathers show unique pores and certain irregularities, reflecting the free and pristine life of the animal
- all compagnon leathers are created by a small, family-owned, traditional tannery in Germany. Strictly sticking to vegetal, natural tanning without using chemicals to achieve color or a certain feel. All that's needed is craftsmanship and attention to detail
- the natural tanning process incorporates organic oils and waxes into the pores of the leather. These make sure even the leather on the little backpack offers dependable weatherproofing. Putting some organic leather care, like our homemade 'the beewax', on the leather every 6-12 months will keep it weatherproof year after year
- compagnon leather products are made by our experienced seamstresses, artisans, and craftsmen in our workshop near the city of Cracow
Get all-access info about our workshop and get even more details on our fabrics and materials at the segment 'Fabrics and Production' above
Exterior Features
- expendable rolltop daypack storage for added capacity, featuring interior magnets at the top end. With these the rolltop can close automatically and make sure you can quickly close it by rolling easily
- the enticingly unique front buckle for rolltop access - two fingers needed to open it within a split second - has its origin in rock climbing. Made by AustriAlpin in the midst of the Austrian Alps. The solid metal construction is a paragon for robustness, durability, and palpable security as well as quality
- the shoulder straps on the little backpack have been optimized for longtime comfort. They offer a wider contact area to spread the load even better, more improved padding to ensure optimal comfort, and a more ergonomic shape to map to the body of the user. The chest strap sits in a loop on the shoulder strap, offering plenty of range to position it according to your needs while always being at hand. With the chest strap, an efficient position of the carrying straps is guaranteed, even for users with sloping shoulders
- with the detachable 'the waistbelt 2.0' (sold separately) you can achieve some added stability if necessary. Easy to put on or take off in seconds, providing extra support and control, especially during long walks or hikes with plenty of load. The 'waistbelt 2.0' fits the regular backpack 2.0 and little backpack alike.
- zipper pockets on both sides of the little backpack provide handy storage with immediate access. Perfect for smaller items, snacks, or EDC electronics you always need close at hand
- for bulky equipment, ground mats, or tripods, obviously, the little backpack offers mounting straps on both sides as well as the floor. Dependable military spec nylon straps with aluminum G hooks make fitting gear a breeze
- the little backpack is securely padded all-around to offer great protection for valuable equipment. The floor panel and leather front cap are additionally strengthened. Thanks to that, the little backpack always maintains its shape and never falls over, even when loaded unevenly. The backpack stands upright as it's set down
- the back panel made from our renowned compagnon leather is built on a durable foam padding base providing a comfortable carrying experience. The panel also offers venting air channels to prevent heat and moisture build-up
- on the front you find a flat slide in zipper pocket for various utensils or documents
- all hooks, adjusters, and fasteners on the little backpack are made from aluminum and metals, so all elements on the pack are extremely long-lived
- all exterior zippers are made by the world leader in zipper technology: YKK. They are unprecedented ruggedness, durability, and a superior experience of use
- the little backpack comes with 'passive anti-theft' functionality, as it is not recognizable as a camera backpack from the outside at all. Also, the main storage for your valuable camera gear is only accessible through the back panel or the rolltop (if the partition is removed). Unnoticed access is almost impossible
- the zipper for the main storage gives the option to access the laptop compartment without opening the little backpack completely and show off its content. Equally, the clamshell opening design comes in handy while traveling. The little backpack folds open with the laptop not covering other contents, so it is not necessary to unpack all items for airport security checks
Interior Features
- the separator floor of the rolltop area features a new Velcro construction which enables you to take out the entire separator and expand the main storage capacity. But it also reaches plenty of rigidity in place to add your daypack essentials on top of it
- main storage compartment with protective padding all around to ensure safe, flexible transport of your gear
- total of 10 versatile Velcro velours dividers to adapt the storage to any kind of kit (two pads with built-in folding function)
- total of 10 Velcro fastening straps to secure small or especially heavy/bulky tech you would like to fasten even more
- subtle interior zipper pocket inside the rolltop is ideal for high-security transport of wallet, documents, cards, ID, tickets, and more
- additionally, padded laptop compartment up to 13" screen sizes
- memory card holder for min. 6 cards and two zipper mesh pockets to be arranged anywhere in the storage area using a Velcro base (included)
Fitting equipment
Bodies
- depending on the number of lenses & camera size(s) you can fit more or fewer cameras
- compact mirrorless cameras like Leica M10, Leica Q2, Olympus E-M1 Mark III, Fujifilm X-T4 and similar
- compact APS-C DSLR bodies like Canon EOS 80D, Nikon D500, and others
- mirrorless fullframe systems like Sony Alpha a7R III, Canon R5, Nikon Z7 II, and more
- fullframe DSLR bodies like Canon EOS 6D Mark II, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Nikon D750, etc.
*with bodies exceeding an overall height of 12-13 centimeters, it may not be possible to add a laptop as well
Lenses
- lenses with a max length of 35 centimeters do fit in the main storage
- with even larger tele lenses you can open the separator wall between the rolltop and the main storage to access even more capacity. This is usually not a permanent carrying layout but can help to fit lenses up to around 55cm in length for a brief occasion
- common fast zoom lenses like the popular 70-200mm f/2.8 will fit solo or mounted to most cameras vertically the main storage
- this also applies to a wide range of fast prime lenses like the popular Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4, EF 85mm f/1.2, 135mm f/2, 14mm f/2.8, etc.
Accessories
- separately padded laptop compartment for laptops or tablets up to 13 inch size
- according to the size of the camera kit you can add a compact drone setup, for example, a DJI Mavic Pro with accessories
- the rolltop daypack gives you extra space for an additional jacket, a lunchbox, a water bottle, a drone case, a second pair of shoes, or clean clothes
- documents, notepads, filters, gloves, and various other utensils will fit in the exterior side pocket and the slim front pocket
Leather & materials Gen III
New Generation III
Gen III compagnons break new ground while still sticking to the beloved specs and features of its predecessors. To blend indulgence and true ecological awareness even more, we stuck to an all natural tanning process, which is now carried out very close to our home base in Southern Germany. Our new compagnon leather is barrel tanned and extensively worked and refined by hand. The German raw leather builds more character during this process and shows the natural pores and characteristics of the hide more clearly. The pull-up effect of previous models, which built patina and character from use over time, is no longer part of the Generation III. Our latest compagnons will not change during use and not need any time to develop a more characterful color and structure. This change provides an even higher durability and weatherproofing. To achieve these qualities of the Gen III leather, still no chemicals or harmful additives like Chrome are needed. It requires more manual craft, more time, more knowledge and passion. From now on, the sameness of colors on our leather models will also improve so different compagnons made from different hide match each other in color more perfectly. Along with these changes, the surface feel is even smoother for a more luxurious and more valuable experience in use.
Our compagnon Gen III leather, from the first step of its local and traditionally natural crafting, to it dependability for years and years, is an embodiment of a ecologically and socially responsible product.
In finishing our newest Heritage Line Generation III, we spared neither trouble nor expense. We brought all features on our beloved models into questions to seek room for improvement. Besides new features like the all-new expendable side pockets for bottle & tripod transport, we're sticking to strong aluminium hooks and adjusters. These compliment the robustness of the Gen III backpacks and still manage to keep the overall weight as low as possible. The measurements as well as the possible internal setup remain indentical to the preceding model. This way you can be sure your equipment will fit into the newest models and you can cross-use accessories you already own.
Genuine compagnon Hybrid Canvas is the improved successor of our classic, traditionally-made canvas from Scotland. Starting in summer 2019, all compagnon canvas products do use our latest Hybrid Canvas. Made by the same manufacturer from Scotland, looking back on a legendary heritage of crafting canvas sails that manifested the superior Royal Navy back in the day. Experience, craftsmanship and innovative ideas resulting in our next generation canvas.
We documented our first very own trip to Scotland for you in this video. The current model of the backpack Gen III features the incredible, new canvas which offers the same durability, ruggedness and even better waterproofing while being considerably lighter and also thinner than its predecessor. The wax that provides the dependable weatherproofing is locked inside the fiber with the new Hybrid Canvas, so there is no waxy feel touching its surface. This also means the new canvas is less susceptible to dirt, looking fresh and clean even while traveling for a long time. Another massive advantage of Hybrid Canvas is lower maintenance effort. Even in warmer climates, it is not necessary to apply additional wax to the fiber to keep it weatherproof.
Leather, canvas and manufacturing
Natural compagnon Leder
Natural & traditional crafting methods carried out by local partners are and have been a must for compagnon products for years. Starting in summer 2022, our exclusive compagnon leather is headed towards even higher levels of quality. Using selected German cow hide, a local and strictly natural tanning process creates a durable but still smooth leather for our Heritage Line bags and backpacks. Each hide, and respectively each compagnon product made from it, shows unique structure and character, reflecting the life of that very animal. Achieving absolute sameness in look, which can only be achieved by housing the animal close to 100 percent of its life, is something we do not believe in. A near-natural, better than appropriate life of the animals used for compagnon products are of utmost importance. This provides a responsible, but also beautiful and natural compagnon leather.
Despite its amazing look, feel and quality, no harmful chemicals are needed to create genuine compagnon leather. It is completely safe and harmless to your health (or everyone's health around you), even in intense use. We do not use harmful ingredients like chrome or chemical agents to achieve absolute color sameness in our tanning. With generations of leather tanning experience, we can achieve consistent colors with natural processes alone. Also, compagnon leather is a strictly local product for which the know-how of small, family-run businesses is combined. As we do not recommend putting chemical, industrial leather care products on such a pure leather product, we created our personally(!) homemade, fully organic ‚the beewax‘ leather care. It refreshes the color and the original weatherproofing as well as keeping the leather from drying out.
All compagnon leather products are meticulously handcrafted in our workshop close to the city of Cracow. Find out more in our behind-the-scenes tour at our workshop where all our leather and canvas bags & backpacks are made.
The Hybrid Canvas on Generation II and III models requires no rewaxing to keep it weatherproof. Using our canvas wax on these versions will result in a waxy, richer canvas surface which will retain patina and more character.
Scope of delivery
- 2x divider large with folding function
- 12x divider short
- 2x leather zip mesh pocket (Velcro fit)
- 1x leather zip mesh pocket large (Velcro fit)
- 1x Rolltop divider (Gen 2.0, stronger construction)
- 1x padded interior floor reinforcement (detachable)
- 10x leather Velcro gear fastening straps
Exterior dimensions:
15.7inch (height) x 10.6inch (width) x 6.29 inch (depth)
Internal dimensions:
main storage: 13.77 inch (height) x 9.84 inch (width) x 5.1 inch (depth)
unfolded rolltop as extra storage: max. 8.66 inch (height) x 8.66 inch (width)
Laptop compartment width:
fits most 13" laptops (Macbook Pro 2019 or newer also 14")
Weight:
ca. 1.9 kg
