WANDRD STRATUS Photo 18L Review

The WANDRD STRATUS Photo 18L is designed with the modern-day creator in mind, offering customizability and convenient storage in a compact travel daypack. The highly adaptable storage system can fit a variety of gear, including camera kits, videography setups, and even drones with room to spare. Built with longevity in mind, it is a comfortable pack for hikes, daily commutes, and extended travel with excellent weather resistance and durability.

When traveling, it’s an ideal personal carry bag that pairs well with checked or carry on luggage. This is particularly important for photographers and videographers, as it allows you to keep sensitive camera equipment safely with you rather than in a piece of checked baggage. The thoughtful organization system makes excellent use of the available space, ensuring every piece of gear has its place.

External Components

The WANDRD STRATUS Photo 18L features weather-resistant materials throughout, ensuring plenty of protection from the elements. The top, front, and sides are made of a durable tarpaulin material that gives the pack a rugged aesthetic while providing excellent protection. This material proves highly resilient in various environments, from hiking trails to urban settings to international travel. The tarpaulin material is easy to clean by brushing off dirt or spot cleaning. While the material maintains a solid structure, it occasionally produces a characteristic tarp-like sound when flexed, particularly around the top front compartment.

The bottom of the pack is made of 840D junior ballistic nylon, which provides excellent scratch and weather resistance, ensuring durability and protection when setting the bag down. While this material feels extremely durable and protective, it’s not as easy to clean as the tarpaulin material, as its texture can potentially trap dirt.

This backpack uses high-quality YKK zippers with a protective coating along the thread, complemented by uniquely shaped zipper pulls that are comfortable and easy to use. The compression straps on both sides have one of the most innovative strap keeper management designs seen in a while, thanks to a built-in elastic loop at the end of each strap that allows the excess material to be neatly rolled up and secured. While this may seem minor, it is incredibly effective and intuitive. The plastic buckles are sturdy and function better as stabilization points or attachment points rather than traditional compression straps since the bag’s material and structure are so rigid.

The top and side grab handles are minimally padded but made with a smooth, seatbelt-like nylon material that feels comfortable in your hand. The handles are well-built into the pack’s structure, inspiring confidence in their longevity and security. The top grab handle has extra space for easy gripping, while the side handles sit a bit more flush against the pack when not in use to keep them accessible without protruding. However, it’s worth noting that when you load the main compartments with heavy equipment, the bag may become somewhat unbalanced due to the handles’ positioning, causing it to lean to one side or forward.

There are plenty of external attachment points for extra gear. WANDRD makes accessories designed to be compatible with its bags to help provide extra functionality. The pack includes four solidly built attachment points on the front and four additional ones underneath, making it ideal for securing larger or bulkier items. Small daisy chain loops on either side of the top main handle work well for attaching small carabiners and other attachments, though they are somewhat small if you need to get a finger through.

The back panel has a super comfortable air mesh with contoured foam for enhanced comfort and breathability. The mesh does an excellent job of managing moisture, and the foam is specially contoured to follow the spine’s natural curve, resulting in an exceptionally comfortable fit against the back. The back panel is designed to contour to the lumbar and upper spine for an optimal fit.

The shoulder straps have a thoughtfully designed rolled edge on the sides that eliminates pinch points and improves extra comfort by placing the seam on the front, away from the body. This design also enhances breathability with its air mesh construction. The straps are ergonomically contoured and come equipped with numerous attachment points. Four horizontal and five vertical attachment points on each strap provide plenty of options for attaching extra gear.

The sternum strap is a particularly nice feature thanks to its predetermined attachment points that are easy to remove and secure. While it looks like it is on a rail system, it snaps into place with a simple click. One important thing to note is that the snapping sound can be somewhat loud. The overall release system is pretty smooth with a simple pull of the small cord. The design lets you completely remove the strap and cleverly allows both ends to be hooked onto one side when not in use, preventing unnecessary dangling. The shoulder straps also include load lifters that help distribute weight and reduce shoulder strain for added comfort.

While the backpack doesn’t include hip belts, it does have attachment points for those who prefer to purchase them separately. The pack also features a luggage pass-through strap that remains out of the way when not in use. This strap securely fastens the bag to roller luggage, preventing contents from shifting or falling, a crucial feature when transporting sensitive equipment like cameras.

Fit Notes

The WANDRD STRATUS Photo 18L has a solid back panel that provides excellent structure, allowing it to stand upright independently, though it tends to lean slightly forward. The pack’s face presents a clean, modern aesthetic, particularly in the all-black variant, though the tarpaulin material may attract some attention. The overall design balances style and protection, making it suitable for casual and professional environments. The pack is discreet, but the WANDRD logo might hint at its purpose to those familiar with the company’s reputation for producing protective gear for sensitive or valuable equipment.

Inside The Pack

The water bottle pockets on the WANDRD STRATUS Photo 18L are super durable stretch mesh specifically chosen to prevent snagging issues reported with previous models. The material feels extremely strong and resilient, with a tight fit that securely holds its contents. While removing water bottles is straightforward, inserting them requires slightly more work and effort, but this ensures items stay firmly in place once stored. These pockets also serve well for carrying longer items like tripods or umbrellas, with the side compression straps on both sides providing additional security to lock down such items when needed. One thing to keep in mind is that taller water bottles may interfere with the side compression or attachment straps.

A quick-access pocket on top of the pack allows easy access to smaller items. Its limited storage space has a dedicated plastic key clip at the top for organization, though the leash’s short length means you have to remove the keys to use them. This compartment is also good for things like lip balm and hand sanitizer, but it’s not big enough for larger items like an iPhone Max.

Behind the back panel, a dedicated laptop compartment with dual zippers is located. Due to the back panel and camera cube compartment, this compartment has a pretty structured form, making it somewhat tight. That’s an issue with thicker laptops, but a 16-inch MacBook Pro fits decently. While the compartment lacks a soft or felt-like lining, it offers substantial protection with a false bottom and structured design.

A hidden rear zippered pocket between the air mesh padding and laptop compartment provides secure and reliable storage for flat items like passports, cash, or even a minimalist wallet. While not particularly spacious, its positioning against the back offers excellent peace of mind for valuable small and flat items.

The spacious top main compartment includes two mesh zippered pockets for extra organization. One panel is located at the back of the compartment, while the other is on the front, with a convenient fold-down design for convenient access. Behind this fold-down pocket is a cleverly concealed AirTag pocket with a thoughtful design that maintains accessibility while remaining inconspicuous.

This compartment has space to store a nice amount of gear, whether it is stored loosely or organized with pouches and kits. While the Peak Design Tech Pouch can fit inside, it requires some maneuvering, and once inside, it restricts access to the rear zippered pocket.

You’ll find the dedicated camera cube and extra protection for sensitive gear in the lower main compartment. It has convenient dual-side access, offering flexibility when accessing your gear from either side. However, it is important to note that if you have a water bottle or tripod in the side pocket, side pocket access may be limited. Each access panel has dual zippers with comfortable and easy-to-locate pulls that can be stored at the top or bottom of the opening for convenience. Built-in zippered mesh pockets on each panel provide excellent visibility and storage for smaller items like SD cards, batteries, and filters.

The main compartment is well-protected with both foam panels and WANDRD’s Nylex material, offering fantastic padding and structure. The interior organization system consists of two main horizontal Nylex dividers that function as flexible, soft shelves. These dividers are anchored by default to the front and back of the pack to create shelving, but they’re fully customizable and removable to suit various setups. This compartment’s customizability is probably one of the most intuitive and flexible systems, thanks to its design. Its use of varied-sized dividers and flexible shapes makes it easy to optimize. It also comes with two additional dividers and a clever X-style divider for even more granular customization, all of which are easy to use and nicely padded.

For example, without moving any main dividers, you can lay the middle divider flat to create one large compartment accessible from either side, perfect for storing a camera with its primary lens attached. Above that, on one side with the X-style divider, you can store 3-4 smaller lenses, and the top shelf above the larger shelf on the opposite side for larger gear.

The WANDRD STRATUS Photo 18L is a thoughtfully designed camera backpack that combines protection, organization, and comfort. Innovative features like the flexible camera cube system, dedicated laptop storage, and numerous attachment points make it a versatile choice for those with sensitive gear. Its sturdy construction and use of ultra-protective materials make it an ideal backpack for various setups. The pack’s durability and attention to detail in elements like the air mesh back panel and rolled-edge shoulder straps are fantastic design touches that will undoubtedly contribute to a comfortable experience. While it is designed for creators of all types, this backpack is ideal for anyone looking for a reliable, well-organized backpack that can adapt to various setups while maintaining a clean and stylish aesthetic.