I travel to many remote places with my quadcopters and bike, so I have always been using backpack to carry my RC stuff. In this article we will look at 2 excellent options that are great for multirotor users – the Multistar Premium Travel Backpack and BagoBago Backpack.

Picking the right backpack is very important, not only it has to be big enough to fit tons of stuff (in an organised way), it also has be feel comfortable on your back. Additional features should also be considered.

The Bagobago backpack is reviewed by SeekND FPV, and the Multistar Premium Travel Bag is reviewed by Oscar.

BagoBago Backpack

“SIT DOWN ANYWHERE” – That’s the motto of the company that sells the BagoBago backpack, and it turns out to be a realistic motto! This is basically a chair integrated backpack, and it’s actually quite comfortable to carry and use.

Unlike those fishing stools that will dig into your back, this backpack looks and feels exactly like a backpack, with a chair inside.

You can check the features here: http://bagobago.com/

To find out exactly what this backpack can carry I went ahead and filled it to the brim.
Here’s what I managed to fit inside:

• 1x Remote control
• 1x Pair of fatshark goggles + 2 batteries
• 1x 7″ Screen
• 1x 5.8 receiver
• 1x 180 tweaker quad
• 1x 180 armattan quad
• 1x 250 ZMR quad
• 1x 250 Nighthawk quad
• 20x 4s 1500/1800 batteries
• 1x tablet for configuration
• 5x FULL SETS of props (4045 tri and 5045) FOR EACH QUAD = 80 propellers
• 1x Turnigy hex tool
• 1x Bolt remover tool
• 1x Leatherman toolkit
• 1x 1mx1.5m floor work sheet

Pro’s

• Removable & washable covers
• Waterproof
• Has a freakin’ chair inside
• Can travel in a plane as cabin luggage
• People will look at you in the metro thinking how the hell you are sitting on your backpack

Con’s

• Can be uncomfortable after a while depending on your butt and sitting position
• Pricey
• People will look at you in the metro thinking how the hell you are sitting on your backpack

After using this item for a couple of weeks I can comfortably say that this will be a part of my travelling gear whenever I’m going out to fly a drone.

The backpack feels quite strong and I don’t see it getting ripped anytime soon.

It would be really nice to see some additional straps on the outside to carry additional kit (like flags, poles, etc). You could potentially DIY something if you really want it.

I find that my butt cannot comfortably use this chair on a regular sitting position for too long, so I just sit sideways and have had no issues with comfort that way, even for long periods of time.

I’ve asked some other people to try and they find it comfortable in the regular sitting position.
You can always carry an extra small travel pillow inside the backpack if you wish.

I find that my TX remote, Goggles and 250 mini quad can easily fit in the backpack WITH props on. Even with a battery strapped and antennas mounted, I will still have spare room to pour in a large quantity of lipo batteries and extra propellers in the main pocket (plus food, water, clothes, etc). For a larger quad you will still be able to fit it in, but probably with props removed.

Everyone will always look at the price first. And yes, at 129 Euros this isn’t the cheapest backpack you can buy. BUT, you are not only getting a backpack, so much as you are getting a piece of gear that will last you, is weather resistant (even waterproof) and when the time comes to rest up or fly around, you can do it from anywhere, while sitting down.

Multistar Premium Travel Backpack

I bought the Multistar travel backpack from Hobbyking. This Multistar backpack is said to be designed/made from ground up, to meet the specific spec and needs of multirotor users.

Dimension: 500x360x260mm, Weight: Over 2KG.

It looks Gigantic the first time you see it! Calling it a backpack is an understatement, it’s like carrying a big toolbox on your back.

Features

• All-weather proof style (water proof) zippers
• Load bearing buckle supports on the shoulder:
  • chest strap
  • waist strap – good for hiking and it takes some weight off your shoulder; if you don’t want to use them you can tuck the waist buckles away in a designated pouch
• It has 2 pouches on the front, these have small space and you can put your cell phone, wallet, flight logs, stationery etc in there. But I wish they made some smaller slots for tiny items like conis and pack issue etc (had them on my previous backpack and I used them a lot)
• It has a pocket for laptop or tablet types of items, the entire back and front of this pocket is padded with protective foam, to save your stuff from physical impacts, I also feel very comfortable carrying it on my back thanks to the padding
• Under the carrying handle on top, there is a longer buckle hanger
• It comes with a grey water proof cover bag

 

Inside of the backpack there is a very large space for your multirotors and accessories. As you open it, you will notice there is an internal webbing (net), that keeps everything from falling out as you open it up.

Normally you see 2 compartments in some more expensive dedicated multirotor backpacks: one for your quad and the other for your gear.

On the Multistar Premium Travel backpack, these are combined as one. This is not a problem, just means you need to spend a bit more time planning out how you are going to use the space.

What I truly like about this backpack are the switchable dividers, and they are not just some pre-cut foam you might find else where. The dividers have velcro on 3 of the edges, so you can completely change the layout to suit your needs, depends on the size of your quadcopters, transmitters, FPV equipment etc… The velcros of the dividers stick really well and doesn’t move or change shape at all.

The inside of the backpack is big enough to fit anything from a micro quadcopter to a 330 size multirotor. I put 3 mini quads in there with propellers mounted without any problems (two 220 mini quad plus a 180). However I don’t think it would fit triblades or quad-blades very easily though.

For $70, I would definitely recommend it. It really makes my life easier when packing up my multicopter stuff. Things just fall nicely into their places, which saves me time and effort. In my last backpack I had to really squeeze things together to close the zippers.