Tenba Solstice v2 16 L sling pack

On an earlier page, I reviewed the Tenba Solstice 10 Lliter / litre sling bag (see Wikipedia for recommended symbol for liter). Currently, Tenba markets a version 2 of the Solstice series, which contains bags of different capacities as the original series. In particular, the v2 series contains 12 L and 16 L sling bags, slightly bigger than the original series. The materials and design of the v2 series also differ in several respects from the original 10 L sling bag.

I recently added the OM System 150-600 mm zoom to my stable of Micro 4/3 lenses, and for about three months I carried this lens, attached to the OM-1 and with its lens shade mounted in forward position (so that I only need seconds to pull it out and turn it on), in my 10 L Tenba Solstice (v1). This required me to remove all internal dividers except for a couple of them, placed against the outer walls to increase the padding, given the significant weight of this lens. No space is left in the pack for even one small additional lens.

The Solstice 10 L v1 is my first sling bag. Earlier on, I used a variety of backpacks, but with the 150-600 I decided I needed a way to store the fully assembled camera and lens, and extract it in seconds without taking off a backpack from my shoulders. The Solstice 10 L does allow me to do this by rotating the pack to the front of my body along the shoulder strap, but has no space left for additional lenses. On some outings, however, I may wish to carry a couple of additional lenses and a few accessories (e.g. a 1.4x teleconverter and a red dot sight for birds in flight). The Solstice 12 L v2 is only marginally larger than my older 10 L model, and because of the thicker padding and different shape I doubt the additional 2 L of capacity would make a difference in practice. Thus, I went for the 16 L v2 model instead, which is currently Tenba's largest sling pack.

While the v1 model is built for low weight and its outer wall has a rather thin padding, the v2 feels a little heavier, but its padding is significantly thicker and the whole bag feels much stiffer. Instead of synthetic cloth, the outermost layer in the v2 is a completely waterproof sheet of pliable plastic with a slight surface texture. The padding layer, as mentioned, is both stiffer and thicker. The additional rubber pad against the back of the wearer is stiffer, thicker and more comfortable. The synthetic cloth covering the back rubber pad and the inside of the shoulder strap in the v2 is hopefully more durable than the coarse netting used in the v1. In my experience, this type of coarse netting is the first thing that wears out in a camera pack. The plastic clasp that opens the shoulder strap is also more substantial in the v2 model.

Pack shape

The pack shape differs in the two versions. While the v1 is slightly domed at the top, larger at the bottom and slightly pear-shaped with a flat horizontal bottom, the v2 is closer to a parallelepiped, but its top and bottom faces are slanted toward the rear. This prevents the v2 pack from sitting upright on the floor. For the picture in Figure 1, I had to prop it up by setting a small object under the bottom of the pack.

Pack handles

While the v1 only has a single top handle, the v2 has an additional handle at its bottom. While the pack is worn on the back of the wearer, this second handle can be useful to grab the pack with the right hand and pull it toward the front of the wearer's body.

Tie points

Both models carry four textile loops on the rear face. In the v2, two additional loops are attached along the left side of the back padding. Two adjustable straps closed with a clasp are provided and can be attached to the loops, either on the rear or on the left side of the pack. In the v1, only one strap is present, and sewn to the right side of the pack, above the pocket for a tripod or water bottle.

In the v2, the outer surface of the door of the main compartment carries three Molle-style loops for accessories. I attached a small battery/accessory bag here (Figure 2).

A problem with a tripod or monopod attached on the left side of the pack, with its feet inserted in the pocket on this side of the bag, is that the tripod/monopod head projects to the left and above the top of the pack. While walking, it is easy to hit door frames, tree trunks and passers-by with the head of the tripod/monopod while wearing the pack on one's back. Fastening the security strap of the pack straightens the pack a little, but not enough.

I prefer to attach the tripod/monopod on the back of the pack, tilted to the right to counter the natural tendency of the pack to tilt to the left (Figure 2). I also prefer to completely enclose the monopod (as shown in the figure) in its protective bag. In this way, the only thing I need to do to free the monopod is extract it from its bag, leaving the bag attached to the pack and hanging about 15 cm lower than the bottom of the pack. In this way, the monopod head (not shown) projects only a little above the top of the pack, does not tilt obliquely, and I can easily reach the zipper of the monopod bag after moving the pack to the front of my body.

Additionally, in this way the pocket on the left side of the pack remains free, e.g. for a water bottle, and a strap on the left side of the pack can hold e.g. a folded wind breaker jacket or raincoat.

Figure 2 also shows a slight fault with the design of the pack: the two eyelets visible on the back of the pack are attached to the edge of the cover of the tablet pocket, which is pulled back by the various straps attached to the eyelets.

Main compartment

In the v2 pack, the zipper of the main compartment is placed on the right side of the pack and curves in a C shape. The frame of the v2 bag is rigid, and the main compartment door opens outward by folding along a "hinge line", like a cardboard box. A zippered semi-transparent pocket occupies most of the inner side of the door. Inside this pocket there is a hidden rubber pocket for an Apple AirTag or Android Tile.

Tabs of flexible material are sewn at either end of the zipper of the main compartment, presumably to facilitate the initial opening or closing of the zipper by pulling the tab in the opposite direction as the zipper to straighten the latter.

Most of the interior of the v2 bag main compartment is covered in a felt-like textile that sticks strongly to the Velcro-equipped dividers. Four Velcro-edged dividers of two different sizes and thickness are provided. The two larger dividers are also covered in a felt-like materials that attaches to velcro.

Tablet compartment

In the v2, a large flat pocket occupies most of the rear surface of the pack. It opens with a straight zipper, located along the left edge of the pack. The interior of the tablet compartment has no pockets, and its outer surface is not padded. I use this compartment for the supplied pack raincoat, a few flat accessories, and a small notebook and pen. A large mobile phone could also easily fit, albeit not if equipped with a large "knob" on its back.

Harness

Both bags have an asymmetrically placed single shoulder strap meant to sit on the left shoulder. The v2 shoulder strap is much stiffer and better padded, with a metal D-ring for a stabilizing strap that can be moved along the strap left side. A similar D-ring is attached on the left side of the bag, near its bottom. The stabilizing strap has a plastic + metal musketeer at either end, and is adjustable in length. This avoids one of the problems of the v1 bag, where the stabilizing strap ends in a T-shaped plastic clip inserted into a Molle-like loop on the shoulder strap and cannot easily be detached from the shoulder strap. The clasp on the opposite end of the stabilizing strap is difficult to reach when wearing the bag on one's back.

While the v1 pack has a cloth tab that prevents the attachment of the security strap from chafing against one's clothes and wearing them down in this spot, the v2 pack offers no such protection. On the other hand, the protective tab in the v1 pack often folds back, and provides no protection in practice.

Summary

The Tenba Solstice 16 L v2 sling pack contains the OM-1 with attached 150-600 mm, with room to spare for a couple of small lenses, or one medium-sized and one small lens.

The Tenba Solstice 16 L v2 sling pack solves a few problems I found with the Tenba 10 L v1 pack, including its difficulty of untying the security strap. The v2 pack is also stiffer, better padded, with a better shoulder strap and thicker rubber back rest, and overall feels of better quality.

The v2 pack improves in several respects on the v1, for example two supplied loops with clasps can be attached to the left side or the back of the v2 pack, and three Molle-style loops allow a small accessory bag to be attached outside the main compartment door.

While the v1 pack can stand up (albeit a little unstable) with its bottom laid on a floor, the v2 pack needs to rest against a chair, wall or cabinet, because of its slanted bottom.

A tripod/monopod attached in the provided place on the left side of the bag is out of sight when you sling the bag forward. You must feel by touch the clasp that frees the tripod/monopod. Reattaching the tripod/monopod to the pack typically requires you to take the pack off your shoulder and put it on the ground.

The head of a tripod/monopod attached to the Tenba Solstice 16 l v2 sling pack with its feet/foot inserted in the pocket tends to stick out above and to the left of your left shoulder, and may hit door frames, trees or passers-by. It is a good idea to cover the head with a padded bag.

Wearing the security strap of the pack lessens, albeit does not eliminate, the risk. Attaching the tripod/monopod with its head level with the top of the pack and its feet/foot extending below the bottom of the pack is better, although not a perfect solution.