Peak Design has finally launched its long-awaited carry-on companion for photographers and world travelers: the Roller Pro, alongside a new made-to-fit Camera Cube capable of holding lenses up to a 400mm f/2.8. Peak Design says the Roller Pro represents “the future of luggage design” and includes “new carry-on features and innovations that manufacturers said were impossible. ” Let’s explore those features to see whether you should back the Kickstarter campaign.
Table of Contents
Peak Design Roller Pro Specifications
- Colors: Black, Sage, Eclipse
- Capacity: 34L (39L expanded)
- Laptop Carry: Up to 16″
- Super-Telephoto Lens Carry: Up to 400mm f/2.8
- External Dimensions: 22 x 9 x 14″ (56 x 23 x 36cm)
- External Expanded Dimensions: 22 x 11 x 14″ (56 x 28 x 36cm)
- Internal Dimensions: 20 x 8.7 x 13.8″ (51 x 22 x 35cm)
- Internal Expanded Dimensions: 20 x 10.7 x 14 (51 x 27 x 35cm)
- Weight: 8.8lbs (3991g)
- MSRP: $599.99 (discounted on Kickstarter)
Peak Design Roller Pro Design and Features
SlimDrive Carbon Handle
The biggest issue I have constantly encountered with carry-on rollers for photographers is the intrusion of the collapsible handle into the bag’s internal compartment. While the channels necessary for holding the telescoped handle don’t eat up a considerable volume, they limit the depth of the internal compartment, often making it challenging to pack larger lenses or camera bodies efficiently.
For the Roller Pro, Peak Design has dram on its experience creating the wildly popular carbon Travel Tripod to design an all-new patented SlimDrive handle system. This handle is made from single-stage flat carbon fiber tubes, making it significantly stiffer than the usual aluminum tubes while taking up just a third of the space.
Hybrid Construction
The bag features a unique hybrid construction to keep the Roller Pro’s weight to a minimum. Peak Design says this gives you the best of both the hard roller and soft roller worlds. On the exterior, you’ll find a Bluesign-approved 550D Versa Shell fabric that is weatherproof and durable. On the inside, a rigid polycarbonate shell backed by a layer of EVA foam provides serious impact protection, while a felt liner offers even more protection for your stuff.
Expandable Design
In its standard form, the Roller Pro has a volume of 34 liters. However, similar to the Peak Design Travel Backpack, a circumferential zipper expands the bag to 39L by adding two inches to the depth. It should be noted that this added depth might prevent the bag from conforming to some airline’s carry-on size regulations, but it’s a neat trick for those that travel on more lenient airlines, or anyone that is using the Roller Pro for day-to-day camera transportation.
Replaceable Wheels
Rather than using off-the-shelf components as most manufacturers do, Peak Design has gone for custom hardware all around the bag. This includes the large 60mm spinning wheels. If you rack up serious miles with your Roller Pro, Peak Design says the wheels will be easily replaceable.
Flexible Packing Options
Peak Design’s range of ultralight packing cubes can be used for internal organization, along with any of its Camera Cubes, now available in XL, Large, Medium, Smedium, Small, and XS. This makes it simple to use the Roller Pro for non-photographic trips one week and with a full camera loadout the following week. Choose one of the smaller Camera Cubes, and you can create a perfectly packed combination of cameras, lenses, and personal items.
New XL Camera Cube
XL Camera Cube Specifications
I have tracked down the dimensional specification of the new XL camera cube, as I’m sure many of my readers will be wondering about super-telephoto lens compatibility.
- External Dimensions: 17.9 x 13.6 x 7.1″ (45.5 x 34.5 x 18cm)
- Internal Dimensions: 17.13 x 12.79 x 6.3″ (43.5 x 32.5 x 16cm)
Alongside the launch of Peak Design’s new Roller Pro, a new XL Camera Cube is also being launched. This is the largest padded camera packing cube in the Peak Design lineup and is designed to fill the space inside the Peak Design Roller Pro perfectly. Not only does this allow photographers to carry more gear in the Roller Pro securely, but it also ups the ante for super-telephoto lens users.
Peak Design’s previous largest Camera Cube, the Large Camera Cube, could carry lenses up to 43cm long. While this covered lenses like the Canon 200-800mm, Sony 200-600mm, Sony 400-800mm, and the Nikon 180-600mm, its 13.5cm internal depth wasn’t enough for a 400mm f2.8 lens hood. The new XL Camera Cube solves this. While the XL Cube only offers 0.2″ (0.5cm) more in internal length than the L Cube, it adds an all-important inch (2.5cm) to its depth, allowing lenses like a Sony, Canon, or Nikon 400mm f/2.8 lens to fit, as well as the Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3. A 600mm f/4 lens will not fit in the Peak Design Roller Pro (bummer).
Where to Buy (discounts available)
The Peak Design Roller Pro is currently available on Kickstarter. The campaign has been funded, and Peak Design says backers should expect deliveries to begin in May 2025.
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