Scopac Lite

I've had one of these for over a year now and wouldn't dream of trying to carry a scope and tripod around without one. Essential birding kit. My sole gripe is the limited storage space. I like to have an audio recorder and a compact zoom camera and sometimes a video camera in the field, as well as food and water- the tiny digipac means I can only have two of these five on any one trip. (my gear is all of the ultra-compact variety so it normally all fits in even the smallest rucksacks.) For users in hot climates the digipack is just big enough to take a 2litre camelback bladder, but obviously you won't get anything else in there with it!
A future scopac design should look to providing much more storage- more weight at the bottom would make the whole thing less top heavy too. A waist belt would be good too to take some weight off your shoulders.
The only competitor scope backpack I've tried is the Viking effort I picked up in an RSPB shop. It has a bigger luggage section and a waist belt but is hot to wear in warmer weather and the build is poor quality- its fraying in places after only a few months of use. The Scopac is miles better.

Being someone with significant back, neck and joint problems, there was simply no way I could use anything other than the lightest scope set up under normal circumstances. But Scopac Lite meant that I could choose even a heavyish scope and a tripod tall enough for me to use and still carry it without problems. Lifting the scope on with the pack needs a little practise, but once on you half-forget it is there and your hands are free.

The Lite set up with Digipac means that I still have to be economical with what gear I bring (field guide, energy snack, waterbottle, notebook and lens-care stuff is about it, though a small camera would fit too), but that is a good thing, as far as I am concerned, as birders tend to bring along too much clutter, which would negate the load relief benefits the Scopac gives.

If it wasn't for Scopac, I may not have bought a scope at all, or perhaps a small one which would not have done the job.

Being tall means that I did struggle to duck successfully through a low door on a hide, but like all good things, they take practice to use properly and this is not a complaint.