If you're looking for a backpack that carries both a laptop and camera gear, check out the memorably named Think Tank Streetwalker Hard Drive backpack bag ($180 street). It's a worthy competitor to the Lowepro Vertex 200 AW (see review). Both carry a 15-inch laptop and a ton of camera gear. My first impression of the Hard Drive was unfavorable because there's less padding in the Hard Drive backpack. Over time, I came to prefer the compromise: The thinner padding (not no padding) allows for more camera gear yet you're still protected from routine bumps and jostling. There are other advantages: 

• The laptop section stops about two inches from the end of the bag. The missing two inches provides a cutout in the camera compartment that's exactly the size of dual-battery grip that extends down from the base of pro and advanced amateur cameras. Brilliant!
• The shoulder straps on both are comfortable. The waist strip on the Hard Drive isn't as bulky, so it takes up less room when you're not using it.
• Under the carrying handle there's a clear plastic sleeve that holds an oversize business card or ID tag.

I didn't like the freestanding rain cover as much as the Lowepro rain cover that's permanently attached because you can lose or forget to carry the Think Tank rain cover. Already I've been caught in one rain shower shooting a sports event with the rain cover somewhere at home.

If I had to pick between Hard Drive and Lowepro (and there are others to consider as well such as the Kata R-103 and Tamrac Expedition 7x), I'd go with the Think Tank Streetwalker Hard Drive. Here's why:

• I love the name, even if it's not as off-the-wall as the Crumpler bag names.
• It holds a lot in the same space, including two long telephoto lenses with the hoods on (not reversed) and when I'm shooting sports, I just toss the other lens in the bag without needing to remove the hood.
• I use a battery grip and it sticks up on the Lowepro but not on the Think Tank. It seems minor, but it's a big thing.
• It's $50 cheaper and there's a recession on.
• I'm not a deep-into-the-woods, nature photography guy who needs Lowepro's monsoon-proof rubberized zippers and ultra-comfy waist strap. If I were, Lowepro would be the winner. And if ever I find water seeping through the seams of the Hard Drive bag because I left the rain cover home again, I'd probably switch back.

This bag is about as big (19x12x9 inches HWD) as you can get from Hard Drive. As with Lowepro, there are plenty of other good choices in smaller bags with much the same features, including bags suited to the user with a digital SLR and one or two extra lenses. But if you want to carry a laptop, too, the smaller bags restrict you to 12- or 13-inch notebooks.