Morally Toxic Valkyrie large camera backpack at a glance:
- £269.99
- 25 litre capacity
- Holds a camera and 4-6 lenses
- Takes 15in laptop
- 48 x 33 x 21 cm (external)
- Weighs 1.8kg
- morallytoxic.com
Morally Toxic is a new bag brand from the people who make 3 Legged Thing tripods. The name aims to signal a commitment to ethical manufacturing, while bringing disruption to a sector dominated by staid black nylon designs. Here we’re looking at here the larger of its two ‘Valkyrie’ backpacks.
Morally Toxic’s Valkyrie large backpack has a distinctive design and some unique features
But what does this bag offer that’s new? On one level, it’s a conventional front-loading backpack, with a large laptop compartment inside the lid. There are straps on the front for carrying a tripod horizontally, which work best with those that fold down close to the bag’s 35cm width.
A stretchy water bottle pocket on one side can also take a longer tripod, secured by an elastic cord above. This is all familiar stuff, but there are some interesting new ideas too.
Morally Toxic Valkyrie large camera backpack: key features
- Hidden pocket A small, zipped pocket on the back is just the place to keep your passport or tickets
- Organiser A large pocket on the front provides space for organising pens, business cards, and documents
- Rain Cover The waterproof cover stows away into its own dedicated pocket in the base. It’s sufficiently generously sized to cover a short tripod strapped on the front
- Colours All Morally Toxic bags come in Emerald, Sapphire and Onyx (otherwise known as green, blue and black)
The bag’s first unusual feature is a ‘frog pocket’, which is a waterproof compartment that can be accessed from the back of the bag, allowing storage of a jacket or towel separately from the electronics inside. But what’s neat is that this pocket can be folded away when you don’t need it, freeing up space to carry more inside.
The waterproof ‘frog pocket’ is easily accessed from the outside, and can be folded away when you don’t need it
Secondly, many of the internal dividers incorporate accessory pockets, which again can be folded down flat if you don’t need them. They provide a handy means of storing batteries, filters and so on, assuming your camera and lenses can fit in between. But this is complicated by the fact that the dividers are rigid and won’t mould to your kit.
Fully laden, the bag will swallow an impressive amount of kit
Numerous other pockets help organise your belongings, and you even get a memory card holder that’ll take up to seven CF or SD cards.
I was able to fit a full-frame DSLR and four lenses inside the main compartment, while collapsing the frog pocket added space for a 70-200mm f/2.8 or 100-400mm telezoom. Throw in a laptop, and this may well be as much as you’d be happy to carry.
There’s a handy organiser pocket on the front
Thankfully the harness is excellent, with well-padded shoulder straps and a removable padded waist belt, and I was able to carry the bag fully laden to 11kg reasonably comfortably. Overall the quality of materials and construction is excellent, but I’m not a fan of the black lining, which makes it hard to find stray items that may be rattling around inside.
Morally Toxic Valkyrie large: Our Verdict
This is a cleverly designed, well-made backpack with some really handy features. It gets a lot right, while adding a touch of flair and individuality to the design. If you’re after a large camera backpack it’s well worth considering.
The Morally Toxic range
If this camera backpack looks too large, there’s also a 20L version of the Valkyrie for £259.99, with a very similar design.
The initial Morally Toxic range comprises two backpacks and two shoulder bags.
Two Wraith shoulder bags are also on offer, with 15L and 20L capacities, for £169.99 and £179.99 respectively. They share many of the same features, including the waterproof compartment and divider pockets.
