Mark Galer

NEW Wotancraft Rider Series V2

Added 2025-08-21 06:41:07 +0000 UTC

Wotancraft have just announced a Version 2 of their popular 'Rider' series of bags. I am currently on an extended location shoot, so I won't have the opportunity to review these new camera bags until I return home in September. There are a couple of features in the product pre-release pdf Wotancraft sent me that have caught my eye, so I will be interested to see if these new bags will offer any advantages to my own travel and photographic needs over the Pilot and Rider series bags I currently use.

I have been using Wotancraft camera bags for a number of years and the Pilot 7L bag is my most used of all of them. It's the bag I am currently travelling with now, and the Pilot 7L only gets switched out if I am going out on a day shoot with less gear or if I need a backpack to carry my 300 or 400 GM primes (not with me on this trip).

My Pilot 7L is currently carrying an A7CII with FE 20-70 F4 G attached and an A7CR with FE 70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II attached. The size and weight of this configuration allows me to shoot all day, if necessary, with the convenience of rapid access to the gear and I don't need to be changing lenses with the additional lightweight camera body I am carrying.

My second travel bag, which has now accompanied me on many trips, is the stylish brown leather Lightening Rider 12 L. The Rider series, as the name would suggest, is suitable for cyclists and motorcyclists who want the bag to be very secure on their backs while riding. To this end, they all feature an additional 3-point harness system, that keeps the bag securely on your back with no chance the bag will swing around your body when least expected. Another distinguishing feature that separates the Rider series from the Pilot series is the use of straps on the front of the bag that, when unfastened, can expand the carrying capacity of the bag. Notice in the image above how the Lightening Rider transforms from quite a slender bag to a much larger size when the two straps are unfastened. When expanded and full the bag is still airline compliant, although a flight attendant may want to have a few words if you are seen attempting to squeeze this bag under the seat in front of you on a plane.

The third bag that I own that gets the most use is either the Pilot 3.5L or a Mini Rider 3.5 L. These are used when I am out with a single camera and maybe one other lens.

I am most interested in taking a closer look at the 'Easy Rider 10L' and the Mini Rider 4.5 L. I would expect the Easy Rider 10L to be the most likely contender for my Pilot 7L and the Mini Rider 4.5L to be a contender with my Mini Rider 3.5L or Pilot 3.5L. Sometimes when a bag has been packed so the gear is a little 'snug', with very little capacity left to spare, it would be nice to be able to just unfasten two straps and immediately make the space larger, so that switching cameras or lenses is less of a battle. The new Rider Series have this capacity and I'm looking forward to trying this feature out.

I notice the magnetic 'Fidlock' system is used when the tightening the straps but main access to the cameras will still be via a weather-sealed zip. The top flap on the camera insert should allow the gear move in and out of the bag without any risk of the zip scratching the gear. I am very interested to test this when I finally get my hands on the bags next month. I have also noticed the webbing that appears on the front of the Version 2 bags will now make the bags compatible with the Armor series clip-on bags, which can be quickly attached and unattached from the Pilot series bags.

The 3-Point harness system appears to have had a major re-design when compared to those seen on the version 1 bags. Rather than using a fixed anchor point, there now appears to be flexibility to choose the optimum position of the anchor point and the main strap features the quick-adjust feature we now see on the latest Pilot bags. Click on the link below to see a video of the strap being used.

https://youtube.com/shorts/JDldCe8JBhw?si=TFssFFTYHmpLgMf1

Perhaps the biggest difference that will remain between the Rider Series and Pilot series will be how you access your 'bits and pieces' and the fact that the Rider series still have no provision for carrying a water bottle on the outside of the bag or a tripod underneath the bag (as found on the 7L and 10L Pilot bags).

Just like cameras and lenses, there is no one best bag. It's just a matter of weighing up your own personal priorities and then choosing a bag that best suits your current needs. The Version 2 Rider series may just tick enough boxes for you to want to consider one of these bags as your next camera bag.

Rider V2 Links