Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod Review
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod is a lightweight, no frills, semi-waterproof, protective camera case designed to carry and protect your point and shoot, mirrorless, or DSLR camera.
The primary intention of the camera pod is to be easily attached to a backpack to carry heavier cameras while hiking. However, I will show you how it can also be used as a stand alone camera case for travel or just a day out on the town.
The HMG Camera Pod is available in two sizes, regular and large, and in two colors, white and black.
Hyperlite says that "the regular size can fit smaller mirrorless cameras like the Sony α6000 series" and "the large size can accommodate cameras such as the Sony a7iii, Nikon Z6, or Canon EOS R." We'll dive more into this below.
Below I hope to give you all of the information you need to make an informed decision on if the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod is the one for you.
Testing Conditions
As a full time travel photographer, I have been using the large version of camera pod daily for almost a year now as the primary carry for my main camera setup (Canon R5 w/24-70mm f/2.8).
I have hiked 600+ miles with it across many different landscapes and weather conditions. I have trusted it to protect my cameras climbing up the harsh and unforgiving Baltoro Glacier to K2 basecamp in Pakistan; across the rainy, muddy and eventually sub-freezing Snowman Trek high in the Bhutanese Himalaya; to the dry, cold landscapes of Antarctica; through the windy, dusty and rainy trails of Patagonia; the sunny and pleasant Tour du Mont Blanc, circumnavigating the Svalbard Archipelago; and every city, bus, train, and airport in between.
I can tell you definitively, from real world experience, what this camera pod is great at and also where it lacks.
Let's dive in!
Pros, Meh and Cons
Pros
+ Excellent full body protection for your camera
+ Excellent exterior fabric durability
+ Minimalist and lightweight, no unneeded bulk
+ Versatile, can be used/carried in a variety of different ways
+ Good weight distribution for hiking with loaded pack
+ Perfect size for camera with daily carry lens and hood attached.
Meh
/ Potential for camera to fall out if left all the way unzipped
/ Awkward load distribution if pack is light/empty
/ Interior fabric durability
Cons
– Included carabiners are shit
– No lens cap storage
– Potential for chest sweat in warm climates
– If it gets dirty, so do you my friend
Specs
Sizes: Regular or Large
Colors: White or Black
Material: Dyneema Composite Fabrics (DCH150 + DCF8)
Weight (Regular): 0.2 lbs | 2.78 oz | 78.7g
Weight (Large): 0.2 lbs | 3.68 oz | 104.3g
Dimensions (Regular): 7" x 5.5" x 3.75" | 17.8cm x 14cm x 9.5cm
Dimensions (Large): 9.5” x 6.5” x 4.25” | 24cm x 16.5cm x 10.8cm
Fit (Regular): Most smaller mirrorless and point and shoot cameras like the Sony a6000 Series, Canon EOS M6, or Sony RX1000
Fit (Large): Most professional mirrorless and DSLR cameras with a medium zoom or kit lens like the Sony A7 Series, Canon EOS Series, or Nikon Z Series
Made In: Mexico
MSRP: $119 Regular / $139 Large
Features
Protection: 1/4” Closed Cell Foam (CCF) throughout
Daisy Chains: 8 points of attachment (4 front, 4 rear) allow you to custom fit the pod virtually anywhere on a backpack
Zipper: Water Resistant
Includes: Camera Pod, Carabiners, and Handle
The Good
Protection. I switched to the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod from the Peak Designs Capture Clip because I wanted more all around protection for my cameras while carrying them through harsh environments. I feel like the capture clip leaves your camera too exposed when the weather changes fast.
The HMG Pod delivers a nice 1/4″ foam all around which I find to be an adequate amount of padding without adding too much heft. I am no longer concerned with setting my pack down with my camera attached. On several occasions my pack has been knocked over, blown off of rocks, and slid down inclines with the pod attached. In each case it has protected my camera from damage. I wouldn’t expect it to fully save the camera in a fall from any significant height, but it will mitigate any potential damage. (*as long as it’s zipped up, more on that later)
I also like that it fully zips shut so when the weather picks up or I set my pack down in the dirt/snow/ice, my camera stays protected. The zipper is weather sealed and is great for keeping out dust and dirt however in my experience if it’s raining consistently or heavily, water will still make it’s way in. This is fair as HMG does not claim it is water proof, only water resistant but definitely something to keep in mind.
The DCH150 Dyneema outer shell has held up to my abuse remarkably well. I cannot detect any wearing of the outer fabric after a year of heavy use in very harsh environments and I do not baby this thing!
Minimalist/Light Weight. My large size weighs in at less than 4 ounces. For the protection that I am getting, 4 ounces is worth the carry weight. The foam is rigid’ish so the pod will stand on it’s own and it doesn’t quite pack down to lie flat but you can still compress it a bit if need be. I like that it’s simple, sleek and doesn’t draw attention to the fact there is an expensive camera inside.
Versatility. It seems HMG made this pod primarily to secure your camera to your hiking pack, which it does very well. When hiking, I use carabiners to attach the pod to the gear loops on my shoulder straps and as long as my pack is loaded, it distributes weight nice and evenly across the straps.
That said, with 4 gear loops on the front and 4 more on the back, there is nice versatility to mount the pod in a variety of other ways.
For example, when I am not hiking I use Peak Design Slide camera strap with the Peak Design Anchor Links to quickly attach the strap to the carabiners on the pod and have a nice comfortable way to carry my camera around town without it looking like I’m carrying a camera. I really enjoy this configuration as I can pull my camera out to take a quick photo without the restriction of a strap around me and then stash it back away out of sight.
Before I invested in a proper camera backpack, I would also store one of my cameras in the camera pod and then put the pod in my carry on bag when traveling.
When in Antarctica, I put my camera inside the camera pod and the entire pod inside a dry bag for the zodiac rides to shore. That way I didn’t have to worry about setting the dry bag on the floor of the zodiac with my camera in it.
Size: I find the large camera pod to be the perfect fit for my Canon R5 w/24-70mm f/2.8 WITH the lens hood attached. I throw a lens cloth at the bottom of the pod for a little extra protection and I can fit the entire setup inside fully close the zipper.
The Meh
Stability. Part of the awesomeness of the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod is the ease of access to your camera. To facilitate that quick access, generally speaking I leave the top unzipped so I can just grab the camera out and not miss a shot.
The potential downside to this is that if you trip or stumble with the top fully unzipped, the camera could fall out. This happened to me in Bhutan crossing a river, I slipped on a rock and my camera took a dive into the drink.
The solution is to just partially zip each size to secure the lid a little bit, however then you have to unzip to grab the camera. It would be cool if there were some sort of elastic with a small hook to secure the lid when you don’t want it all the way zipped. A minor thing, but worth mentioning.
Use with a light/empty pack. It can be slightly awkward to use the HMG Camera Pod with a light load or empty pack. This of course depends on the weight of your camera set up.
If I have only a couple of layers in my pack and the camera pod attached to the front, the weight of my Canon R5 with 24-70 f/2.8 lens pulls the front of the pack forward and down so that the hip belt rides up above my waist. No matter how tight I make the hipbelt, I can’t get it to stay in place which ends up putting more pressure on my shoulders.
This isn’t really the fault of the camera pod, just something to think about when determining how you will use it.
Interior durability. Unlike the exterior, the interior Dyneema fabric is very thin. I imagine this is to save weight. It’s a nice and bright aqua color however after a year of solid use the lining has started to wear out and tear at the bottom and around the zipper on the inside (see pics below). To HMG’s credit, when I wrote them about this, they offered to send me some gear tape to patch it up. Thanks HMG!
The Bad
Included Carabiners. The carabiners that are included with the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod are comically small. It is impossible to quickly attach/detach them to your pack.
When hiking in Pakistan, I needed to quickly take my pack off and get into the back of a truck at one point and I could not for the life of me get the carabiner to detach using my bare hands. If you have gloves on, please share a video of you trying to detach these so we can all have a good laugh.
I got so frustrated using the included carabiners that I ended up tossing them and buying a pair of slightly bigger and more robust ones at a gear shop in Chamonix. I recommend you do the same unless HMG updates these.
No lens cap storage. I REALLY wish the camera pod had a small exterior stretch pocket on the front or side to store a lens cap.
When I set up my camera for the day, I take the lens cap off and put the lens hood on. Thankfully as I mentioned the pod is big enough to hold the camera with the hood attached and the hood keeps the lens from touching the bottom of the pod. This setup is great to be able to just grab the camera and take a quick picture.
But them I’m left with what to do with the cap. There is nowhere to store it. Currently I am attaching the HMG Shoulder Pocket to the front of the camera pod as a work around, but then it’s bulky and not the best setup.
A small, minimalist stretch pocket would easily fix this and not add too much bulk. It could also be a great place to store a phone or a Go Pro.
Sweat and Dirt. If you attach the pod to your pack shoulder straps and it’s warm out, prepare for some chest sweat as there is no breathable material on the back of the pod.
In addition, if the pod gets dirty say from setting your pack on the ground, when you strap back up all that dirt is going to transfer to the front of your shirt. You might think that’s an easy workaround, but I’m here to tell you from experience that it’s harder than you think to keep it, and thus yourself, clean.
Final Thoughts
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod is an excellent solution for carrying and protecting your expensive point and shoot, mirrorless, or DLSR camera while hiking and also just for travel in general. I love mine and will continue to use it for the foreseeable future. It would be cool to see HMG making a lens case for those of us that carry around multiple lenses.
If HMG were to release an updated version (better carabiners, stretch pocket, maybe some breathable material on the back) I think that would put it far above any competition out there. I know I would certainly buy it.
Detailed Pics
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