Review: Think Tank Darklight 20L backpack

It may seem strange to be drawn to a camera bag because of what it can carry on the outside, but this is what first drew me to Think Tank's DarkLight backpack, a new model for 2025. 

Described by Think Tank as a "tactical-style camera rucksack engineered for urban and field deployments”, this is a bag that looks and feels very paramilitary-esque, with a robust, utilitarian design and plenty of storage for camera gear, all while looking very much not like a camera bag.

The Darklight series of bags is available in two sizes and two different colours, black and montane green, and in 20 and 14L capacities, with the 20L version on the test bench here. 

So, is it any good? Let's take a look.

The exterior

When you see the Think Tank DarkLight, the first thing that stands out is its laser-cut MOLLE panel and webbing rails.

What’s a ‘MOLLE panel’ you may ask?

MOLLE stands for ‘Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment’ and is a system used by military and tactical gear enthusiasts for attaching things to e.g. pouches, gear, and accessories.

This feature, along with its classic military black or green colourways and the webbing rails on the side, is what gives the bag its distinct para-military look.

But it’s not just about looks. More importantly these attachment features give you the ability to easily increase the bag's carrying capacity, and to me, this is one of the key features of the DarkLight series.

There's a number of other smart features on the exterior of the bag too, including a right-side pocket designed to fit a water bottle or a tripod, a luggage handle ‘pass-through’ on rear panel, meaning you can attach it to the handle of any rolling luggage, a top handle to easily “grab and go”, excellent construction including the use of YKK RC zippers with classic, and really nice ergonomic and easy to grab zipper pulls and some seriously robust fabric - a PFAS-free Durable Water-Repellent (DWR) coating (for water resistance).

To get to your contents inside, you can access them via a top zippered panel, or via the back-panel. This means you don’t have to take your bag off, helping negate putting it down and potentially getting it dirty or wet.  And speaking of wet, there's also an included rain cover, a nice touch.

Finally, i liked that the bag has the ability to detach the waist belt. Why? Well, if you have ever needed to stow your bag in an overhead compartment whilst travelling, you’ll probably guess why. But if not, waist belts often get caught up, so being able to detach one is a nice option.

And speaking of travel, the 20L size should easily meet most Australian domestic carry-on requirements.

Domestic carry-on allowance** vs Think Tank DarkLight 20L+

	Length (cm)	Width (cm)	Depth (cm)	Weight (kg)
DarkLight 20L	50	31	22	1.5
Qantas*	56	36	23	10
Virgin	56	36	23	7
Jetstar	56	36	23	7

*Except dash 8
** Correct at time of publishing. Check with your airline for their current carry-on requirements

The inside

OK, so now the outside is covered, what can you actually carry inside a DarkLight 20L?

Well, on the inside, there's a front pocket large enough to fit a 16-inch MacBook Pro.

In addition, I could easily fit in two standard mirrorless camera bodies with some smaller lenses (i.e. a 16-35mm and 24-70mm) attached, and a few more smaller lenses/batteries etc, or a longer telephoto lens (100-400mm) attached to the body, a spare body and a few smaller lenses, with no problems.

And as with all Think Tank products, you are supplied a variety of adjustable dividers that allow you to accommodate your different configurations/equipment as they change.

Additionally inside, there are Zippered pockets for some smaller items (e.g. memory cards, keys etc) as well as an inside back panel pocket that should allow you to fit up to a 16” Macbook Pro.

The wrap-up 

I really like Think Tank's equipment, and for me, what initially drew me to the bag – the ability to attached a lot of stuff to the outside – surprisingly ended up teaching me something about myself!

Given where I work and how I work, I normally find a lot of stuff attached to the outside of my camera bag often won't work for me - think getting in and out of planes, and vehicles for one. For me, a tripod and water bottle are about all I need.

But where this changes is if you do find the ability to change the carrying capacity of your bag a useful feature. I know photographers who shoot varied subject matter would find a bag with this functionality useful, and especially so as the MOLLE design makes clipping things to the bag very quick and easy.

At the same time, you get a bag that's very comfortable to wear, gives you the ability to access equipment without needing to take the bag off, and with top access, all with Think Tank's now universally highly regarded robustness and security for your gear.

If you're a photographer who appreciates versatility above almost all else, I’d say the DarkLight series by Think Tank is really something to check out.