Peak Design, the innovative San Francisco manufacturer, is launching their first roller case: The Peak Design Roller Pro Carry-On Luggage. Responding to a flood of community requests, the new Roller Pro expands the company’s carry solutions lineup and may be their most professionally focused product yet. Designed for versatility, it can transport a full photography kit and even handle some essential filmmaking setups. All is safely encased inside a meticulously designed frame mixing high-end fabrics, materials, and details.
Roller bags are somewhat of a staple for professional filmmakers, content creators, and photographers. Their spacious, square, easy-to-organize interior fits most gear perfectly. The wheels let you haul full gear with ease, taking the load off your shoulders. While it won’t work outside, on off-the-grid excursions or extreme expeditions, most of us stick to the civilized, paved path. After reinventing the EDC segment with the legendary everyday backpack and recently venturing into the wild with their Outdoor Line, Peak Design now takes aim at the pro market.
The Peak Design way
For over a decade, Peak Design has reshaped the carry-accessory market. A key part of their approach is launching each major product or product line through Kickstarter campaigns. Innovation is key. Each and every Peak Design product incorporates unique design choices, custom-made hardware, and well-thought-out functionality. All products are at the higher end of their respective market segments, made from premium materials, and wrapped up in a lifetime warranty (which works perfectly in my personal experience).
Filmmaking for Photographers
Philip Bloom returns with this guide to making the jump from telling a story in a single frame to telling a story over time and space. This course is aimed at established photographers, but also holds relevant information for filmmakers.
Not your everyday trolley
Like its predecessors, the Peak Design Roller Pro is a premium suitcase. While it perfectly caters to any travel need, it’s aimed directly at filmmakers and photographers and has ample features to streamline creative workflow. At its core is an extremely slim carbon fiber telescopic handle. Made from luxurious material, this handle features next to no wobble and takes almost no depth from the interior. Slightly thickened at the base, it will tighten up once fully extended.
Tailor-made for filmmakers
The Peak Design Roller Pro may serve as ordinary carry-on luggage, but photography and filmmaking kits are its true friends. Several pockets and external carry solutions are available for your travel tripod, light stands, cables, and gadgets, but it’s the new Camera Cube XL that makes this roller a true gear carrier.
The Camera Cube XL is spacious enough to house small cine cameras (and maybe some medium-sized ones as well). It will swallow a RED Komodo and most other box cameras and will probably fit a Canon C400 and other similarly sized cameras – though no official claims have been made, so double-check if that’s your plan. The Roller Pro is also compatible with other Camera Cubes if you don’t need a full gear closet on wheels.
While the Peak Design Roller Pro will work for some dedicated cine gear, it will excel with hybrid cameras and respective lenses and accessories. You can easily fit two hybrid bodies and multiple lenses, audio gear, and compact lighting fixtures inside, and the interchangeable wheels will help take the weight off your shoulders. The Roller Pro is built to provide full gear access with a minimal footprint and an innovative opening.
From peak to plateau
The jargon of “reinventing” is quite common in the crowd funding arena. The smallest design change to a pocket knife or a carbon-fiber wallet is a “reinvention of the concept of cutting”, etc. It reminds me of the use of “machine learning”, then “deep learning,” and now “AI-based” to describe every little algorithm-based camera functionality. When it comes to Peak Design, that’s not the case. This San Francisco company, with quite humble origins, has actually reinvented some meaningful products, changing our camera-carry practices with their innovative camera clips, strap system, and the everyday backpack.
However, it seems like recent products aren’t as groundbreaking. The Travel Series is mostly a cube-based system. While impressively built and thought-out, it’s something we’ve all seen before. The Roller Pro, in my eyes, is the most mainstream product coming from Peak Design in a while, and that’s not a bad thing. It indicates the mature state of the company. Innovation is excellent, but we sometimes see way too much of it. Peak Design has managed to harness their innovative nature to cater to the needs of their community – innovation for the sake of functionality, not for the sake of innovation.
Price and availability
The Peak Design Roller Pro Kickstarter campaign price is $425 – $175 lower than its future MSRP of $600. This does not include the XL cube, which will set you back an additional $99 in the campaign and $140 when it’s available in the market. This $525-$740 price tag sets the Roller Pro apart from most photo-filmmaking trolleys, but you sure get what you pay for with premium design and materials, and a well-thought-out user experience.
Crowdfunding disclaimer
At the end of every crowdfunding-related article, we remind you to be aware of the risks when backing a project on a crowdfunding platform. Also, please read the platform’s use and remember there can be significant delays when delivering the product. Some projects don’t get delivered at all.
Will you opt for this high-end roller luggage for your next trip, be it by train, car, or plane? Will the Peak Design Roller Pro carry your kit on your next adventure? Or would you prefer a more mainstream solution? Let us know in the comments.
