The maker
The story of Leichtmut.
Handmade ultralight camera bags by Jacob Muth in Hamburg, Germany.
Thanks to Fabian Gottschlich from film-craft.de for this video!
2018
Where it started.
I love backpacking as much as photography. For me, the two are intertwined. I love to capture the beauty of nature, and it's the joy of photography that drives me outdoors.
In 2018, during my studies, I started taking photography seriously. Astrophotography caught my interest, so I invested in my first full-frame camera, a wide-angle lens, and a star tracker. I was living in London at the time, and took the train up to the Lake District for some dark-sky shooting. I have to say, I felt the weight of my gear on every step up the fells.
That's when I started getting into ultralight backpacking. But I quickly reached a wall when it came to my camera gear. There was no advice to be had, because most ultralighters had ditched their camera years ago.
2020
First prototype.
My question remained: how do you carry your camera gear in a way that's easily accessible, protected from rain and rough terrain, and yet doesn't add unnecessary weight? The available options weren't cutting it. Camera clips didn't provide protection, conventional bags were far too heavy, and the few ultralight camera bags couldn't fit a second lens.
By early 2020 I had moved back home to Hamburg, now working as a copywriter. As a weekend project, I sewed my first backpack on my mom's sewing machine. It was in the style of an ultralight backpack with an additional zippered side opening: I could take off the backpack, flip it on its side, unzip, and access my camera gear inside an internal compartment. It was my first sewing project, and it's the inspiration for today's Dawn 22L backpack.
Even though I'm still proud of this first project, it had two issues: I couldn't really flip my backpack on its side when I was using my side pockets, and I still needed a separate bag to store my camera inside the backpack.
2022
Roamer, first try.
Before I figured out a solution, the pandemic hit and my hiking plans paused. But when the pandemic caught up with me personally and I was stuck in my bedroom for two weeks, my mind drifted to the outdoors again. I decided I wanted to hike the Kungsleden in Sweden, and I knew I needed the right camera bag for this adventure.
That's when I came up with the first prototype of the Roamer. It still had a zipper and wasn't exactly pretty inside, but I made it as lightweight as I possibly could. It weighed only 140 g and fit my Canon EOS RP, multiple lenses, a filter bag, spare batteries, and a few accessories.
Even though this was lighter than today's Roamer and had more features (a pocket inside the lid, for instance), and even though it worked well enough for my Kungsleden trail, it wasn't quite what I had envisioned.
The open foam interior was so sticky it was hard to pull gear out, 4 mm of foam didn't give a bag of this size enough rigidity, the dividers never stayed in place, and the zippered lid couldn't be properly sealed.
February 2024
Shaped by the trail.
Two years later, I quit my job and had some time to go hiking while I was searching for a new role. I had iterated my camera bag design over a few previous hikes, and it was time to test the latest version on the Fishermen's Trail in Portugal.
On the first day of the trail, a heavy rainstorm hit. I knew I should have stuffed my camera bag away into my backpack because I hadn't been able to figure out how to seal those zipper seams … but I couldn't. We had only just reached the sea, and I wanted to capture the stormy waves.
When I finally opened my camera bag, I found a small puddle at the bottom. Camera and lenses, wet.
Needless to say, I wasn't happy. But it got me thinking: what if the camera bag had a rolltop opening that could seal tightly against the rain?
When I got back, I immediately sat down at the sewing machine, and the next version of the bag emerged. I tested it on a winter ski trip, back on the Kungsleden. This trip proved that a rolltop can work for a camera bag – I only had to figure out a way to make access quicker.
April 2024
A path of my own.
By spring, I was in a new job. I quickly realized it wasn't for me, and I quit two months later, uncertain about what to do next.
As I sat with the question, the answer came: I wanted to build something of my own. I considered freelance copywriting, but the rise of AI seemed too large a threat to that profession. I also considered photography. But then I remembered my camera bag. I was pretty sure that I wasn't the only backpacker or photographer with this problem, and that others would love my solution too.
And so, months of refining followed. I came up with the quick access magnetic lid. I tested many different construction methods until I created my own. I kept refining the balance between weight and functionality. I added the Scout and the Ranger.
And finally, it was a product worth sharing.
November 2024
Leichtmut begins.
Later that year, I launched my website. I actually remember my first sale – it was to someone whom I had previously been discussing rolltops for camera bags with, over on the "Make Your Own Gear" subreddit. Looks like I convinced them!
In 2025, I built around 300 ultralight camera bags. I added the Lens Bag, the Drone Bag, and kept improving my existing designs.
It became clear to me that I'm not the only one looking to lighten my load without leaving the camera behind. It's finally possible, and more is coming!
Now
Out in the world.
My bags have been to places I can only dream of going. They've spent much more time outdoors than I ever will. I keep receiving feedback, and I'm so thankful for every single line.
What started as a very minimal ultralight camera bag is now many different camera bags. I’ve added lots of custom choices thanks to customers’ requests and recommendations, and today almost no two bags look the same. Different fabrics, colors, sizes and features – have a look at the custom build gallery to see a few.
The Slinger is the newest addition to my camera bags, and it has turned into the one I use the most. It's my daily driver, and I clip it to my Dawn backpack, today's version of my very first sewing project.
What's next? For one, I'm working on a larger backpacking version of the Dawn. And most importantly, I'm very happy building these bags for a living, in the job that I created for myself. And that means I'll keep working on more designs and improving my products.
So that both you and I may never miss another shot.
Never miss another shot.
Ultralight camera bags, quick access magnetic lid, waterproof rolltop design. Handmade to order in Hamburg, custom-sized to your camera gear.
See the bags