****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
It's almost impossible to find a "perfect" camera bag for travel, because every photographer carries different gear for their different photographic specialties. My top priority is for the bag to be a true carry-on, on just about any airline. The idea of checking my camera gear and leaving it in the heavy hands of airport baggage handlers makes me cringe. My second priority is for the bag to be sturdy and padded enough to offer real protection for the rigors of travel. This bag ticks both of those boxes.In truth, I feel like this is a 4 1/2 star bag...not a 5 star bag. Think Tank camera bags will always get 5 stars for build quality. You just can't beat them. And Think Tank bags offer good design and flexibility of use. So...yes...5 stars there.Pros: Build quality. This thing is built to last.Size: This bag is small. I repeat: THIS BAG IS SMALL. It will act as a carry on on most flights. Only on the smallest airplanes will this bag pose an issue, and even then, it might be OK. Like all Think Tank bags, this one too, is well thought out. I am AMAZED at how much gear I was able to fit into it on my last trip. Worth noting, I am a wildlife photographer so I carry long lenses. Inside my bag I have two Sony mirrorless camera bodies, a Sony 300mm 2.8 lens with 2X converter, Sony 100-400 lens, batteries, chargers, cross body straps and other small accessories. Worth noting for those who are curious, my Sony 200-600 lens does fit in this bag, but if that is the case, no other large lens can join it.Design: This bag is well thought out, however, this is the category that I feel could use some improvement. The main body of the bag is basically a big rectangle. It's worth noting here that the pull handle does eat into the interior space quite a bit which I guess should be expected. It also gives the "floor" of the bag an uneven surface. I had to put my Sony 300mm 2.8 lens where it is shown in the mage (in the middle) as the lens hood's diameter was too deep for it to fit in any other spot. Also, the telescoping pull handle is very long and is not adjustable to different heights. WHAT? WHY? This is a major oversight from Think Tank. IF you really need a bag with an effective tripod or mono pod holder on it, this is not the bag for you. There is a stretchy panel on one side of the bag with tie-down straps above it, but I tried it. This is just not suitable for what it's intended for. If you have a very narrow water bottle, it might suffice for that. But not for a tripod or mono pod. Think Tank...please re-think-tank this.The bag itself is very much a Plain Jane. For the money, I would like to have seen some visual character added to the bag. It's basically just a very plain, ordinary-looking black rectangle. Maybe this is a good thing if you don't want your bag to stand out...and maybe with thousands of dollars worth of camera gear in it...we don't.The wheels on the bag are VERY smooth. The beauty of Think Tank is that the wheels and pull handle are replaceable for free if they should ever break during the lifetime of the bag. Very nice!The backpack feature of this bag is very interesting and well thought out. In fact, it's outstanding. It deploys very easily and is surprisingly comfortable considering that a fully loaded bag is quite heavy. You can even leave the straps available but tuck them into the bottom flap so they don't drag on the ground...or you can quickly stow them completely.OK, let's talk about the elephant in the room...WEIGHT! This bag weighs slightly over 7 POUNDS empty! So by the time you load it with gear, it's heavy! I don't know how that can be avoided for a rolling bag. It just is...what it is.Visual footprint: This bag looks small. That is important when flying. There is nothing about this bag that says "I am too big to be a carry-on". It is not attention grabbing. That is the main reason that I kept it. It requires careful "puzzle packing" to get everything into it. But it works. I don't feel like it's going to fall apart during my travels. Can you imagine being on a trip and having your camera bag fail? What would you do? That would be awful! I don't fear that with this bag.My summery: If you are looking for a bag to carry an edited amount of gear with you on an airplane, this is a good choice. If you need a bag that will carry all of your kit, look further. This bag is sturdy, versatile, and very functional. It won't draw attention to itself...it will just quietly do it's job.
