Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi, my name is Paul, and I'm a bag addict. How bad? How 'bout bad enough that I forget how many I have or where I've stashed them all. Bad. In my experience "camera bags" protect equipment well but usually don't carry well, while "outdoors bags" carry well but usually don't protect equipment well. If you are running, hiking, cycling, climbing, motorcycling, or even just walking a lot, an outdoors bag with a camera bag insert can be nirvana. Good waist packs and messenger bags are designed to stabilize a load on your body, leaving you free to move comfortably, for long periods of time, even when doing strenuous stuff. The Crumpler bags are interesting because they aim to synthesize these two worlds, combining carrying/stability with protective inserts. I haven't looked at the Crumplers close enough to know how well the inserts are done. I prefer Billingham-type inserts which use soft material everywhere---this doesn't limit where you can place dividers. The Crumplers in general are not quiet bags, though the photog-targeted bags don't scream as loudly as the messenger-targeted bags. Being rooted in the bicycle messenger subculture, some Crumpler product names will make the conservative blush. CourrierWare, formerly in Cambridge, MA but now evidently in Vermont, also offer messenger/photo bags with inserts. I haven't seen any of these in person, but they've been mentioned favorably in the past on the LUG. Link: http://www.courierwareusa.com/level.shtml?20 My longest Leica lens is a 135mm Tele-Elmar, which is pretty compact, so I find many messenger bags are larger and taller than I need for my Leica-M gear. I like to use a Billingham small Hadley insert in a Mountainsmith, Dana or similar waistpack, which will let me cycle comfortably for 2-3 hours with an M6 body/lens, two additional lenses and a Ricoh GR1 in the insert, plus film, meter and other stuff in outer pockets. More than 3 hours is uncomfortable, not because of the weight on my lower back but because of the burn in my legs! A quasi-interesting sidenote is that many homegrown messenger bag makers exist, usually started by a messenger who got fed up with the big-company bags and struck out on his/her own. Made one for him/herself, then another few for buds, and before he/she knew it a CourrierWare, Chrome, Crumpler, PAC, Roach, etc was born. Crumpler is only "new" in the sense of just recently getting international exposure. I've seen reference to them doing messenger bags in Melbourne in early '99, and who knows how long before that they got started? Here's a link to this murky world: http://www.messengers.org/bags.html Disclaimer: I have tenuous links to both the bicycle and photo trade, I've met some of the bag people and seen some production facilities, and I've purchased some bags at wholesale. I'm not currently selling any bag lines, and my opinions are my own.... Cheers, PB On Thu, 7 Mar 2002 17:42:26 -0800, Guy Bennett <gbennett@lainet.com> wrote: [some snips performed] >It's from a Aussie company called "Crumpler" (any of you folks down >under ever hear of them?), which makes a surprising range of bags in a >variety of even more surprising sizes and colors. I think the bags were >originally made for messengers, but they've also got a line of camera bags >that are really well put together, with fantastic inserts to hold whatever >gear you'd want to drag along. I'm a long-time user of the Domke "little >bit smaller bag" and satchel, but I think I may be permanently switching. >http://www.crumplerusa.com/index.html Paul C. Brodek Hillsdale, N.J. U.S.A. E-mail: pcb@skyweb.net - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html