Think Tank Urban Disguise 60 :: Review
A much coveting of my friend Dave's Think Tank shoulder bag, I found a very lightly used one over at the Fred Miranda Buy&Sell forums for a good price. Because I'm such a female when it comes to camera bags (I seem to lust over new bags on a weekly basis) it was decided that I needed something that would store a little more gear than my Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Hotel including my 12" G4 laptop when I needed it, but wanted something smaller than the giagantic beast that was the December Quarter but I wanted it to be more of a shoulder-bag in style, and, most importantly, I wanted something that looked low profile and didn't look like I was moving a bunch of photo equipment in it.
Whenever I saw Dave with his Urban Disguise, it make me want it even more. So I bought one.
This shoulder bag is swank. It kind of makes me forget all about my 7 Million Dollar Hotel, and I might just go head and sell the Crumpler to help make up for the cash I spent on this bag.
Firstly, this bag can hold a bunch of stuff. A lot of stuff. I have it set up so that it can hold my Canon 5D with or without a lens mounted in the center of the "camera" section, leaving me to put other lenses and etc. on each side.
Pocket wise, this sucker is loaded. Pockets, more pockets, and even more pockets!. And if that wasn't enough, it even has hidden pockets for top secret things. Its crazy!
Starting from the face side of the bag we have:
Flip over cover, which has a zippered pocket that opens and has single spaces for pens, business cards, etc. Plus it has a secret zippered compartment for top secret mission plans, anti-zombie government recipies, or other things you might not want to end up loosing (boarding passes, passport, etc). The secret compartment has a small red ribbon on the zipper to let you know its top secret. Shhhh.
After lifting the face cover, there are Two large collapsible pockets that are large and can house Pro-body cameras without a lens attached. Or, for me, it can hold speedlights, umbrella brackets, speedlight battery packs, etc. There is also another zippered compartment that has more individual slots for business cards, memory cards, pens, etc. And it also comes with a small tri-fold memory card wallet that attaches to a cord. Super cool!
Moving to the main body of the bag, we have the center section for the camera storage. This section is really the meat and potatoes of the bag and takes up the majority of the storage space. As you can see in the photo up above, just about all of the stuff I have laid out in front of the bag is sitting in this camera section. The camera body, the lenses, everything but the flash and battery pack are sitting inside this section. Plus, Think Tank stacks these bags with lots of velco walls and dividers. So many that I've got most of them in my closet because I just couldn't use them all. Very cool. With some of the velco walls, I use them as "covers" so I can cover the tops of the lenses and camera. When you open the bag, you can't see any of the gear, with the exception of what I put on top of that stuff. There is also a side pocket in there for magazines or whatever. Think Tank tossed in a great rain cover that slips over the bag, and I keep it in this little side pocket. Again, very cool.
Behind the camera compartment is a large padded and zippered section that holds up to a 17" laptop. My tiny little 12" powerbook is pretty tiny in there, so I used some of the velcro dividers to build the walls up and create a little "slot" that the powerbook slides into so it doesn't slide back and forth in the pocket.
Flipping the bag around to the back side, there is another large, flat zippered pocket that is perfect for magazines (or in my case a portfolio of my work, as seen in the photo). This bag also has a double zippered section that unzips on the top and bottom so that the bag will slide over the handles of a larger rolling camera bag. Think Tank even put a little foldover stopper on these zippers, so the don't accidentally open up while in transit. Coolness x2!! There is even a small clear window that holds even more business cards!! The coolness doesn't end!!!
The bag has a very comfortable shoulder strap, with very ample padding on it. It has very intense metal buckles that hook into metal loops on the bag. You can move the strap around however you like to make it rest more comfortably. The bag also has very comfy leather handle straps, that don't velcro together. I like this because I don't like to fumble with that interwrapping velcro stuff on handles. Too silly. I simply move the straps to the side and it allows me easy access.
The zippers on this bag feel meaty. Some bags I've owned in the past had zippers that felt like they would break or teeth could fall off any minute. I own bags where that has happened. This bag doesn't feel like that at all. These feel very meaty and large. Very impressive
Oh, also, there are flexible pockets on either side of the bag, big enough to hold more items like speedlights. I can easily hold a speedlight on each side if I needed to. Usually I just use one light on location, but I could easily carry a few more if it was necessary.
Here is a photo of the bag fully packed up.
Here is a photo of the bag loaded and zipped closed.
Here is the bag being worn as a shoulder bag, and also a photo of it being held by its leather handles.
This bag is pretty damn good. I've used it for a few location shoots so far, and it can hold everything I need except my light stand and my softbox. Think Tank also makes a backpack harness thing for this, so if I wanted to, I could attach the harness and wear it on my back. Wicked!
I strongly recommend this bag for someone looking for an alternative to the Walt Disney color-schemes of the Crumpler line, and for anyone looking for a exceptionally built, professional, low profile shoulder bag that will house everything you need for small location shoots.
Totally worth the money I spent on the bag. Comfy, roomy, and looks very slick when i wear it as well. Be warned that this bag can get pretty heavy when its fully loaded But, unlike the December Quarter I used to own, it isn't HUGE and doesn't SMASH into my hips or sides when I'm walking with it loaded.
Fantastic bag. Fantastic quality. Major kudos to Think Tank.
Think Tank Urban Disguise 60 :: Review
A much coveting of my friend Dave's Think Tank shoulder bag, I found a very lightly used one over at the Fred Miranda Buy&Sell forums for a good price. Because I'm such a female when it comes to camera bags (I seem to lust over new bags on a weekly basis) it was decided that I needed something that would store a little more gear than my Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Hotel including my 12" G4 laptop when I needed it, but wanted something smaller than the giagantic beast that was the December Quarter but I wanted it to be more of a shoulder-bag in style, and, most importantly, I wanted something that looked low profile and didn't look like I was moving a bunch of photo equipment in it.
Whenever I saw Dave with his Urban Disguise, it make me want it even more. So I bought one.
This shoulder bag is swank. It kind of makes me forget all about my 7 Million Dollar Hotel, and I might just go head and sell the Crumpler to help make up for the cash I spent on this bag.
Firstly, this bag can hold a bunch of stuff. A lot of stuff. I have it set up so that it can hold my Canon 5D with or without a lens mounted in the center of the "camera" section, leaving me to put other lenses and etc. on each side.
Pocket wise, this sucker is loaded. Pockets, more pockets, and even more pockets!. And if that wasn't enough, it even has hidden pockets for top secret things. Its crazy!
Starting from the face side of the bag we have:
Flip over cover, which has a zippered pocket that opens and has single spaces for pens, business cards, etc. Plus it has a secret zippered compartment for top secret mission plans, anti-zombie government recipies, or other things you might not want to end up loosing (boarding passes, passport, etc). The secret compartment has a small red ribbon on the zipper to let you know its top secret. Shhhh.
After lifting the face cover, there are Two large collapsible pockets that are large and can house Pro-body cameras without a lens attached. Or, for me, it can hold speedlights, umbrella brackets, speedlight battery packs, etc. There is also another zippered compartment that has more individual slots for business cards, memory cards, pens, etc. And it also comes with a small tri-fold memory card wallet that attaches to a cord. Super cool!
Moving to the main body of the bag, we have the center section for the camera storage. This section is really the meat and potatoes of the bag and takes up the majority of the storage space. As you can see in the photo up above, just about all of the stuff I have laid out in front of the bag is sitting in this camera section. The camera body, the lenses, everything but the flash and battery pack are sitting inside this section. Plus, Think Tank stacks these bags with lots of velco walls and dividers. So many that I've got most of them in my closet because I just couldn't use them all. Very cool. With some of the velco walls, I use them as "covers" so I can cover the tops of the lenses and camera. When you open the bag, you can't see any of the gear, with the exception of what I put on top of that stuff. There is also a side pocket in there for magazines or whatever. Think Tank tossed in a great rain cover that slips over the bag, and I keep it in this little side pocket. Again, very cool.
Behind the camera compartment is a large padded and zippered section that holds up to a 17" laptop. My tiny little 12" powerbook is pretty tiny in there, so I used some of the velcro dividers to build the walls up and create a little "slot" that the powerbook slides into so it doesn't slide back and forth in the pocket.
Flipping the bag around to the back side, there is another large, flat zippered pocket that is perfect for magazines (or in my case a portfolio of my work, as seen in the photo). This bag also has a double zippered section that unzips on the top and bottom so that the bag will slide over the handles of a larger rolling camera bag. Think Tank even put a little foldover stopper on these zippers, so the don't accidentally open up while in transit. Coolness x2!! There is even a small clear window that holds even more business cards!! The coolness doesn't end!!!
The bag has a very comfortable shoulder strap, with very ample padding on it. It has very intense metal buckles that hook into metal loops on the bag. You can move the strap around however you like to make it rest more comfortably. The bag also has very comfy leather handle straps, that don't velcro together. I like this because I don't like to fumble with that interwrapping velcro stuff on handles. Too silly. I simply move the straps to the side and it allows me easy access.
The zippers on this bag feel meaty. Some bags I've owned in the past had zippers that felt like they would break or teeth could fall off any minute. I own bags where that has happened. This bag doesn't feel like that at all. These feel very meaty and large. Very impressive
Oh, also, there are flexible pockets on either side of the bag, big enough to hold more items like speedlights. I can easily hold a speedlight on each side if I needed to. Usually I just use one light on location, but I could easily carry a few more if it was necessary.
Here is a photo of the bag fully packed up.
Here is a photo of the bag loaded and zipped closed.
Here is the bag being worn as a shoulder bag, and also a photo of it being held by its leather handles.
This bag is pretty damn good. I've used it for a few location shoots so far, and it can hold everything I need except my light stand and my softbox. Think Tank also makes a backpack harness thing for this, so if I wanted to, I could attach the harness and wear it on my back. Wicked!
I strongly recommend this bag for someone looking for an alternative to the Walt Disney color-schemes of the Crumpler line, and for anyone looking for a exceptionally built, professional, low profile shoulder bag that will house everything you need for small location shoots.
Totally worth the money I spent on the bag. Comfy, roomy, and looks very slick when i wear it as well. Be warned that this bag can get pretty heavy when its fully loaded But, unlike the December Quarter I used to own, it isn't HUGE and doesn't SMASH into my hips or sides when I'm walking with it loaded.
Fantastic bag. Fantastic quality. Major kudos to Think Tank.