As I’m waiting for my custom-made Timbuk2 Laptop Messenger to arrive (ETA is 12/19 – full review will come soon after :)), I’m wondering what features make up the perfect bag. The Ona Union Street was pretty close – it held a lot, it looked great and it seemed like it would be comfortable to carry. Unfortunately, it lacked a key element: accessibility. A bag needs to be convenient to be effective, and even if the Ona wasn’t a fairly expensive bag ($279 isn’t Billingham money, but it isn’t AmazonBasics, either), I would have been unhappy to carry it. I sent it back – B&H just confirmed my refund today – a free plug: They rock. Their customer service rocks. I highly recommend them, and hope to spend a few hours wandering in their store sometime soon. Anyway…
My bag needs to have the following traits:
- Versatile – lots of pockets and places to put stuff that is easily accessible. Travel well.
- Spacious – hold my body and 4-5 lenses. One lens would be replaced by a flash (when I own one and decide to carry it…). It needs to hold my laptop and various cables, notebook, pens, etc. so I can have a single bag when I travel.
- Protective – don’t let me break my stuff. Please.
- Comfortable – my equipment felt more comfortable to carry in the Ona bag vs. my current LowePro 202 AW, and actually felt lighter. Also, don’t have fiddly designs – be simple and easy.
- Attractive – as I mentioned in my other article, I travel in the corporate world, and I want something that has some style and design. The pro photographers roll their eyes at this, but I’ll steal my own quote: I don’t want a bag that looks like it belongs on “That 70’s Show or “Star Trek” – I want something that looks good. Attractive design and high function aren’t mutually exclusive. They just seem to be in the world of camera bags…
So that’s my list – what do you want in a bag? What do you love and/or hate about the bag you have now? Traditional, messenger or backpack?
I do alot of hiking and horseback riding, so a backpack type of bag is what I find to work best for me, it even has a place for a 17” laptop if I felt the urge to carry one.
Raven
I roll with a ThinkTank Photo Street Walker Pro bag. I love it. It isn’t quite handy enough to shoot from the hip and grab out of the bag BUT it holds everything and is very, very durable.
You guys might want to check out Part 1 of my review of the Snoop from Timbuk2. Part 2 is on the way… 🙂