New Tenba Backpack - awesome and CRJ FRIENDLY!!!

[dewey]

Along with my old dead tripod my photo backpack was falling apart. I had decided on the Tamrac Expedition 7 and drove down to the photo store to pick it up. When I got there I played with the bag just to be sure of what I was getting. I liked what I saw - very roomy and solid. The huge issue for me was that the huge support belt was not removable. WHAT??!?!$#$@

Don't get me wrong when my bag is fully loaded I love the belt, but walking though a downtown area I don't want to attract that much attention to my gear. Real slick Tamrac.

I was sad.

I was conflicted.

I was annoyed at Tamrac.

I dug through the bags wondering why I had waited until the last possible moment to buy a bag. I was leaving the next day for a three week trip and I could not take my current bag. Then a Tenba bag caught my eye. It was big, and it looked sturdy. It even had a slot for a laptop... the inside was well thought out with the standard dividers. It had seperate pockets for media cards and a pull out stand up "work center". It has a weatherproof cover included. I liked the bag, but didn't like the horizontal tripod straps on the bottom of the bag. What should I do I wondered?

Then it happened.

The waist support belt is REMOVABLE!!!! Sold.

I can say it's not as roomy as I would have liked, but I wanted something not too bulky so I'm glad I didn't go bigger. I can fit a body with a mounted 70-200 lens and a body with a mounted 17-55 lens in the pack so I'm ready for anything without having to switch lenses. (In my last bag my second body would not fit with the lens mounted.) They both have battery grips attached so it's deep enough for that. I also have 2 other lenses and 2 flashes in the pack as well. It also easily fit a pair of chargers and spare batteries. It even has a cool zipper on the sides so I can get to my other lenses without opening the entire pack. The weather cover is well made and has a nice reflective area for safety.

Another major plus for me was it passed the CRJ test. It's not hard to find a bag that will fit in the overhead of a full size jet, but this bag will fit fully loaded into a CRJ overhead bin. I can travel anywhere without ever leaving my equipment. ROCK ON!



The only downside to the bag I have found so far is the computer compartment is a bit small. My 15" mac will fit, but only with some Crisco.

http://www.tenbagear.com/products/2000_01_pb15c.asp

Check it out if you travel frequently - it's well made, well thought out and well worth the $200