ThinkTank Airport International Vs Security

[JClishe]

Does anyone have personal hands on experience with both the International and Security 2.0? They look very similar aside from the International being slightly smaller. I'm looking for a large carry-on roller bag and while I prefer the size of the Security, I've also seen feedback that it's too large for the overhead bins on some planes.
So I'm wondering if someone that's used them both can comment on any significant differences or preferences you have between them. I also want to be able to carry a small laptop + tablet + Wacom in it (I want to be able to carry photo equipment with me on business trips so I need to combine my work laptop and gear into this bag as well). It looks like the Security has a pocket that can hold an Artificial Intelligence bag which would actually be a nice way for me to transport my work gear. Not sure if the International has a similar pocket.
Anyway, any feedback on these bags in appreciated.

 

[chuasam]

My girlfriend has the ThinkTank Roller Derby and it is even better than both.

 

[JClishe]

My girlfriend has the ThinkTank Roller Derby and it is even better than both.

Thanks for the reply. I currently have the Streetwalker HD and I've compared its interior dimensions with every ThinkTank roller bag. Based on the equipment I currently carry in my Streetwalker and the capacity that I need to get to, the International and the Security are the only 2 ThinkTank bags relevant for this discussion.

 

[CameraClicker]

The bag at left is a Lowepro Computrekker Plus, the one at right is a Delsey Light Weight carry-on suitcase. Those bags have been on many planes. The one in the middle is a Think Tank Airport Security V2.0, which the Think Tank rep said would fit on most planes. It is new. I got it because I can put a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 and a Canon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 in the bag and still have lots of room left over. A third lens the size of those would be a problem. Of course, it is not a light bag and those are not light lenses, so getting on a plane with that much weight may be interesting too.
Flying on regional jets, they made me check my briefcase because those things have no space in the cabin. I think the Think Tank will fit the overhead bins if you are flying on wide-bodies, Airbus A300's, 747/767/777's, that sort of thing. The bag has an elastic cloth pocket covering about 2/3 of the front, which you might have to empty out to fit it in an overhead bin.

 

[JClishe]

View attachment 82068
The bag at left is a Lowepro Computrekker Plus, the one at right is a Delsey Light Weight carry-on suitcase. Those bags have been on many planes. The one in the middle is a Think Tank Airport Security V2.0, which the Think Tank rep said would fit on most planes. It is new. I got it because I can put a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 and a Canon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 in the bag and still have lots of room left over. A third lens the size of those would be a problem. Of course, it is not a light bag and those are not light lenses, so getting on a plane with that much weight may be interesting too.
Flying on regional jets, they made me check my briefcase because those things have no space in the cabin. I think the Think Tank will fit the overhead bins if you are flying on wide-bodies, Airbus A300's, 747/767/777's, that sort of thing. The bag has an elastic cloth pocket covering about 2/3 of the front, which you might have to empty out to fit it in an overhead bin.

Thanks for the info, this is great! The cloth pocket you're talking about on the front, is that the pocket that supposedly fits an Artificial Intelligence bag?

 

[TCampbell]

I have the Tenba bag. My older bag was a rolling/backpack and while I loved the bag, it was at times... just a bit to "thick" to fit in the overhead. I needed something that could pack the gear without needing to have as much depth on the outside of the bag. I measured my regular luggage (which fits on every plane I've flown other than the tiny puddle-jumpers) and felt that if I could get a camera bag with roughly the same dimensions I'd be safe. That strategy has worked out well. No problems carrying this bag on (at least not yet.)

Tenba calls this bag the "Universal" bag because it's the bag which meets the strictest airline carry-on size limits (hence "universal"). ThinkTank's "Universal" bag is their biggest bag and their bag which meets the strictest carry on rules is what they call the "International" bag.

Here's a shot of my bag contents:



I went with the "International" because I didn't want to be dealing with the notion that the bag wouldn't fit in an overhead be forced to check it.

In here you can see the following

Closest row:

1. 100mm macro lens (with hood)
2. 14mm prime lens (my circular polarizer is tucked on the side of that lens only because it's small enough that it didn't need all the room and I'd rather have the slightly more snug fit)
3. 135mm prime lens (with hood)
4. 24mm tilt-shift (without hood)

Middle row:

1. 24-70mm zoom
2. 5D III body (with grip) and 70-200mm zoom attached. (I actually hide a 3-stop and 10-stop ND filter underneath the lens as well as a microfiber cleaning towel just so that it all fits "level" considering the grip of the camera body hangs down much lower than the lens.)

Back row:

1. Teleconverter (not seen)
2. Flash transmitter (seen on left)
3. 2x speedlites (stacked on top of each other)
4. Camera battery charger (not seen - but in the back-right pocket)
5. Camera GPS module (which is sitting on top of the battery charger)

There are also misc. items (remote shutter release, spare batteries, memory cards, USB cables, etc. in the pockets on the extreme left in this photo as well as in the pockets on the top of the bag.

Given it all fits in the smaller (designed to meet the carry-on rules of the majority of airlines) version of the bag, I didn't see the need to go for the larger version of the bag which *might* get rejected by some airlines. When I travel, I won't necessarily even bring all this with me. That's a lot of lenses (6 lenses in this bag) and it's highly unlikely I'd actually need them all for any trip. One way to reduce risk of loss... is to leave gear at home if I won't be needing it. If I reduced the number of lenses, you can see the bag is designed to fit two bodies.

Also... the section of the bag nearer to the wheels is deeper than the section of the bag nearer to the handle. The left quarter is deeper... so I put the lenses that need a bit more height in that section (or I'll put something at the bottom of a pocket like a spare lens or body cap, a filter (in the filter case).

 

[Tailgunner]

View attachment 82068
The bag at left is a Lowepro Computrekker Plus, the one at right is a Delsey Light Weight carry-on suitcase. Those bags have been on many planes. The one in the middle is a Think Tank Airport Security V2.0, which the Think Tank rep said would fit on most planes. It is new. I got it because I can put a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 and a Canon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 in the bag and still have lots of room left over. A third lens the size of those would be a problem. Of course, it is not a light bag and those are not light lenses, so getting on a plane with that much weight may be interesting too.
Flying on regional jets, they made me check my briefcase because those things have no space in the cabin. I think the Think Tank will fit the overhead bins if you are flying on wide-bodies, Airbus A300's, 747/767/777's, that sort of thing. The bag has an elastic cloth pocket covering about 2/3 of the front, which you might have to empty out to fit it in an overhead bin.

It looks like that Thinktank security would push the limits on even the wide body planes. I'm interested to see what happens.

Another options would be a:

Thinktank Navigator and a Thinktank Urban Disguise 50/60/70

The Navigator can fit in most over head bins...maybe even a regional jet if it's not stuff to the gills. I travel with my Urban Disguise all the time fully stuffed and have zero issues fitting it under the seat, even on regional planes. You can also slide the Urban Disguise over the Navigators telescoping roller handle.

Things I stuff in my Urban Disguise 60:

D800
Nikon 18-35mm
Nikon 28-70mm 2.8
Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VRII (It can easily hold my D800 w/70-200mm 2.8 attached as long as the hood is inverted)
Blackrapid sport strap
Cable remote
Ipad
15" Macbook Pro
battery charger
2-filters
memory cards
compact memory card reader
camera rain coat
Ear buds

I haven't weighed this but it's not light. So I'm thinking about picking up a Navigator. I can put the bulk of my gear in it and misc gear in my Urban Disguise...even carry an extra body.

 

[CameraClicker]

You might like this video:

He talks about the pocket being suitable to hold a laptop sleeve at 5:10 or so. He thinks he would be OK checking the bag if necessary, at about 6:40. The lens he pulls out at about 8:30 is Canon's 100-400 L, which is the same size as the 70-200 f/2.8 L and 28-300. The bag is new to him too, so not on an airplane yet.

 

[CameraClicker]

On video per submission!
The notes with this video, , suggest he has flown with the bag.

 

[CameraClicker]

This video talks about the laptop going into the front pocket about 3 min in. . I don't have the Pixel Pocket. I use the card holder from one of my Lowepro Stealth Reporter bags.

 

[Tailgunner]

Thinktank Navigator & Thinktank Urban Disguise.

 

[Tailgunner]

I don't know if this helps, but one of our members is selling a Thinktank Airport bag. I don't know if it's an international but you could save a few bucks buying one used.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/buy-sell/367371-nikon-sale.html