Crumpler?!

rosselliot

got any opinions or experience with crumpler bags? I'm diggin' the style, because they don't actually look like a huge camera bag, however they ARE made for that....yet they're a little expensive, and I'd like to make sure it's what I want and need before I buy it....is it a good quality workmanship, etc. I'd appreciate AND comments that one might have on it!!!! Thanks a ton!

- RE

in case you don't know what they are - here's a link to a picture of one of their bags: http://gallery.rei.com/media/533034.jpg

HeldDown

Great quality bags, but I find that the more "boring" brands are the most useful in the ends (Lowepro, Tamrac, etc.)

Crumpler bags are hot though!

marlof

Many in here use Crumpler bags, and love the build quality. I have the December Quarter, of which you can find a review on this site done by Eric/DocterIT. You can also find a review of the Shrinkle, a backpack style bag.

gus

The search function holds many answers.

rosselliot

- and I did do a search before posting this, but I swear nothing came up....but I did only search in the accessory category, because I figured that's where it would be if anywhere. I'm SORRY!!!!!

Thanks for information thought - I really appreciate it!

gus

rosselliot wrote:

I'm SORRY!!!!!

Please...no need to yell at me. I was simply pointing out a large amount of information in one hit.

wxwax

I have the biggest one. Karachi Outpost. Well made, durable, comfortable, not designed by photographers IMHO. The side spaces in the main bag have sloping sides, not a good fit for lenses. And there's relatively little storage space for stuff other than lenses, and what there is doesn't work very well.

MrBook2

Six Million Dollar Home bag
I have the Crumpler Six Million Dollar Home bag, and I love it. It has plenty of room for my D70, SB-600 flash, 18-200 zoom plus an extra lens (or two if they are not big zooms) plus cards, etc. I have a bunch of pictures of the bag to show the construction around here someplace if you want me to point you at them. Unfortunately I didn't really have anything in the bag at the time (it was new) so it doesn't show the scale all that well.

kdog

I have the Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home, and I'd say it's OK, not great. The only real advantage to it is that it doesn't look that much like a camera bag to non-photographers. Of course when other photographers see it, they come running over to see what's up. :giggle

Maybe the smaller Crumplers don't have this problem, but I feel the design of the 7 Million Dollar bag is lacking in several key areas. This is a large bag and clearly intended to hold a lot of stuff. However, it's really not robust enough for its size.

The top is held shut by both a velcro closure and one Fastex buckle. The problem is that they're both located directly in the center. See what happens when you lift the bag by the grab handle?



The top bunches up and exposes the bag's contents.

This bag is what I consider to be only moderately loaded. It contains a 20D body, a 100-400 lens, and three other small lenses. The bag is still half-empty, so clearly it's intended to hold a lot more stuff than that. It should be, it's pretty huge.

This defect could be corrected with an internal zipper which you could leave open if you were wearing the shoulder strap and wanted quick access. Because of the lack of internal zipper, carrying this bag in dusty conditions will almost certainly invite dust getting into the bag. It looks like a good beach bag, but definitely is not. Minimally, the cover should at least have two velcro/Fastex buckles on either end of the cover for better support. They really cheaped-out with the single closure on such a big bag.

I would also like to see some length-wise rigid support in the cover to spread out the weight.

The design of the shoulder strap is also marginal. There are no quick-release buckles, so the strap for all intents and purposes is permanently mounted. That's a pain. The padded sleeve does not anchor in any way to the strap, so is free to slide around. Within minutes of donning the bag, you'll find the padded sleeve has magically slid somewhere else, and only the webbing will be in contact with your shoulder.

I also have a Lowepro Stealth Reporter 200. This bag holds all the aforementioned gear, with none of the shortcomings of the Crumpler. There is an internal zipper so it seals up securely, plus dual-fastex buckles. The shoulder strap pops on and off with metal safety buckles, and there's even a rain fly which pops out of a discreet zipper area. Oh, and there's also a little zipper in the top of the cover so that you can (stealthly) pull your camera out even with the top secured. It's a very well-designed and functional bag, which does of course look like a camera bag.

So if you value form over function, choose the crumpler. If you prefer function over form, choose a better made bag like the Lowepro. Or, if money isn't tight, there is value in owning both.

Regards,
-joel