I feel like an old man

gubbs

At the moment I use a Crumpler "Geek Star" slung over one shoulder and have my tripod slung over the other on a Manfrotto quick release strap. Problem is, my bag is heavy and seems to get heavier on a fairly regular basis . After clambering around the rocks with Luben on Sunday my neck and shoulder are killing me :uhoh. I also find that the bag slips around while climbing and I'm always getting tied up in all the straps.

Sooo, I want to get a back pack. I really like the Crumpler gear and I know andy raves about his "brians hot tub" so this is high on my list although I'm not sure what I'd do with my tripod. Can you get straps to attach it to the backpack? :dunno
Any others worth considering.

Thanks!!

PS I'll be selling my "Geek star" shortly but I suspect that due to the dollar rates it would only be worthwhile for a UK buyerl

Andy

gubbs wrote:

At the moment I use a Crumpler "Geek Star" slung over one shoulder and have my tripod slung over the other on a Manfrotto quick release strap. Problem is, my bag is heavy and seems to get heavier on a fairly regular basis . After clambering around the rocks with Luben on Sunday my neck and shoulder are killing me :uhoh. I also find that the bag slips around while climbing and I'm always getting tied up in all the straps.

Sooo, I want to get a back pack. I really like the Crumpler gear and I know andy raves about his "brians hot tub" so this is high on my list although I'm not sure what I'd do with my tripod. Can you get straps to attach it to the backpack?
Any others worth considering.

Thanks!!

PS I'll be selling my "Geek star" shortly but I suspect that due to the dollar rates it would only be worthwhile for a UK buyerl

i recommend the shrinkle, and the farmer's double, both by crumpler. these are the most comfortable bags i've ever worn on my back. i'm going back to the shrinkle i think, and soon....

good luck gubbs, finding the right bag is hard.

if you want details on either, they're here on dgrin, do a search on crumpler you should find plenty.

gubbs

andy wrote:

i recommend the shrinkle, and the farmer's double, both by crumpler. these are the most comfortable bags i've ever worn on my back. i'm going back to the shrinkle i think, and soon....

good luck gubbs, finding the right bag is hard.

if you want details on either, they're here on dgrin, do a search on crumpler you should find plenty.

Thanks Andy, what did you do with your tripod before you got the small cf job?

Andy

gubbs wrote:

Thanks Andy, what did you do with your tripod before you got the small cf job?

bungee cord it on, or carry it, or give it to my sherpa....

patch29

Andy is there a shop (or two) in NYC where you can look at a full line of Crumpler Bags?

gubbs

patch29 wrote:

Andy is there a shop (or two) in NYC where you can look at a full line of Crumpler Bags?

It's difficult finding anywhere that stocks the range, I'd like to be able to see/try before I buy. The UK importer is located about 3 miles from me but they don't deal with the general public, HOW frustrating

patch29

gubbs wrote:

It's difficult finding anywhere that stocks the range, I'd like to be able to see/try before I buy. The UK importer is located about 3 miles from me but they don't deal with the general public, HOW frustrating

There are no Crumpler dealers in Atlanta, only a city of almost 4 million, maybe I should become a distributor and sell them out of a van. I could probably make a mint going to UGA, Emory and the other universities.

I did see them last year in Las Vegas at their booth at PMA. I almost went to PMA in Orlando this year but did not go since it would have cost me more to travel down and back then to buy a Crumpler bag or two.

pathfinder

Gubbs,

I don't know how much gear you take with you on a shoot, but some of the larger packs can approach 40 pounds pretty quickly which is a lot more than I want to bring unless it is on wheels.

I use a Lowe Pro ( www.lowepro.com ) MiniTrekker AW - for me it is a useful size, it has a pocket and straps to carry a tripod on it, and it is made of GoreTex for improved water resistance.

http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Backpacks/allWeather/Mini_Trekker_AW.aspx

It is not obvious that it is a camera bag, which I prefer also. Mine is British green and black. I manage to carry a 1DMkll, a 24-70 on the 1DMkll, a 70-200f2.8 and a 17-40 L and a 580 strobe, as well as polarizers Neutral density filters. If I need more, I can carry the camera outside the pack and use that space for one more lens.

If I need to carry longer glass I go to www.kinesisgear.com for their cases for long telephotos, with a harness to carry as a backpack and a waist belt to share the weight. Call the people at Kinesisgear if you need this kind of gear- they are very easy to work with and their stuff is well made.

Crumpler is very popular and colorfu l( not an assett to my mind ), but I found it difficult to find a vendor within 500 miles, and I thought their website was too cute by half. I didn't want a puzzle, I wanted information. LowePro provided that for me. YMMV

gubbs

Thanks, I've managed to find someone who stocks the crumpler & lowepro ranges who's reasonably local to me, so I'm going to pop over on Saturday morning and get myself sorted out...they have an excellent catalogue, I'd better go alone

Andy

patch29 wrote:

Andy is there a shop (or two) in NYC where you can look at a full line of Crumpler Bags?

yes, b&h have them, as does adorama.

DoctorIt

Hey gubbs, I'm rockin a schrinkle. Love it. Not big enough for tons of gear, but it holds one body, big sigma lens, and 2 smaller lens VERY comfortably. Andy isn't kidding, as far as toting comfort, this bag is par none.

I can take a bunch of photos of it you'd like? I know stores usually only stock the smaller crumpler bags.

me wearing it:


you can see how well its contoured. and looks unassuming, unlike Lowepro.

DoctorIt

oops, almost forgot, the schrinkle does have loops for a tripod, on the other side of the bag. Again, lemme know, I can snap some photos.

pathfinder

DoctorIt wrote:

Hey gubbs, I'm rockin a schrinkle. Love it. Not big enough for tons of gear, but it holds one body, big sigma lens, and 2 smaller lens VERY comfortably. Andy isn't kidding, as far as toting comfort, this bag is par none.

I can take a bunch of photos of it you'd like? I know stores usually only stock the smaller crumpler bags.

me wearing it:


you can see how well its contoured. and looks unassuming, unlike Lowepro.

Nice looking bag. I thought they only came in day-glo orange and lime green.....

DoctorIt

pathfinder wrote:

Nice looking bag. I thought they only came in day-glo orange and lime green.....

The inside is day-glo orange

My friend has the other color, navy blue where mine is black, and gray where mine is green. And red piping instead of grey piping. I actually like his better as black bags are boring, but I didn't want us to look like total nerds together.

gubbs

DoctorIt wrote:

oops, almost forgot, the schrinkle does have loops for a tripod, on the other side of the bag. Again, lemme know, I can snap some photos.

Thanks Doc, that's really kind, see how I get on Saturday and then I'll let you know thumb

Andy

crumpler shrinkle reviews and pics
gubbsie

here's a full review, loads of piccies and here's a mini-review i did

gubbs

andy wrote:

gubbsie

here's a full review, loads of piccies and here's a mini-review i did

Thanks andy

ginger_55

pathfinder wrote:

Nice looking bag. I thought they only came in day-glo orange and lime green.....

Pathfinder, where do you put the lens that is on the camera on the tripod?

Does it fit in the bag?

ginger

fish

gubbs wrote:

Problem is, my bag is heavy and seems to get heavier on a fairly regular basis . After clambering around the rocks with Luben on Sunday my neck and shoulder are killing me :uhoh. I also find that the bag slips around while climbing and I'm always getting tied up in all the straps.

Gubbsy, I'm also feeling my age. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter which bag you get...if you cram it full of all yer worldly belongings, it's gonna be heavy.

I'm on a minimal kick right now. When I go out, I take my Domke F4AF with body, two lenses (one mounted), spare battery, and tripod. That's it. Everytime I tote a bunch of crap with me, I never use all of it. If I take two lenses (maybe 3), it makes the decision-making process really simple and it's not painful.

Andy

fish wrote:

I'm also feeling my age.

and so you sleep with your camera and lenses?

luckyrwe

Yea, I'm looking for a bagdeep enough for my lenses too!

patch29

luckyrwe wrote:

Yea, I'm looking for a bagdeep enough for my lenses too!

Are you looking for a shoulder bag or backpack?

DoctorIt

andy wrote:

gubbsie

here's a full review, loads of piccies and here's a mini-review i did

there is absolutely NO WAY he closed that schrinkle with that huge laptop in the sleeve. That's way more gear than I keep in mine. I'm impressed, but I feel deceived. I'd wager money that the closed shot is without the laptop. I could load up mine that much gear and the 12" powerbook, but when I had my 15" toshiba, no way in heck.

cmr164

gubbs wrote:

At the moment I use a Crumpler "Geek Star" slung over one shoulder and have my tripod slung over the other on a Manfrotto quick release strap. Problem is, my bag is heavy and seems to get heavier on a fairly regular basis . After clambering around the rocks with Luben on Sunday my neck and shoulder are killing me :uhoh. I also find that the bag slips around while climbing and I'm always getting tied up in all the straps....

I do a divide and conquer. One strap is a small shoulder bag holding 1 or 2 lenses (17-35 2.8L and/or 24-70 2.8L) plus 1.4x extender, spare microdrive, hotel showercaps other odds and ends. Another strap is the bag the 70-200 2.8L IS came in, and the 3rd strap is the 500mm f/4.0L IS. I have but don't carry tripod and flash. So far I am finding the 11K (22 lbs) works well spread across both shoulders and every lens is ready for use at a second's notice with the rear caps up and when possible the lens hoods in operating position. Can't vouch for rock climbing but a week of 10-20k a day walking in Tokyo fully loaded worked fine.

gubbs

There's a shrinkle come up on FM if anyone's interested, it's not worthwile to get it over to the UK otherwise I'd go for it.

fish

andy wrote:

and so you sleep with your camera and lenses?

doesn't everybody?

fish

luckyrwe wrote:

Yea, I'm looking for a bagdeep ...

hey...bagdeep was the name of the last Dell tech support guy I talked to in Bangalore...I'm sure of it! :lol

cmr164

gubbs wrote:

There's a shrinkle come up on FM if anyone's interested, it's not worthwile to get it over to the UK otherwise I'd go for it.

Gubbs... while not the best self portrait in the world.... this at least shows what I look like with multiple bags & lenses all ready to use.

Andy

gubbs wrote:

There's a shrinkle come up on FM if anyone's interested, it's not worthwile to get it over to the UK otherwise I'd go for it.

gubbs i saw that
if you want it,i can buy it for you and have it to london next week, via diplomatic pouch, if the seller will fedex tomorrow.

hurry. pm me if int.

DavidTO

Andy,

I got the Farmer's Double on your recommendation, mostly because there's no place close and convenient enough for me to see it in person.

Now there's all this talk about the Shrinkle, and you're thinking about going back now that you have the 20D (which is what I have).

Can you describe what the differences are between the two? I can't seem to figure it out.

wxwax

andy wrote:

via diplomatic pouch