Thread: Bag, bags, and more bags

I recently bit the bullet and bought a Billingham Hadley Pro. It is a fantastic bag and fits the gear really well and is organized nicely. Large enough to offer some flexibility but not too large. Ironically, I wish it was not so nice a bag so I'd be more inclined to beat it up. I still use the latest incarnation of the Bare Bones Bag a lot too.

My Bare Bones Bag worked perfectly this week at work while being stuck in Madrid for 4 days. And while home I use my recent purchase of a used in mint condition Leica Billingham bag.

The BBB works best for me on the road as the bag will lay almost flat in my 22" TravelPro suitcase. My camera will fit in my STM Messenger bag that houses my laptop and work related stuff while I'm enroute. From the hotel I move my kit to the BBB for walking around.

It paid dividends this past week due to its secure closures as one of my cohorts had a pick pocket attempt while we boarded the metro. They knew not to mess with me as I don't carry anything in my trouser pockets and have my wallet/cash in my BBB all zipped up.

Plus, when I travel to Europe I try not to look like a tourist and try to blend in as much as I can.

Sounds like you are not a fan of Madrid.

Originally Posted by Landshark

Sounds like you are not a fan of Madrid.

I am sorry if I came across not liking Madrid, as I had a wonderful time in the city. As a general rule while traveling in any big city whether here in the states or internationally one does need to be alert. My other fellow crew members have some interesting stories from around the world that we travel. One incident in India left one of our captains stripped naked pummeled and left for dead in a ditch after getting in a cab to go to dinner.

As to Madrid, I believe my last 4 blog posts this week would indicate I had a lot of fun and wish I knew sooner that I was going to be there for as long as we were to have had a plan.

But my BBB worked perfectly allowing to have a bottle of water a couple energy bars if needed and of course my gear.

I've got a Lowepro Edit 120+ for my DP1 and DP2 and all their accessories.
It can be worn with a shoulder strap or on your belt (without the detachable base compartment).

For hiking I prefer to wear it on the belt, as any shoulder bags interfere with jackets or rucksacks.
This is the outfit I took to the Yorkshire Dales a couple of weeks ago:
-Sigma DP1s and DP2 with auto-lens-caps.
-52mm filter holder and two spare batteries
-one circular polarizer filter, one +10 close-up-filter and three graduated ND filters
-lenscloth
-waterproof bicycle helmet cover, to wrap over the entire bag on my belt when it rains :)

Worked quite nicely.
Last saturday I replaced the DP1s with an SB-600 flashgun for the first time. Makes a nice compact all-round package :)

cheers,
Tilman


CameraBag by tilman paulin, on Flickr