Thanks to your recommendations, I finally found
a camera backpack that I'm happy with.
It's this one.
Let's get Undone.
[offbeat music]
♪ Gerald Undone ♪
♪ He's crazy ♪
What's happening everybody? I'm Gerald Undone,
and I love it when you call me Big Papa.
So, I've been on the hunt for a good camera backpack
for a while now, and when I say "camera backpack,"
I mean a camera bag that also has a backpack component
that you can use for other types of storage, not just
a camera bag that you can wear on your back. For instance,
I've got the Think Tank Streetwalkers in, like,
three different sizes, and they're great, and I love them,
But the majority of their storage is dedicated
to camera gear and I was looking for something
that would be half camera gear, half overnight bag
or half clothes, or something. And back in April I thought
maybe that I'd found that solution with that Brevite bag
that I made my pre-NAB "What's in my Bag" video about
but unfortunately, it didn't really work out for me
for several reasons that I discussed in that video.
And on that video, many of you recommended
that I look at Tenba bags based on the issues
that I had with the Brevite Scout.
And so I did. And one of the most recommended models
was this DNA 15 backpack that I've been using
for the last little while and I'm really happy with it.
And this video is not sponsored by the way.
I sought this bag out solely based
on your recommendations and what great recommendations
they were, because first of all it perfectly solves
that half-and-half storage thing that I wanted
with a divider separating a camera component.
And a component that you can use for whatever else you want.
By default, this bottom portion
can be unzipped and then it basically
leans forward almost like a drawer which will allow
you quick and easy access to your camera gear.
You can comfortably fit a mirrorless body
and a couple lenses, or two small bodies and lenses
or one larger body, two lenses, and some minor accessories.
And they provide an abundance of those Velcro
padded dividers that you can customize the storage
however you want, and it's even tall enough to store
a 70-200mm lens, which leaves the top portion for your
other stuff, which can be more gear, food, clothes, shoes,
whatever. And it's got this really sweet magnetic clip
which basically does itself back up when the pieces
are dangling close enough together.
There's plenty of storage in the top portion
for an overnight trip and because it's the roll-top
you can fill it much higher than you would
be able to with a zippered alternative.
That being said I'm not typically a big
fan of roll tops. usually because I find
zippers to be faster and less bulky.
But because this bag nails all of the other functional aspects
I'm willing to ignore my policy
on roll tops for it. But that brings me
to my question for you guys, which do you prefer? Zippers
or roll tops and why? Let me know in the comments below.
Tenba does make this bag in a messenger style, though,
for those that don't like roll tops or backpacks,
which I tested for a short while and seems pretty much identical
from a quality standpoint. Another cool thing though
is that the sections can actually be reversed.
So, maybe you didn't want to have
your camera gear in the bottom or you were worried that thieves
were going to open up that pouch and slide it forward
and take all your camera gear out of there. You can
actually remove the entire camera gear sleeve from
the bottom portion and it fits perfectly in the top portion
so you can reverse it and store your other
stuff in the bottom and your camera gear rolled up
in top. And what's great is it doesn't topple over
when you do this like a lot of other camera bags would
including that Brevite Scout which is a problem that I had
with it. Seemingly, this bag will stand on its own regardless
of the configuration, which is something that
I really appreciate. And the ability to remove
that camera portion means that you can completely
repurpose this bag into just a regular old backpack
when you don't need to carry around camera gear
adding to the value of this bag because now it can
fulfill a different purpose. However, this customization and
expandable storage capabilities does come at an inconvenience
if you plan on using this bag as your personal item on a plane.
You have to be mindful of how full you pack it and how
you position the items. It can fit under a plane seat
as a personal item on a flight but only if you don't fill it up
too much, which again plays back into my issue of roll tops
versus the more restrictive zipper structures
which, at least with a zipper, you know what the maximum
dimension of the bag is going to be and so you can always
be confident whether or not it's going to fit underneath
a plane seat regardless of how much stuff you put in it.
That's not the case with a roll top.
It does have one simple feature that I love
for travelling though, which is this Velcro band
on the back here that allows you to secure it
to the handle of your luggage for easier
transportation through an airport.
This is a much appreciated inclusion.
There's also a gap behind the back support that allows
you to remove the waist strap. As you can see here
I don't have the waist strap attached and this is great,
another area where Tenba gets bonus points.
I always appreciate it when a bag allows you to remove
the waist strap because otherwise it's dangling down
when you don't need it and I don't often use it
but Tenba really nails the customization here.
Including these flexible and easily twisting spacers
between the shoulder straps and the main part of the bag
allowing to fit more comfortably on a range of shoulder sizes.
Most bags are a lot more rigid with their attachments
there which can put pressure on your traps,
but the Tenba is very comfortable.
Thanks to those, as well as these excellent
breathable pads and well-placed supports.
It's probably the most comfortable camera bag
I've ever used. The build quality is top-notch
with the fasteners being thick and solid and many of the metal
and the zippers are all YKK with these easy grip tabs
and the bottom pouch has lockable zippers to help
alleviate some of that theft risk that I mentioned earlier.
There's additional storage in the front with the smaller
pocket and then an organizer behind that which contains
multiple little pockets and a zipper portion
and in the main top compartment, there's three smaller
side pockets and a padded sleeve
that can hold a 15" laptop. The side pockets include
one stretchy mesh pouch, which is ideal for a water bottle
and the other one features a more robust liner
ideal for a tripod without fear of damaging the bag.
But the fabric chosen for this bag as a whole is very resilient
while still remaining attractive in my opinion.
This graphite pattern is water and abrasion resistant
and the zippers are covered as well.
But if you find yourself in absolutely terrible weather,
it does come with an additional weather wrap
that's two-sided, the typical black side,
but also reflective side to keep the sun off.
Anyway, that's all I can really think to say
about this bag and at $199
it's definitely my top choice for a bag in its price range.
I generally expect bags of this calibre to cost a lot more
and I'm really pleased with Tenba's pricing.
I wish it was a little bit smaller
and I would have been curious to try a zippered
alternative while still remaining a backpack
because yes, I have tried the messenger bag
which is a zippered top but that's a whole 'nother animal
and not a backpack. So, I'd say if it
was about 5 to 10% more compact
with a zippered top half to keep it in spec
with a personal item on a plane regardless of how full it is,
it be the perfect bag. But I'm sure
there's a lot of people that prefer the roll top.
And regardless of that I'm still very happy
to use it and recommend it with an easy 9.5
self-locking magnetic buckles out of 10.
But that's going to be it for me I hope you found
this video helpful or at least entertaining
and if you did make sure you leave the old thumbs up
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Alright... I'm done.