Re-purposed Bags Thread

[d2creative]

Who here has taken a generic bag and re-purposed it for camera bag use?
I did just that for my Leica M kit and it's the best camera bag I've found for it yet.

While grabbing luggage for a quick weekend trip to Miami, my old Tumi 5123D T-TECH bag fell out of the closet. Hey, look! Black with red interior! Anyway, i noticed it's a similar size to the Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home I had JUST bought a few days earlier. Then I remembered I had an Artisan & Artist bag that had a removable divider in it, and when I dug that up the divider JUST fit in the Tumi. The A&A bag was the same height as the divider, but as you can see in the pics, the Tumi is taller, allowing the M to fit lens down above it, giving me more storage space.

Some other things that work out better about this bag are...
1. Zippered main compartment access. This is easier to work out of than a flap-top bag.
2. The material is tough yet flexible and the bag as a whole is not as "tight" as the Crumpler. Crumpler makes getting into it's various pockets a downright chore.
3. Comfortable. The bag really hugs the body when worn cross-body like I wear all my camera bags. Rotating it front to back is easy, and it never gets in the way, even in tight crowds. Lack of a shoulder pad was no problem at all, although if I wanted to I could add one.
4. Really doesn't look like a camera bag... because it's not a camera bag! Looks like any old man purse because that's what it is. No one would expect it to house $11k in camera gear.
5. Lots of pockets. More than most camera specific bags I've had.
6. Looks good (subjective). Some camera-specific bags are downright ugly.
7. Size. It's small and NOT BULKY. That's one of my biggest complaints about camera specific bags. Many are overly bulky which leads to issues with comfort, how it hangs on the body, how tight the compartments are and overall size.
8. Worked great for travel. I was able to hold various non-camera items in the different pockets like my phone, wallet, boarding pass, headphones, kindle and if I wanted to stretch it, i could have shoved my ipad in the back pocket but instead i put that in the back pocket of my backpack I was using for my clothes.

So there you have it. This bag traveled through the airports, up and down the beaches and streets of Miami, never got a second glance from anyone and it performed better than any small camera bag I've owned yet. And I'm not far behind Abel in the amount of bags I've owned/own. Just goes to show that if you are searching for the perfect camera bag, maybe you are looking in the wrong place? There's lots of great bags out there and inserts from the big bag makers are readily available if you don't have any of your own to spare. If you've successfully re-purposed a non-camera bag, feel free to post here!

BTW, if you are not familiar with Tumi, have a look. They make some of the best bags from construction to design. And there is a serial number riveted to every bag. Who knows... if you loose it, that's just one more chance it might get returned to you.

[venchka]

One of these as my "working out of" bag. General purpose haul anything bag.

Mountainsmith

[JohnT]

I turned a LowePro camera/video bag in a case for storing and carrying one of my studio strobes. Works great. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do about my second strobe. LOL

[venchka]

I also have a panel loading Osprey backpack that is perfect for 4x5. Way better backpack than any photo pack I've seen. Multi-tasking too.

[wasserball4]

I just toss the stuff I need in the durable Dakine 20" pack. I sew towels into pockets to protect the lens and cameras. Currently it is holding a D700 with 300mm f2.8, a D90 with 70-200mm f2.8, and 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 just in case of those close up team photos I need. Oh, the side stuff...extra batteries just in case, camel brush to remove dust over lens, credentials, i-pod, caps, monopod, etc...I think a lot of people like specialized packs, but for me, I like a large pack that is well built for flexibility. If I am shooting indoor stuff with small prime lens, I use my 18" Oakley clam shell pack.

[lfmerrell]

I have an Olympus E-P2 and 4 lens. All fits nicely into an insulated, non-modified grade school lunch bag. The side pouch still has room for a sandwich. The spare battery and a polarizing filter are carried in the mesh drink pocket.
Bonus it just looks like a lunch bag.

[venchka]

I also bought several neoprene wet suit material lunch bags at Walmart. Cameras, lenses, film holders, etc. go in those and then in the lumbar pack or backpack.

[d2creative]

Very cool guys. Keep 'em coming.

[venchka]

Something I learned from Westley Clavey:
A fly rod reel case as lens case. The fishpond Sweetwater medium and large.



fishpond - SWEETWATER REEL & GEAR CASES

[wasserball4]

Originally Posted by lfmerrell

I have an Olympus E-P2 and 4 lens. All fits nicely into an insulated, non-modified grade school lunch bag. The side pouch still has room for a sandwich. The spare battery and a polarizing filter are carried in the mesh drink pocket.
Bonus it just looks like a lunch bag.

Coming from the aerospace business, I've learn to protect equipment with plastic covers and bags. Carrying a sandwich in the same bag with lens would not be something I would do. So, along with my backpack, I dump all the personal essentials like food and jackets in a 5 gallon paint container you can get at Home Depot. With a lid, I could to sit on it too. I did that at the state wrestling tournament, and others thought that was a great idea. Oh yea, I like to carry a generic fanny pack for lens if changing lens in the middle of a situation makes sense.

[peeker]

That Mountainsmith bag is exactly what I use when I travel and want to also carry some equipment while sightseeing. I created different spaces in the main compartment by adding dividers and my 70-200 soft case. It's a great compact waist bag to throw in your suitcase.

[d2creative]

This thread needs more pics.

[wasserball4]

Originally Posted by d2creative

This thread needs more pics.

I don't like the OEM Nikon bags for the big lens, so my 200mm resides in the 18" Oakley pack when it is not in use.

[Abel]

nice stuff dennis!! i think a review of that bag in our reviews section is in order! i like it!

[d2creative]

Thanks, Abel!

The reason I didn't put this in the reviews section is because I don't think this particular sku is readily available any longer???
Tumi does make great bags, and in all different sizes, so if anyone likes the look of this one and its not available or you need a different size, check their website.
But if you still want it in the reviews section, let me know.

Instead, I just wanted to show that if you are on the quest for that perfect bag, you may be looking in the wrong place.
A little digging, creativity and parts swapping may be the key.

Also, one thing I didn't mention in my initial post, is that the iPad fits in the back pocket like it was made for it. Not tight, either. And that should give you a good idea of the size of the bag.