The pinestone feels rougher and more canvas like. The black feels smoother and more like a ballistic nylon to me. The black "might" be somewhat more water resistant, but I haven't tested it to see.
I looked at both the black and pinestone at a local store. I love the pinestone. I have a retrospective 10 and lens changer 2 in pinestone. The pinestone is a thicker material than the black nylon. It is also stiffer. If you are looking for softer, I don't think pinestone is the answer.
It would be nice if you could see both at the same time for yourself.
I originally bought a black Retrospective 10, then later I purchased a pinestone Retro-20. After seeing them both together, I sold the black one and ordered a replacement in pinestone and a Retro-5 in pinestone.
It is a personal thing however, as I have seen B&S ads wanting to trade colors both ways
I have the Retro-10 and I also had the Retro-5. The Pinestone on the 5 was a nice tan/taupe soft stonewashed canvas, whereas the 10 is the same but in a greenish’ color. The black bags are your garden-variety black ballistic nylon that every man, woman and child camera bag maker uses. Can't say if there is any other difference on the Retro-20 albeit size, but I doubt it.
Either way, I'm one picky bastard and the ThinkTank products suit me just fine.
The ballistic nylon just didn't have a retro look or feel about it. We've never had a retro come back with a direct material problem to date. Both the nylon and cotton are tough. Usually we start seeing at least a few wear holes from customers that put their bags through the ringer after about a year, but we haven't seen those types of issues with the Retros. Yes, customer DO accidentally drag bags from cars, set them on fire, drag them from rolling bags for blocks, etc. Ah, the bag stories!!! haha
Cheers,
Randy Wentzel
Think Tank Photo Product Specialist & Photographer [email protected]
Oh, and they're both relatively water resistant. I feel we did a test recently, and we decided that if you were in a down pour, both would perform about the same. Meaning, you'd better get your rain cover on the bag within a few minutes if you didn't want the material to get saturated.
Randy Wentzel
Think Tank Photo Product Specialist & Photographer [email protected]
I have a r10 black which i love... but a few months after I purchased it, my friend visited who happen to have a r10 in pinestone.... needless to say... i wish i went for the pinestone!!!
