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Archive 2011 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Rajan Parrikar
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p.2 #1 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Gura Gear is running a special Thanksgiving sale, and today is the last day. I doubt you'll get the Chobe for a lower price than what is offered in this deal.

Note: I am a very satisfied customer.

Nov 28, 2011 at 12:39 PM

cphoniball
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p.2 #2 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Picked up the Chobe at the $249 offer, and just got it in today. I had very high hopes for the bag, but am unfortunately disappointed. Not to say that there aren't people that this bag will be great for - just that for my use (and my size) it's inferior to my current Domke F2. Just some points for people that are thinking about getting the bag.

First off, this thing is huge for a shoulder bag. Which I suppose it has to be to accommodate a 15" notebook. I'm not a big guy (5' 9") so it's almost comical how large the bag is on me.
The bag is very well-constructed, with high quality materials and zippers throughout. The stitching all seems very secure. There are LOTS of little pockets/dividers within the larger pockets, but some of these seem like they'd be hard to access due to the larger pockets not opening wide enough.
For my gear, (5DII, 1DIII, 35L, 85 1.8, 135L) the insert was restrictive. I had to store both cameras without lenses attached and remove all the hoods in order to fit the gear in due to the insert being too narrow. In contrast, in my F2 I'm able to store the 5DII with the 35 attached, the 1DIII along the end, and the 135 and 85 with their hoods reversed - and still have room for one more lens.
Also due to the design of the insert there's a lot of empty space in the bag above the insert - space for clothes if you were traveling, I suppose.
It did fit my laptop comfortably, along with the above gear.

Dec 02, 2011 at 03:43 PM

sjms
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p.2 #3 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

since it is designed as a combination traval/carry-on/some photogear it does that job well. it was never designed to take the place of a dedicated camera bag such as your F2 or my J1. this particular attempt at apples and oranges comparison doesn't quite fly

domke F2
http://www.tiffen.com/catalogimages/700-02S_F-2_OrigBag_Lg.jpg
domke J1
http://www.tiffen.com/catalogimages/700-J1B_Lg.jpg
gura gear chobe
http://images.outdoorphotogear.com/P/Chobe19-24L_200.jpg

just the basic look of the chobe shows its roots as travel bag

Edited on Dec 03, 2011 at 05:55 PM · View previous versions

Dec 03, 2011 at 05:46 PM

Rajan Parrikar
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p.2 #4 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

sjms wrote:
since it is designed as a combination traval/carryon/ some photo gear it does that job well. it was never designed to take the place of a dedicated camera bag such as your F2 or my J2. this particular attempt at apples and oranges comparison doesn't quite fly

Correct. The Chobe and Urban Disguise UD60/70 bags are comparable.

Dec 03, 2011 at 05:55 PM

hfgarris
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p.2 #5 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

I purchased one on sale as well and had great expectations for it due to the published dimensions indicating it was 8.5" thick to accommodate the camera insert. I have been looking for a bag which would hold 2 medium lenses side-by-side to allow carrying a couple of fast L primes in addition to the standard trio of zooms (all with hoods), and 8.5" would certainly do that. I realize that will be a heavy load, but I intend not to actually carry it all that much, more like move it along with me in a car, on my luggage, etc. I have smaller bags for "walk around" use. The photos showed that situation, although using Nikon lenses which I couldn't identify to estimate the diameter sizes (and I now realize they did not have hoods on them). EDIT: I re-read the published dimensions and now see that they are the EXTERNAL dimensions of the bag ... duh!

When I pulled the camera insert out of the bag, I was immediately struck by how small the default lens partitions were. I don't think I even own a lens small enough to fit them other than my M4/3 lenses. Measuring the inside of the camera insert "tub" showed it to be only about 14.5" x 6", so two lenses side-by-side would have to be only 3" in diameter in order to fit, not the 4" size I was hoping to find. With the bag "zipped up" to make it thinner, I found that the popular "Tenba" insert fit perfectly, making it a pretty standard 3-lens bag. Expanding the bag and putting the included insert in didn't really give additional room for more lenses, but it could be used for flash units and additional small accessory stuff like storage drives, P&S camera, GPS, etc.

The bag itself was top-notch quality, and I found the two different-sized pockets on the front to be useful, especially since one was sized for an iPad. The computer pocket was also well done and sized for a larger computer than I carry these days (Macbook Air), but my computer fit easily with it inside my normal carry case. I really want to like this bag!

The bag size is midway between the Urban Disguise 40 and 60, both of which I already have. It is, of course, thicker when expanded and the stock photo insert inside. However, I am not finding it capable of holding more gear than either of the 2 I already have. As I mentioned, the pockets are more useful on the Chobe, and I have never really liked the flap on the UD bags, but I don't carry camera bodies in the pockets as intended.

I am still considering possible arrangements within the Chobe with the hopes of replacing one or both of the UD-40/60 bags, but I have not hit on the magic layout so far...

Hopefully, I will find a good arrangement soon, because I really like the bag otherwise and don't want to have to return it! Perhaps I can "stagger" the lenses in a zig-zag arrangement to utilize the "half-lens" additional width?

If anyone has found a good way to utilize the additional space, I would like to hear about it.

EDIT: After some playing around more with the bag, and actually measuring it, I think I see the problem with my size assumptions. The published depth of the bag (6.5" or 8.5" zipped open) includes the laptop compartment (it is the external dimension) and thus isn't available for main compartment camera gear. The internal dimension of the camera compartment is actually 4.5" or 6.5" expanded, which is more in line with the UD50 or UD70-Pro (less laptop slot). Perhaps Gura Gear could add the INTERNAL dimensions to their spec page as that is critical when selecting a bag to hold your gear.

I am also going to try using the insert just as a lens holder, and lay a padded divider over the top of it. Then I might just lay the camera with currently attached lens in the bag on top of the insert horizontally. Never seen that done ... but worth a try.

It is a pretty nice bag, and I really like that it is waterproof (like Billingham bags) without a fussy "rain cover", but I do wonder about the zipper and sewn seams with regard to water entry. It is amazing how light weight this bag is for the size!

-howard

Edited on Dec 05, 2011 at 12:43 AM · View previous versions

Dec 03, 2011 at 08:51 PM

M635_Guy
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p.2 #6 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

cphoniball wrote:
Picked up the Chobe at the $249 offer, and just got it in today. I had very high hopes for the bag, but am unfortunately disappointed. Not to say that there aren't people that this bag will be great for - just that for my use (and my size) it's inferior to my current Domke F2. Just some points for people that are thinking about getting the bag.

First off, this thing is huge for a shoulder bag. Which I suppose it has to be to accommodate a 15" notebook. I'm not a big guy (5' 9") so it's almost comical how large the bag is on me.
The bag is very well-constructed, with high quality materials and zippers throughout. The stitching all seems very secure. There are LOTS of little pockets/dividers within the larger pockets, but some of these seem like they'd be hard to access due to the larger pockets not opening wide enough.
For my gear, (5DII, 1DIII, 35L, 85 1.8, 135L) the insert was restrictive. I had to store both cameras without lenses attached and remove all the hoods in order to fit the gear in due to the insert being too narrow. In contrast, in my F2 I'm able to store the 5DII with the 35 attached, the 1DIII along the end, and the 135 and 85 with their hoods reversed - and still have room for one more lens.
Also due to the design of the insert there's a lot of empty space in the bag above the insert - space for clothes if you were traveling, I suppose.
It did fit my laptop comfortably, along with the above gear.

Overall, I think this bag is just trying to do too much for a shoulder bag, and I think I'll be looking for a backpack that can hold both my camera gear and a laptop at the same time instead of a shoulder bag. For travelers that just want to take a camera along, this might be the perfect bag - but for someone who's using it primarily as a photo bag, it falls short imo....Show more →

I'm looking at the Timbuk2 custom bags. You can get their Laptop Messenger with their Snoop camera insert. I think you'll find them fairly large, too, though I haven't had one in-hand yet. I've seen one of their standard messenger bags, and I guess I'd say their bulk carries well and broadly - you don't get the extension from the hip some traditional-style bags give you, but I'd say you'll wind up wanting to look at the Medium Snoop bag or the Medium Laptop Messenger bag (which would take the Small Snoop insert).

I just wrote a detailed review of the Ona Union Street messenger bag. Ona also has a backpack that looks like a real winner if you like backpacks, but it has a big price tag.

Dec 03, 2011 at 09:22 PM

ryankarr
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p.2 #7 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

I picked up a Chobe and a Kiboko in the Thanksgiving sale.

VERY impressed with build quality. INSANELY light for their size.

I also find the Chobe insert a little narrow for fitting lenses, you are forced to put the lenses in bottom first as shown in the photos on the website.

The bag doesn't make for a good day to day shooting bag, but I expected that going in. It will make for an awesome carry on for airline travel or for travelling to a location, unloading it's contents into a belt system. But I'll never just have this bag on my shoulder while shooting.

I would love to see a shooters bag from Gura. Something F-2 sized with a zippered flap on the top and their awesome fabrics and construction.

Dec 05, 2011 at 12:35 PM

hfgarris
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p.2 #8 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

For those interested in what comes with the Chobe "Camera Insert":

The removable insert is basically a padded "tub" measuring 14.5"w x 6"h x 6"d internally. There is velcro material all around the inside for attachment of the dividers.

It comes with 15 padded dividers, all 5.75" tall, and the larger ones have velcro on each surface for inner structure attachment. The dividers are three sizes:
2 -- 7" with velcro on both sides (can divide the 14" insert in quarters down the middle when used with a 5.5" one)
5 -- 5.5" with velcro on both sides (can span the depth of the insert to create large cavities)
8 -- 2.5" (can further sub-divide the larger spaces, but limited to what you can actually put there)

This creates a problem when trying to accommodate lenses 3" - 3.5" diameter, with hoods 4" - 4.5" diameter. You can't sub-divide the bag dividers asymmetrically to allow a large lens to sit next to a small flash for example. The supplied dividers allow you to divide the insert equally in halves and quarters, with the 2.5" inserts being too small for lenses, and no 4" inserts to pair up with them. Thus a normal lens will take up the entire 5.5" depth of the insert and not be snuggly held in place on one side.

I am not trying to "blast" the Chobe here, and I hope my comments are not taken negatively. This bag is really nice, and I like it a lot! But it could easily be so much better with just a little tweaking, making it a GREAT bag. It is so close ...

I would really like to see anyones loaded insert (with Canon gear) to see your solution to packing lenses...

-howard

Dec 05, 2011 at 01:10 PM

sjms
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p.2 #9 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

i use a J1 from Domke and in the long run it too has the same issue with hoods and in some case lens diameter. i have put my hoods on the J1 end pouches and the lenses snugly in the available J1 slots. i personally have yet to find a truely satisfying bag in reasonable dimensions that does. if it was able to carry all the lenses i do use with the hoods on reversed it would be jut a bit on the too large side for me to move around with in many places. the only one that gets the hood is the primary use lens in any of my situations. and even then, in work, i use them minimally.
no bag bashing here. just working within the dimensions available. there's always going to be a compromise for someone no matter what.

http://i.pbase.com/g1/89/44489/2/105384775.BYbxcayA.jpg

Dec 05, 2011 at 03:23 PM

hfgarris
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p.2 #10 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Yeah, I have had the same issues with my Domke's. It's like the inserts were designed back in the film SLR days with the smaller diameter lenses that were used with them. I think Jon has mentioned some newer Domke inserts which are more appropriately sized for modern DSLR lenses.

I DO find Think Tank bags very accommodating to current popular lenses and bodies. Every dimension seems to have been carefully chosen to exactly hold the more popular lenses both in diameter (with hoods) and length, both on and off the camera. Some great engineering there, I think! I use Canon gear and it fits great, I don't know about Nikon gear fitment, but from the pictures I have seen it appears that they are part of the design equation as well.

It looks like you have done some "creative bending" of your inserts to maximize space utilization. I am looking at that possibility with the Chobe dividers as well to come up with an acceptable solution. I think I also have some left-over dividers from other bags which might make this bag work for me.

Thanks for posting your bag photo...

-howard

Dec 05, 2011 at 03:43 PM

sjms
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p.2 #11 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

when i owned canon and there were a few 1Ds 1Ds2 1D2 1D3 the setup in the J1 was exactly the same. i have never move a panel. the creative bending was completely organic. i slipped them in till they fit reasonably. and that was their home

Dec 05, 2011 at 07:55 PM

hfgarris
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p.2 #12 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Just an update if anyone is following this Chobe thread:

I purchased a Gura Gear "Chobe" during the black-friday sale and had mixed emotions regarding the photo insert that was included. I have not found a satisfactory layout for that insert which is efficient with my larger L-lenses with hoods. I do however really like the bag as a travel bag, especially when zipped into the thinner profile (which doesn't permit use of the insert).

My first instinct was to return the bag. However, after playing around with it and finding how much I liked the rest of the bag, I did end up keeping it and using it. The expansion capacity is nice on trips where I may need additional room on the return trip than I did going.

I did however find a slimmer insert which seems to work well with the Chobe when in the slim profile configuration and fits my travel gear much better:

http://www.amazon.com/BBP-DSLR-Camera-Paddy-Insert/dp/B0047P0QLC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1326154311&sr=1-2

This insert does however, totally fill the main compartment of the bag other than a bit of room at the top. There are smaller inserts available if you want to put additional stuff inside the center "camera" compartment. However, I find the useful front and rear pockets hold all my "other stuff" when using this as a dedicated camera/laptop/iPad bag.

-howard

Jan 16, 2012 at 05:48 PM

Chris Noyes
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p.2 #13 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

^^^ Thanks for the tip ^^^ I just ordered one.

Jan 16, 2012 at 08:59 PM

Rajan Parrikar
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p.2 #14 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Excellent tip! I ordered one, too.

Jan 17, 2012 at 07:56 PM

hfgarris
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p.2 #15 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

FWIW: Using the BBP insert mentioned above...

I also tried the "Tenba Photo Insert" which I have used with other bags and it was too tight width-wise to fit without bulging the bag when also carrying my laptop and iPad. It is 1-inch shorter, but the additional thickness of 5-inches vs. 4.5-inches of the BBP insert did not fit very well.

I found putting the "hinge" side of the BBP Insert cover nearest the zipper opening makes it easier to access. Alternately you can simply fold the top cover of the insert all the way over and have everything wide open. I like having the padded cover over my gear in case something drops on top of the bag, or I can put my R-Strap on top and not worry about scratching the camera.

Oh ... they also come in different colors! I picked the yellow to make it easier to see what was at the bottom of the bag in dim lighting.

Hope this insert works for you too....

-howard

Jan 17, 2012 at 08:28 PM

jestork
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p.2 #16 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

I have all three Gura Gear bags, use them extensively, and love the quality. I also have way too many other bags, mostly ThinkTank, so I am well acquainted with all of them. I was, like most, a bit misled by the photos on the Gura Gear website, particularly of the Chobe insert with two Pro Size bodies and four lenses. After receiving the bag, I tried it, and quickly realized that there were no hoods on the lenses, and they weren't lenses such as the Nikon 14-24mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8, 85mm f1.4, etc. I emailed Gura Gear and was told they left the hoods off for the photo because it "made a cleaner picture," whatever that means. In reality, I'm afraid it's because they won't fit! I guess it might work if you shoot with a lot of slow kit lenses.

Let me point out that despite this, I still have the bag, and use it every day, but more as a briefcase that carries my Macbook Air, my iPad, some papers, and an Olympus E-P3, lenses and flash. I use an insert from one of my ThinkTank bags that fits nicely, with the bag not expanded. The bag is great; it just won't carry a full Pro setup. I also use the Kiboko 22L as my main camera bag, and also love it, although again, the photos on the GG website are a bit misleading, unless you don't believe in lens hoods. I do carry a D3s, a D7000, 70-200, 24-70, 85 f1.4, 2 SB-900's, Pocket Wizards, a small LED videolite, and two umbrellas in it without problems. The big Kiboko is also great when I'm using really large telephotos. Overall GG is good stuff.

Jan 19, 2012 at 02:57 PM

Chris Noyes
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p.2 #17 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Just received the BBP insert. Wow, it fits like it was made for the Chobe in it's narrowest configuration. This is an excellent complement to the insert supplied by Gura Gear.

I can fit a gripped D700 w/RRS L-bracket, and any two of the 3 "trinity" zoom lenses with padding protecting each item using the BBP insert. The only downside is that I cannot fit the D700 with a lens attached.

Using the Gura Gear insert, I can fit all of the above, plus the 3rd trinity zoom. While not a big issue, I still can't figure out a way for all of this to fit with a lens attached to the camera body.

Jan 21, 2012 at 02:27 PM

Beni
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p.2 #18 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

At that price you shouldn't need to buy 3rd party extras just to make it work as advertised.

Jan 22, 2012 at 04:49 AM

sjms
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p.2 #19 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

Beni it does work as advertised. there are those who want to customize things to their way of operations.

Jan 22, 2012 at 07:49 AM

Beni
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p.2 #20 · Bags: Chobe v/s Urban Disguise

My mistake, I had understood from the posters that you couldn't fit anything but kit zooms or small primes in the lens sections without the extra thingy they bought.

Jan 22, 2012 at 08:16 AM

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