p.1 #1 · Bags that don't shed fibre and flakes of foam? Sick of LowePro.
I have gone through a bunch of camera bags over the years and always settle on LowePro because I find their bags very functional for my needs.
The problem is that every single one of them has shed a lot of crud all over my gear, and I'm always attacking stuff with a rubber blower after every usage. This happens pretty much from the moment the bags are new and gets worse with age - even vacuuming them out periodically doesn't seem to help.
I'm currently using a 3 year old magnum aw bag which is shedding little white flakes like crazy. They get behind my lens caps and I have to clean the front element before shooting, plus they just generally coat everything else and I get worried they'll work their ways into my lenses (which are not dust/weather sealed - e.g 17-55 IS, tokina 11-16).
I'm thinking of getting a new bag to replace it, but I want something that isn't going to make my gear dirtier than if I just carried it around unprotected.
Can anyone suggest brands or particular bags that don't have this annoying tendency? Do you think I'm just too sensitive or have you been bothered by this as well?
p.1 #2 · Bags that don't shed fibre and flakes of foam? Sick of LowePro.
I have never had this problem with my Think Tank bag that is going on 4 years old. I haven't used Lowepro, so I can't comment on that. I can highly recommend TT as their bags are well made, functional, and more discreet than some other camera bags.
p.1 #5 · Bags that don't shed fibre and flakes of foam? Sick of LowePro.
I've had a big phototrekker AW backpack (still my favourite for lugging enormous quantities of gear or big cameras like a 4x5), the magnum shoulder bag (I don't recall the exact model name/number), a larger holster-style shoulder bag with clip-on lens pouches, and a couple of smaller holster bags (small SLR & zoom lens style). All of them have made these annoying white flakes that get all over all my gear; I think it's some remnant of the foam inside the dividers and padding that works its way out through the relatively coarsely woven fabric covering.
They've all done it pretty much from day one, and it gets worse with age. I've tended to work around it by keeping the lenses in their own separate pouches (e.g. those Canon leather bags that come with higher end lenses), but this is an annoying solution and I've reached a point where I'm totally fed up with it.
I'd love to try a few other brands, but the bags I want tend to be ~$150+ and that's a lot to spend on experimental purchases. If it turns out that all bags tend to shed fibre and particles and that I've just got to learn to suck it up, I'll save myself the trouble/expense and just stick with what I have.
The only thing that drives me really nuts is trying to figure out if I'm just way too sensitive or not - I've never heard others complain about Lowepro bags like this, but it's been a consistent headache for me with every single one I've owned. Always exactly the same kind of shed little round white flakes ~1-2mm diameter that get all over everything.
p.1 #6 · Bags that don't shed fibre and flakes of foam? Sick of LowePro.
I, myself have never seen any of my packs "shed" more then just some fiber and since it is made from fabrics and other sewn goods there will be some. I of recent use the F-Stop satori and loka. almost exclusively. yes there will be some material either imported from the outside or of internal origin.
p.1 #12 · Bags that don't shed fibre and flakes of foam? Sick of LowePro.
I have a couple 10+ year old north face day packs. One I used quite a bit over the years. Recently some of what appears to be a thin synthetic laminate on the inside collar has started to break down, leaving a lot of small black flecks of rubbery material on things. The other pack seems ok. 10 years for a pack I bought at campmor, not too bad.
p.1 #15 · Bags that don't shed fibre and flakes of foam? Sick of LowePro.
Lars Johnsson wrote:
I have never had this problem either. I must have about 15 bags. And that includes 4 LowePro bags. I also own one LowePro Phototrekker backpack
Same here. Never once had this problem. Strange.
I'm using mostly Think Tank gear now, as well as Pelican cases (with the dividers, NOT the foam).
p.1 #16 · Bags that don't shed fibre and flakes of foam? Sick of LowePro.
I have a Lowepro Lens Trekker 600 AW II and it has held up very well.
It seems that, from the responses, your experience is not typical. Is there something about the conditions under which your bags are stored that could account for the problem? Perhaps extremes of temperature? Or, have they been subjected to very low humidity, causing the fabric to dry out?
