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Archive 2016 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3

  
 
JohnKS
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p.1 #1 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I'll be traveling to Italy this spring and I'm trying to figure out what bag to take with me on the trip. I currently use a Tamarac Messenger bag or my Think Tank Streetwalker Pro Hard Drive. I'd rather not use the backpack on this trip and the messenger bag can be a real pain to access the gear while walking with the flap used to cover the equipment.

The Urban Disguise 40 v3 looks like it might work well. It looks like you have easy access to your gear as compared to my current messenger bag. However, the bag is considerably heavier than my Tamarac messenger bag. I'm planning on taking my Canon 6D, 17-40, a 24-70 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8. Can anyone comment on this bag and what it's like to walk around with it shooting during the day.

Perhaps someone else has a suggestion. I plan on storing my MacBook Air in this bag too.

Thanks



Feb 09, 2016 at 03:32 PM
howardm4
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p.1 #2 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I've been using an Urban Disguise 50 (v1) for about 6 years. I use it as an all-purpose everyday work bag and use it to transport my camera. What I wouldn't do is use as my only travel bag. It's really designed to be held by the handles and the strap would not be long-term comfy (esp. with the large lenses you have). Gobs and gobs of compartments, zippers and what have you.

If I were you, I'd *strongly* consider renting some f/4 lenses instead of the 2.8's, or substitute a prime or 2 for one of them. Your back will appreciate it. I just wouldn't put that much weight on my shoulder(s). Take a peek at the Mindshift Gear 'Rotation' series.

I like my UD50 but IMO, there are much better choices for what you want to do.



Feb 09, 2016 at 07:11 PM
Hokie Jim
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p.1 #3 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I have an Urban Disguise 60 Classic (v3). I've used it as a walkaround bag, but it's not the handiest to actually shoot out of. I bought it because I wanted a carry-on that I could be sure of never having to gate check, while fitting a 15.6" laptop comfortably (the UD50, even though it's advertised for a 15" laptop, doesn't really fit one well).



Feb 09, 2016 at 08:42 PM
howardm4
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p.1 #4 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I guess it depends on the 15" laptop. I put a 2006 vintage Macbook Pro w/o any issue and of course my 13 MBA has plenty of room.


Feb 09, 2016 at 09:44 PM
Hokie Jim
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p.1 #5 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


Yeah, I believe my Dell has a little bit more girth on it than a MP of comparable size.

As a "home base" bag, I love it...



Feb 09, 2016 at 10:05 PM
JohnKS
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p.1 #6 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


howardm4 wrote:
I've been using an Urban Disguise 50 (v1) for about 6 years. I use it as an all-purpose everyday work bag and use it to transport my camera. What I wouldn't do is use as my only travel bag. It's really designed to be held by the handles and the strap would not be long-term comfy (esp. with the large lenses you have). Gobs and gobs of compartments, zippers and what have you.

If I were you, I'd *strongly* consider renting some f/4 lenses instead of the 2.8's, or substitute a prime or 2 for one of them. Your back will
...Show more

Howard, thanks for the response and your suggestions. I appreciate your thoughts on the UD bag. Your concern about the bag being long-term comfy is a concern of mine as well. I too have thought about renting an f/4 70-200 for some of my landscape images to cut down on the weight. I think I'd have a hard time giving up the 24-70 2.8 for a number of the indoor shots. The Mindshift bags look great, however, call me paranoid, but I don't think I want to be backpacking my camera gear as I walk around some of the larger cities in Italy.

Thanks again for your thoughts.



Feb 09, 2016 at 10:47 PM
JohnKS
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p.1 #7 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


Hokie Jim wrote:
I have an Urban Disguise 60 Classic (v3). I've used it as a walkaround bag, but it's not the handiest to actually shoot out of. I bought it because I wanted a carry-on that I could be sure of never having to gate check, while fitting a 15.6" laptop comfortably (the UD50, even though it's advertised for a 15" laptop, doesn't really fit one well).



Jim, thanks for your thoughts as well. It is disappointing to learn that the bag isn't easier to shoot out of. I purchased my Streetwalker Pro Hard Drive for the same reason you bought the UD 60. The Streetwalker holds a lot of gear and easily fits in the overhead compartments of the planes I've been on.

Thanks again for your time.



Feb 09, 2016 at 10:59 PM
howardm4
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p.1 #8 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


IMO, I think you'd look like a million other tourists w/ backpack-y kind of thing. If I was trying to use the UD in a shooting situation, I'd probably want to put it down and IMO, that is how you're going to get it stolen or such. Maybe a sling type bag?

Size & weight (and a bad back) is reasons that I just bought a Fuji X-T after years of hauling big stuff around.



Feb 10, 2016 at 07:43 AM
cohenfive
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p.1 #9 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I have an ud35 and have used it for travel pretty extensively. If you don't mind having a bag on only one shoulder, these bags are fantastic. They hold a huge amount of gear without screaming 'camera bag'...And are built and engineered really well. Plus they make a shoulder harness for them which allows you to carry the bag over both shoulders in a pinch....


Feb 11, 2016 at 01:34 PM
howardm4
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p.1 #10 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


the big plus and the big minus is the same. The bag holds gobs of stuff.


Feb 11, 2016 at 03:02 PM
JohnKS
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p.1 #11 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


cohenfive wrote:
I have an ud35 and have used it for travel pretty extensively. If you don't mind having a bag on only one shoulder, these bags are fantastic. They hold a huge amount of gear without screaming 'camera bag'...And are built and engineered really well. Plus they make a shoulder harness for them which allows you to carry the bag over both shoulders in a pinch....


cohenfive;

Thanks for the response. Perhaps you wouldn't mind answering a few questions. Care to guess how much the bag weighs when packed with your gear? Can I assume you have at least one body with lens attached and perhaps 2 additional lens with one lens being a 70-200. Is the bag easy to shoot out of as I see demonstrated on Think Tanks website? I see myself being able to do some walking around Rome and having easy access to my camera, take a few shots without taking the bag off my shoulder, put the camera back in the bag and repeat as necessary. I'm I dreaming a bit here? Do you have that shoulder harness and is it comfortable?

Thanks for your time.



Feb 11, 2016 at 05:42 PM
cohenfive
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p.1 #12 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I have had one body (d3s) plus the nikon 'trinity' packed into my ud35 for a trip to Greece several years ago. 70-200 on one side, body with 24-70 on top (lens going down the other side), 14-24 in the outside pocket. Plus a few small accessories. This was pretty extreme packing for the bag, and it wasn't a lightweight, but it was about the smallest profile possible with those three lenses. Access is really easy and fast. I have the shoulder harness, took the bag with me to Costa Rica last year. I did use the harness a couple of times when we went on hikes (usually in the rain!), and it is ok comfy, not fantastic...not as good as a real backpack, partly because there is no waist strap to redistribute the load...but it was better than just having it on my shoulder.


Feb 11, 2016 at 06:34 PM
Sharona
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p.1 #13 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


Hi John - Have you looked at the City Walker line? Although you'd have to deal with a flap I see.. https://www.thinktankphoto.com/collections/citywalker-series/products/citywalker-20?variant=1247279095

I wonder if you'll need to carry your whole kit with you everywhere you go? You might carry one bag for transport and then find a lighter, smaller bag to load for your various outings, ie city shooting vs landscape or countryside. Might be too much of a hassle, but your shoulders may thank you if you don't have to carry the full load all the time... I like the UD bags a lot, but agree and know by experience that they are heavy, and as much as I love my TT stuff, I'd probably look to something else to carry things in all day. Good luck!



Feb 12, 2016 at 03:45 PM
JohnKS
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p.1 #14 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


Sharona wrote:
Hi John - Have you looked at the City Walker line? Although you'd have to deal with a flap I see.. https://www.thinktankphoto.com/collections/citywalker-series/products/citywalker-20?variant=1247279095

I wonder if you'll need to carry your whole kit with you everywhere you go? You might carry one bag for transport and then find a lighter, smaller bag to load for your various outings, ie city shooting vs landscape or countryside. Might be too much of a hassle, but your shoulders may thank you if you don't have to carry the full load all the time... I like the UD bags a lot, but agree and know by
...Show more

Hi Sharona,

Thanks for the suggestion and no I had not looked at the City Walker line. I suppose I didn't look at it because of the flap. I'm looking for something with easy access on the go and the Urban Disguise series seems to fit that need or want. Your are right that I probably will not need to take my entire kit with me on every outing.

My wife and I will be on a bus tour in Italy with 3 nights in Sorrento, 3 nights in Rome, 3 nights in a town in Umbria, 3 nights in Florence and 2 nights in Venice. I'm pretty certain the 70-200 will not get much use but I would kick myself for not bringing it. I suppose I could try placing the the 70-200 in the room safe but I doubt very much it would fit. We have never had a problem leaving our computers in hotel rooms before so there is that thought too about just leaving it in my luggage when we are out. We are staying in some pretty nice places but I don't think that guarantees that our personal belonging are any safer there than someplace else.

I'm 35 miles from downtown Chicago and it's unfortunate that there are only a couple of photography stores that are within this area and the ones that are have a pretty limited selection of bags on hand. I'd really like to see the bag in person rather than just buy from what I see online. I told my wife perhaps I'll just bring my 6D with the 24-70 in my holster bag and she just looked at me and said I wouldn't be happy with that decision for a trip like this. So I guess I need to figure this out. The City Walker line is lighter than the Urban Disguise but I already have a bag with a flap and I find it a pain to shoot out of while walking.

Thanks again for your suggestion and I apologize for my rambling.

John



Feb 12, 2016 at 06:19 PM
Steve Wylie
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p.1 #15 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I have dealt with your exact circumstance for several years, traveling to Europe accompanying choirs on performance tours. Due to the need for low-light and stand-off capability in cathedrals, I've brought my 5Dmk3, the trinity of fast zooms, and necessary accessories, including chargers, laptop, Wacom tablet, cards, batteries, etc., etc., etc. That is a heavy, heavy load. The temptation to carry all of that stuff with you in one bag is powerful, and if you do it, you'll hate it. Because I will not check my camera gear, I've packed all of this stuff in a Think Tank Airport Airstream roller bag, which still fits in the overhead compartment of international airlines. I wheel it around the airport, and from ground transportation to hotel. When I'm out, I leave whatever I don't need in the bag, and lock it to something fixed (it has an integrated cable lock). On daily outings, even if I need to carry all of my lenses and camera, I use a small waist pack, or a non-camera backpack (e.g. North Face daypack) if I need to include a jacket or other items. That bag is also my "personal item" on the plane, with my iPad, headphones, sweater, and whatever I need on a long international flight. Around town, or on the job, I keep my camera on my neck or shoulder, with one lens mounted, resulting in a minimum of additional photography-induced weight on my shoulders or hips (two lenses and maybe extra batteries). That's a much less tiring setup.

Having said that, because I do this more frequently than I anticipated, I've migrated to the Fuji X system, with an X-T1 and numerous lenses for "work", plus an X100S for walkabout shooting. Everything fits in the smallest Think Tank Airport series backpack, the Airport Essentials, which can fit under the seat if necessary. Same strategy as above, though, going out on daily shoots with only what I need, in the smallest waist or backpack required to fit this smaller, lighter gear. I've shed about 50% of the weight.

So I strongly suggest that you consider the "transport" and "shooting" bag strategy. Get a roller to haul your gear, and a smaller, lighter shooting bag for your daily trips around Italy.

As to the Think Tank Urban Disguise series, I have two, the UD 60 and 40. For your gear, I'd say the 60 would be better (or whatever the current larger model is), especially if you plan to keep your camera mounted with a lens. I rarely use these any more, as I find them a bit more difficult to extract the camera from the bag when it's hanging on my shoulder. Instead, If I'm using a shoulder bag with the same amount of Canon gear, I more frequently use a Domke J-series bag. But I wouldn't use that strategy on an Italy trip. I'd go with the recommendation above.

I'll be there in late March-early April on another concert tour. Looking forward to it, and so should you.



Feb 18, 2016 at 03:03 PM
Steve Wylie
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p.1 #16 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


One additional thought on roller bags. If you're less inclined to roll two bags through an airport, and if you can fit your camera gear into an Urban Disguise bag, you can fit that over the handle of your rolling luggage and haul it that way. But that doesn't change the transport vs. shooting bag strategy.


Feb 18, 2016 at 03:10 PM
JohnKS
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p.1 #17 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


Steve Wylie wrote:
One additional thought on roller bags. If you're less inclined to roll two bags through an airport, and if you can fit your camera gear into an Urban Disguise bag, you can fit that over the handle of your rolling luggage and haul it that way. But that doesn't change the transport vs. shooting bag strategy.


Steve,

Thanks for your thorough reply. Your "transport" and "shooting" bag strategy is a good one. However, I'm already planning on taking one checked roller bag, a roller carry-on, and the personal item is the camera bag. So perhaps I need to do some rethinking of what I actually need to bring for 15 day trip.

I know what's it's like wearing my TT backpack on long hikes as I did it at Mt. Rainer and in Acadia National park these past couple of years. Luckily I had my son and son-in-law act as sherpa's at Rainer and my wife helped in Acadia when a bit of fatigue set in on our hikes. So the thought of carrying a heavy load is on my mind.

Just the other day I was able to find a TT UD 40 v3 at a camera store about 40 minutes from my home. I made the purchase and loaded it with my gear. It's a tight fit but it did fit. I walked around the house a bit with it and thought I'd be alright with this purchase. I texted my son about my purchase and he texted back and asked if the bag weighed 80lbs. . He teased me about walking around the house with the bag and suggested I'd drive downtown Chicago with it and walk around for a couple of hours. I suppose I really should take up his suggestion.

Your not the first one to suggest the mirrorless system. I just don't think I'm there yet as I really don't find them comfortable in my hands. Perhaps I need to rethink that approach as well.

Thanks again for your time. You have given me much to think about. Oh, we too are very much looking forward to this trip.



Feb 18, 2016 at 05:44 PM
Steve Wylie
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p.1 #18 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


Two quick thoughts, neither one original: first, nobody ever goes to Europe and wishes they brought more stuff; and second, the more gear you carry, the less likely you are to use it. If I'm out shooting for fun on tour (as opposed to work), I'll have either a Fuji X100S (fixed 23mm lens) or an X-T1 with an 18-135mm zoom. The point: I'm always able to make a picture without having to fiddle around with too much gear. Pick a camera and a lens and enjoy your experience.


Feb 18, 2016 at 06:05 PM
leftcoastlefty
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p.1 #19 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


I have a UD 40v2 and UD 60. Both work well for their intended purpose, which is taking gear to a secure (often indoor) event where they can be left sitting on the floor without risk of theft. They aren't good for carrying for hours, traipsing around a city. And neither one holds the 70-200 f/2.8 well. I'm here to discourage you from taking the 70-200 f/2.8 to Europe. There are smaller, lighter options. For traveling, I'm far more likely to take the 135mm f/2.


Feb 25, 2016 at 06:47 PM
JohnKS
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p.1 #20 · Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 v3


Thanks for your advice on the 70-200 f/2.8. I'm pretty certain I'll be renting an f/4 version of the 70-200 if I bring it at all. I really don't know if there is any bag that is fun carrying around a bunch of gear unless of course you can convince someone else to carry it for you. Thanks again for your time.


Feb 25, 2016 at 07:07 PM
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