I've had the F-Stop Tilopa camera bag (original 48L one, not the new 50L), for about 12 years, and a few years ago the rubber coating (Hypalon?) on the front of the bag (the part you lay on the ground when opening the bag) began to deteriorate, and started to shed black particles all over. F-stop considers the damage part of wear and tear and not covered by warranty, so is there a way to fix it? I suppose I can attempt to peel off remaining coating somewhere outside, but would that compromise the backpack? Has anyone experienced this issue before? On a related note, are there similar bags to original Tilopa (new one is too big) that are maybe slightly lighter?
I had the rear access panel zipper fail on my Tilopa BC as well as the rubber coating on the bottom completely fall apart. Took the back to a few different local outdoor gear repair shops and none were able to source/repair the gigantic zipper. All shops were willing to sew a new rubber/plastic membrane to the bottom of the bag for minimal cost. However, without the rear access panel zipper being fixed, I ultimately needed a new bag
F-stop told me that deterioration of hypalon is expected and not covered by 25 year warranty. They suggested I get a repair kit for rubber boats to fix it myself. As it has deteriorated everywhere no luggage repair shop (I checked with two nearby) were going to touch it, and using rubber boat repair patches would be too much work. F-stop offered a trade up program to get updated version of Tilopa at a small discount but since updated version exceeds carry-on limits I didn't bother.
Doug C wrote:
I have the same bag and problem. I'm wondering about treating it with a spray can of waterproofing like you would use on hiking shoes or a tent.
I have the same bag but no problem yet. I can buy something called “spray rubber” locally that people have successfully used to repair similar bags so when it’s time that is what I will try.
