Think Tank makes some real high quality bags that can withstand the abuse we put them thru and to handle the most important job of all getting our expensive gear around the country.
Well to start off I received my bag and needless to say was very exited to start configuring the bag to fit my needs. Got my trusty box cutter and opened the box pulled out the bag covered in plastic and ripped off the plastic. I opened the bag and my only major complaint was that I was not so thrilled with the dividers that came with this bag. I have owned and still do own 4 Think Tank bags and usually the dividers are very well thought out. The dividers that came with this bag were I thought flimsly and did not give you much choice as I had seen in previous bags. Anyway I got past that and ripped all the inserts out.
One thing that I did not know before I purchased this bag was that you can not store a pro size DSLR the traditional way , at the top of the bag. Due to the fact that the telescoping handle compartment is behind it, that threw me for a loop. I had planned on taking my gear out of my Airport Antidote® V2.0 and just copying my layout. Well that changed everything for me so I had to start from scratch. I am a Nikon shooter and I really like to keep my 70-200 2.8 attached to my D3. Well in order to do that you have to store your pro DSLR cameras side ways along the outer perimeter of the bag. Here is a photo of my set up.
After I set up the main body with the 70-200 I had to build around that. It took me about 40 minutes and my bag was set. The bag had plenty of room for everything that was stored in my Airport Antidote® V2.0 and more. The gear I was able to fit into the Take-Off are as follows-
- Nikon D3
- Nikon D700 with MB-10 Grip attached
- Nikon 14-24
- Nikon 24-70
- Nikon 70-200
- Nikon SB-900
- Nikon 1.4x and 1.7x converters
- Charger
- 4 spare batteries
- 2 CF card wallets (10 cards each)
- 2 WD hard drives
- Apple Mighty Mouse
- 3 Pocket Wizards
- 2 CF card readers
- Michael Bass Cables
- and some personal Items
Lets go to the outside of the bag. The bag comes with an amazing outer pouch to store your 15" laptop or some jackets or bounce discs o whatever you need to bring with you. I choose to store my 15" MacBook Pro in the Artificial Intelligence™ 15 V2.0 that I can then put into the outer pouch. Wow what a bag and I am still not done. Inside the Artificial Intelligence™ 15 V2.0 I have my MacBook, charger, card reader, pens and business cards. After you store that in the outside pouch it comes with a nice clamp to clos the pouch and not to mention on the inside of the pouch is a combo lock for your laptop.
The great thing about this bag, and one of the main reasons I decided to purchase it, was the fact that is a roller and a backpack. On the back of the bag is a zippered compartment once unzipped are amazingly strong and comfortable shoulder straps tucked away in a compartment. Just pull them out and you now have a back pack. There are also 2 other strategically placed zipper pockets for business cards or travel itineraries.
To sum up this review the bag construction is amazing ,strong, and second to none. The zippers are real strong and the wheels are amazing. This bag has great potential and will remain a part of my bag arsenal.
I will be putting together a video review in the next couple of weeks but if you have any questions please let me know.
Thanks for reading
Shane
Good review. Looking at getting the same bag and I have almost the same gear, so this was a good read!
ReplyDeleteWas the bag comfortable to wear as a backpack? I imagine the telescoping handle would not feel so great on your back. I'm looking at getting one because I'm headed to the jungles of Peru and will have it on my back a lot.
ReplyDeleteit is actually pretty comfortable they put a decent amount of padding back there
ReplyDeleteHi, I have a question if you don't mind.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of getting the Takeoff. I'm going for travel, but wondering if I reach a location and have to do some shooting while walking the streets, I have to use the backpack straps for the whole duration, so the question is, is the padding for your back (especially waist area and where the handle is) sufficient?
Another thing is, when putting on your back, do the wheels get in the way (ie poke your back)?
Thanks for the review! :)
I'm wondering now that you've had this bag/backpack for a few years do you have anything to add to your review? Do you like it just as much as when you wrote this review? I'm thinking about getting it for an upcoming trip to Paris. Also, what are the other camera bags you keep?
ReplyDelete