Pick A Pack: A Stylin' Camera Bag: Tenba DNA 11
We're not always deep in the woods or mountains, camping and hiking... sometimes, we just roam around town and wander along a beach. A few months ago, I was on the look out for a nice looking, but functional, shoulder bag for those shorter urban adventures. I tried a few options, from Lowepro, ThinkTank, Crumpler... then found this Tenba. All of the bags I tried were great, and I love bags and would willingly have a hundred of them, given the chance. But, I needed to pick one... this Tenba fit the bill for functional, as well as being very sharp looking.
The Tenba DNA 11 Messenger is a smaller bag, ideal for city exploring and shorter adventures. It has become my go-to "personal item" on flights, as it easily holds more than enough goodies to entertain myself on a flight. It tucks nicely under the seat in front of me, while leaving room for my feet. The camera insert is removable, so the bag serves more than one purpose. It's great for travel, a daily work bag, and also for carrying camera gear.
The feature that really sealed the deal for me is the zipper on top. A zipper that is the width of the bag, opens right into the main compartment. This gives easy access to the contents of the bag, without having to lift the flap. This is perfect for having quick access to a camera, a lens change, or anything in the bag - without having to unhook and flip up the cover. This feature, along with the style and look of the bag made it a keeper for me. I still love it as much as I did when I bought the bag many months ago.
Another cool thing - the cover is held down by two magnetic "fidlock" clamps, a genius design. There is nothing to squeeze or twist or unhook - they just slide to the side and pop off. When closed, the magnets maintain a secure closure of the flap. For added security, there is Velcro underneath, so if the magnets pop loose, the flap will stay down and secure.
A few quick details:
Camera Insert: The insert is removable, making the bag multi-functional. The insert has smart folding foam dividers - you can remove or move these, fold them down, etc, to fit your gear.
Pockets: So many pockets. The main compartment, four pockets on the outside of the front of the bag, two mesh pocket on the ends, one large zip pocket on the back of the bag with four divided pockets inside it, one zip pocket on the outside (front) of the flap, and one small slip in pocket on the outside (front). The camera insert has pockets on the outside of it, too. Inside of the bag, there are another few small pockets, and one large zipped pocket. So many pockets!
Design: It's a seriously nice looking bag - well designed, cool fabric, great accents. I added the patch, that is not included.
Quality: YKK zippers, tough fabric, quality stitching and build, metal strap hardware, covered bottom for added durability - it is a well thought out, and smartly put together bag.
The Strap: It has a basic strap, with a small padded cover. It's pretty comfortable, but if you over pack the bag, not so comfy.
Suitcase Loop: A little piece of Velcro holds this strap down, but let's it pop open to slide over the handle of a rolling suitcase. Great feature when traveling with a suitcase.
An Extra Strap: An adjustable security strap is included that secures the bag around your torso, so it doesn't flop around during bending, walking, biking, etc.
Inclement Weather: A rain cover is included. The corners of the flap are sewn in a way that keeps things fairly weatherproof, but if it got too rainy, there is a cover. I've never used it though!
For a small camera bag, this bag was the clear choice for me. It's so functional that I find myself using it in all sorts of situations, not just for toting around a camera. It holds a film camera or two, quite easily - including my Mamiya 1000s and Yashica 124g. My digital camera fits well, too - a Nikon D750 with 24-120, or a couple of prime lenses. The pockets are ideal for film, filters, batteries, and every kind of little accessory that you might tuck in.
Those are the pro's, now the con's:
It can get heavy, since it holds a surprising amount of stuff for the size of the bag. When it is heavy, the strap gets uncomfortable. Just don't over fill it.
It's so pretty, that I sometimes worry about it getting stolen. I keep it on my body when I'm traveling.
The price tag is a bit higher than what I wanted to spend, but for the functionality that this bag has, it has been worth the cost.
So many pockets, while a good thing, also can be an annoying thing - I lose stuff in this bag quite often. I've started just leaving things in the same spot, and I'm hoping to form a habit of knowing which tiny pocket has my chapstick in it!
The bag doesn't have many con's in my opinion, and the ones I thought of are pretty weak. As you can likely tell, I like this bag a lot. I've never had a shoulder bag that I've really enjoyed carrying, until this Tenba.
