I’ve been a fan of Think Tank bags since I bought my first real camera backpack, the StreetWalker. Nearly fifteen years later, I still use that backpack regularly. It is perfect for carrying my larger kit to a local park, but once birding introduced a very big lens and binoculars to my travel gear, I needed something better suited to airports and long road trips.

A DSLR, multiple lenses, binoculars, and all the small accessories that travel with them require a safe place to ride. When I need the larger kit away from home, the Think Tank Airport Advantage has become my go-to rolling camera bag.

Finding a Camera Bag for Air Travel

When our hometown hockey team made the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, we booked a quick trip to St. Louis to watch some of the games, visit family and friends, and look for birds in a few new places. The St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup, by the way!

I wanted a smaller camera setup for time with family, but I also wanted my larger kit available for birding. That meant traveling with two DSLR bodies, several lenses, binoculars, and my Nikon 200-500mm lens.

I initially considered a large camera backpack, but carrying that much weight through an airport did not sound comfortable. I wanted a compact roller that could fit in an overhead bin, including on the smaller planes we might encounter along the way. Most importantly, I wanted to keep my camera equipment, laptop, and other essentials with me instead of checking them.

After comparing several bags, I settled on the Think Tank Airport Advantage. It was one of the smaller rollers in the company’s Airport series, but it had enough room for everything I planned to carry.

On its first trip, it rolled through the airport like any ordinary piece of luggage. It did not immediately announce that it was filled with camera equipment, and it fit easily in the overhead bins on all four of our flights.

Airline requirements and aircraft configurations vary, so I still recommend checking the dimensions allowed for each flight. A bag that fits one regional aircraft may not fit another, especially when an overhead compartment is unusually small.

Inside the Think Tank Airport Advantage

The bag has enough structure to hold its shape and protect the equipment inside without being excessively heavy when empty. Padded dividers can be rearranged around different camera bodies and lenses, allowing the interior to change with the kit.

I was especially impressed by how well it handled the weight. The retractable handle felt solid, and the wheels moved quietly and smoothly through the airport. Handles on three sides made it easy to lift the bag from a trunk or pull it down from an overhead compartment.

Two large zippered pockets inside the lid held batteries, chargers, straps, and other small accessories that would otherwise disappear among the larger equipment.

The front compartment fits a laptop or tablet. I carried my 15-inch MacBook Pro there, but I also placed it inside a neoprene sleeve for additional protection. I normally use that sleeve while traveling anyway, so it was an easy adjustment.

A seam-sealed rain cover is included. I almost left it at home in sunny Southern California, then landed in a St. Louis rainstorm and was very glad I had packed it.

What I Packed

For that first trip, the Airport Advantage carried:

Two Nikon D750 bodies without battery grips
Nikon 35mm lens
Nikon 50mm lens
Nikon 24-120mm lens
Nikon 28-300mm lens
Nikon 200-500mm lens with its tripod collar
Nikon 10x42 binoculars
Battery charger, camera straps, and rain cover
15-inch MacBook Pro

It was a substantial kit for such a compact roller. The padded dividers kept the camera bodies and lenses separated, while the bag remained small enough to manage easily through security lines, terminals, and narrow airplane aisles.

Using the Airport Advantage for Road Trips

Although I bought this bag primarily for flying, it has also been useful for road trips. A backpack is still my choice when I need to carry camera equipment along a trail, but the Airport Advantage works well as a protected home base in the car.

I can organize the larger kit inside, place the bag carefully in the trunk, and move selected equipment into a smaller backpack for the day. The roller keeps everything together and prevents loose lenses and accessories from shifting around the car.

Think Tank Airport Advantage Features

The Airport Advantage includes:

A customizable interior with closed-cell foam dividers
A front compartment for laptops up to 15 inches
Two interior zippered accessory pockets
Quiet 80mm wheels with sealed bearings
A retractable handle and carrying handles on three sides
Lockable zipper sliders, although a lock is not included
A side pocket and straps for a water bottle or tripod
A seam-sealed rain cover
Replaceable wheels, wheel housings, handle, and front foot

Think Tank says the bag can accommodate two camera bodies and several lenses, although the exact arrangement depends on the size of each item. The maximum listed lens is a detached 200-400mm f/4 with its hood reversed. My Nikon 200-500mm fit along with two ungripped DSLRs, four smaller lenses, and binoculars.

Is the Think Tank Airport Advantage Worth It?

The Think Tank Airport Advantage is a compact rolling camera bag built for carrying a surprisingly large amount of equipment. It protects my gear, moves smoothly through airports, and avoids the strain of carrying several heavy lenses on my back.

It is not the bag I would take onto a trail, and the laptop compartment benefits from an additional padded sleeve. For airports, road trips, and any situation where I need to transport a large kit without carrying it all on my shoulders, it has been an excellent fit.

On that first trip, it held two DSLRs, five lenses, binoculars, accessories, and a laptop while fitting into every overhead bin we encountered. That was exactly what I needed from it.

Think Tank Airport Advantage Roller Bag Review