Having the perfect bag is always a tough choice when you’re a photographer. There are soo many different shoulder, backpacks and roller bags out there. For my trip to Barcelona I needed a bag that was small, able to hold a decent amount of equipment and didn’t actually look like a camera bag! After looking at so many different bags I settled for the Think Tank City Walker. A messenger style shoulder bag designed for the city. Ideal for my week long break within Barcelona.
I got in touch with the main supplier, Snapperstuff, to see if I could borrow the bag for my trip and but it through some real world testing. Luckily they said yes!! So here’s my hands on real world review of the Think Tank City Walker 10.
Durability
Like all Think Tank bags this thing is made to last. The outside of the bag is made from a superior water-resistance fabric which has a durable water-repellent (DWR) coating, plus the underside of the fabric has a polyurethane coating.
This was extremely useful when I was walking around Park Güell and placing my bag down on the sandy floor. The sand just brushed off from the underside. Also during the last day in Barcelona there was a small down pour and I had left the waterproof cover at the hotel, however true to the spec the water-repellent fabric did it’s job amazingly. The zips never stuck once and even after a full 4 days of 12 hours of use it was working the same as day one.
Build
Straight away I could tell this bag was built and designed with a working photographer in mind. You have a organizer pocket at the front of the bag, which is where I kept ballpoint pen, Sharpie, iPod Nano, headphones, Think Tank Pixel Rocket, back up iPhone charger, mini iPhone cable and Jobo GripTight Micro Stand.
There’s also a space for an iPad or tablet, however I used this space to fit an A5 writing pad to plan the locations where I’d be shooting during the day.
Within the main section of the bag you have a removable padded insert. This transforms the camera bag into just a normal messenger bag. During the last I left my camera gear at the hotel and just walked around with the bag like this. Perfect for just walking around with as a day bag. The normal padded section Velcro’s to the side and bottom of bag giving it a firm fitting. There is also zipped part to the rear of the bag, this is ideal for keeping more valuable items such as mobile phones or money. Keeping these items towards the back of the bag gave me peace of mind when walking around as my pockets were empty, and the items were zipped away out of sight.
On the outside of the bag there’s a handy front pouch. This gives you quick access to necessary items with ease. When I was travelling I kept a map of where I was going, tube card and packet of mints. This saved me having to go through the bag, exposing the inside contents.
Features
Not only has this bag got a solid build, but some rather impressive unique features, making this one amazing travel bag.
On the inside flap the Velcro which is used to fasten the bag shut, along with a plastic clip, can be “silenced”. This is something Think Tank developed and is used on a wide variety of their bags. It basically stops the Velcro tear sound as it is looped back on itself. Really useful when in churches or museums because no more sound when opening the bag but still keeping the camera covered.
The convenient carry handle was extremely useful for just picking up the bag on the move when you didn’t want to use the shoulder strap. Also when at the airport I was able to use the carry handle looped over the suitcase main handle to save me carrying two bags around. This would be the same if you were using any of the Think Tank Airport Rollers.
The shoulder strap is well padded and features a breathable mesh, which is important when you’re walking around with the bag all day. I found it rather comfortable, even when using it for a long period of time. As the strap isn’t stitched into the padded area it means you can swing the bag round from the side to the front to open the bag without having to leave your shoulder.
On the side of the bag you have an elasticated mesh pocket. These are perfect for carrying drinks around, bottled water, can of Coke or even small packets of food. You can just about fit in a larger bottled drink, however I kept thinking that the drink was going to fall out, it never did though.
Size
As this is the City Walker 10 it is the smallest within the City Walker series. The overall outer dimensions of the bag are –
Outside – 12.4” W x 9” H x 6.7” D (31.5 x 23 x 17 cm)
Inside – 10” W x 7.5” H x 5.3” D (25.5 x 19 x 13.5 cm)
There was no issue with taking this bag onboard an areoplane as carry on. It could even fit under the seat. This meant my camera equipment never left my sight at all.
One thing that surprised me was that I was able to fit my travel tripod Manfrotto BeFree inside the bag on the top section. It was a bit of a tight fit, however it just meant I was able to have everything in one place. Camera equipment and tripod, very handy when photographing at night. The tripod itself is 40 cm when closed, and the bag can be shut and fastened completely like normal.
City Walker Overall Thoughts
I must admit I was extremely happy and surprised with how good the City Walker 10 bag was. Seeing as before the trip I’d never used the bag, it was either going to work perfectly or I was going to struggle daily to work with it. Once again Think Tank have come out with an amazing product.
If you’re looking for a small travel bag with a load of space and a well thought out design look no further. Pockets to house all your travel needs and when necessary it can be used as just a normal day bag, giving any photographer the best of both worlds.
Pros
- Loads of pockets and storage
- Double security front flap closure with Sound Silencers and
- Dual Cross buckle
- Top grab handle making it easy to pick the bag up on the go
- Removable main insert
- Dedicated compartment for iPad, or notebook
- Able to fit in a small travel tripod
Cons
- Could do with a deeper side mesh pocket for drinks
- To make the bag even more discrete remove the Think Tank logo from the front flap (similar to Retrospective bags)
Once again many thanks to the people at Snapperstuff for the loan of the bag and the amazing city of Barcelona for being the perfect place to test out the City Walker 10.
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