think TANK Photo City Walker 10 - a review

As photographers, we're always on the look out for that next great camera bag. I have owned at least 10 camera bags over the past 15 years and many of them had their ups, but there has normally been something that wasn't just right.When planning a trip to Las Vegas for WPPI this year, I knew the bags I had wouldn't really do the trick, as they're heavy on their own. Then once you add gear, forget about it… especially with all the walking you do at a big conference like WPPI.So my hunt began again. I wanted something lighweight, a shoulder bag for easy access and that would hold: a Fuji X-Pro1 w/ 2 lenses, a 13" MacBook Air, cables, a wallet and of course, a little make up bag. For all intents and purposes this was going to replace my "purse" for the trip.I ventured to my local camera store, Glazer's Camera, three or so times. Checking out the variety of bags from Lowepro, Crumpler, Domke and think TANK Photo.The best advice I can give when you're seeking a new camera bag is the following:Take the gear you want to carry in the bag to the camera store when you go shopping, this will ensure that what you want to carry, you can carry in the bag.This might be more challenging if you have a larger kit, but this is where the geniuses at think TANK Photo help guide you... In their roller bags they have these photographic layouts of what gear will fit into a bag. Granted these picture either a solid Canon or Nikon kit, so that doesn't cover everyone, but it covers most of us. And the setups include lenses, bodies, flashes cables and more…I'd read some reviews and seen posts about the new Think Tank CityWalker 10 Messenger Bag bag and once I saw it, thought it could be the right bag for me. Especially when I picked it up, with no gear in it and realised it weighed almost nothing. The City Walker 10 specs do not indicate it will hold a laptop, but if you pry the insert away from the back of the bag, the velcro comes apart and you can put a small laptop in there, no larger than a Macbook Air 13".This little beauty, held everything I needed it to, including an iPad mini, cables and more. The bag ended up being a great solution for my trip to Las Vegas. And it continues to work for my day to day usage. For work my kit includes a Nikon D700 + a few prime lenses and for fun I'm now carrying an Fuji X100s + a Zero Image Pinhole. This bag works for either setup. Since the strap is adjustable you can carry it as a cross body or just on your shoulder.While we're here I'll also mention I really dig the Pixel Pocket Rocket for memory card storage, it holds a lot of cards, so don't lose it! And if you need some help with your Cable Management, these guys offer a variety of bags to help keep you organised! This Cable Management 20 has certainly come in handy for me too!