( 3 reviews )
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Posted: 07-08-2009
I picked this bag at the B&H superstore in NYC when I was looking for a good messenger/shoulder bag. This one is just perfect.There are lots of well-placed pockets in and on this bag. The best feature is a zipper to quickly access the main compartment without removing the front flap, which is very convenient. The spacers in the main compartment can be removed or repositioned to fit your needs. The compartment itself can even be removed in case you want to put something other than your camera stuff in there (say, some books and papers). There's also a laptop compartment which fits 15.4" and smaller laptops. A large part of the shoulder strap is padded, and has a good grip, so it's very comfortable to wear. Oh, and the bag has a rubber bottom so you can put it down almost anywhere. There's a video review from Tenba on YouTube which covers most of these features.The bag is pretty light, and I can fit my 40D with a Canon 17-55 lens attached, plus my Canon 85mm f/1.8 and Canon 430EX II flash unit. Along with various other stuff like filters, chargers and batteries.There's also a larger version of the bag (which fits 17" laptops) but I thought it was too big for me.
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( 3 of 4 found this review helpful ) Posted: 05-22-2009
I am extremely disappointed with Tenba, and with this bag in particular.Let me explain. I have owned several Tenba bags over the past 30 or so years and have always found them to my liking. The P211 that I was carrying back and forth to work for 8 years was a gem. Unfortunately, the zipper pull snapped and, since the bag was starting to show its age, I decided to replace it.After looking at several brands and models, the small Tenba Messenger seemed to best meet my current needs. For the most part, I have to admit that I'm satisfied with it. However, it doesn't come close to the quality that I always felt that Tenba provided.The first thing that I noticed is that there are spaces between the edges of the main flap and the body of the bag. These spaces provide an entry point for dust and rain. The P211 had small flaps to shield these openings and I never had any issues with either dust or rain. Secondly, one of the straps securing the main flap is sewn crooked. Not a big deal as far as I'm concerned, but I expected better from Tenba. All the bragging on their website about craftsmanship is to be taken with a grain of salt.Lastly, and this is my biggest disappointment, the zipper pull on the main compartment fell apart after less than 6 months. Mind you, one of the reasons for replacing my P211 was a broken zipper pull.....but that was after 8 YEARS!.Even though the bag is still under warranty, I decided not to send it to Tenba for repair. All that they would probably do is replace the pull with the same part that broke and I'd be stuck with the shipping charge.I did email Tenba just to voice my displeasure. That was two months ago. I have not received so much as the courtesy of a reply or apology. I didn't ask them to replace the bag or even fix it. I simply told them the facts.I'll continue to use this bag but I seriously doubt that I'm going to get 8 years of use out of it. When it comes time to replace it, it certainly will NOT be with another Tenba product.
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( 3 of 4 found this review helpful ) Posted: 04-26-2009
There really isn't much to say here because there isn't much to complain about. As with any bag, there are places I might want a pocket and places I wouldn't, but Tenba is so phenomenal at providing an excellent number of different kinds of pockets that I might only move some of them. But then I might not. This bag can hold everything I need to bring, plus all the extra nonsense I don't need but think I do to be prepared, while still staying compact and comfortable.The bag comes in a number of colors. I chose the olive green. Had Amazon sold the gray I'd probably have gone that route, but you do have options. I would assume Tenba is not exactly weighing aesthetic high on their list of priorities, so I'm not exactly sure why they offer so many color options, but they do exist. This is not to say the bag is ugly, but it's not shockingly good looking either. When comparing it to other camera bags, however, it's often preferable in the looks department.More importantly, the functionality of the bag is absolutely phenomenal. Amazon has a nice little video from Tenba on the page, and though their videos try to do the Apple product presentation kind of thing and are pretty much missing the mark, the video is very informative and gets all the high points of the bag across that you will want to know about. Two of my favorites are the waterproof bottom of the bag--I shouldn't have to explain why that is such a wonderful thing--and the extremely tough hooks that hold the strap to the bag.Speaking of the strap, let's talk about comfort. I'd always been under the impression that every strap was uncomfortable when the bag was made heavy from being overpacked by a neurotic individual (me). I was nervous about Tenba's messenger because there is no padding on the strap. For whatever reason, even when this bag is packed heavier than a chiropractor would approve, the strap is still comfortable. In fact, even if the bag is weighing me down it is still comfortable. The padding on the inside is wonderful. It is another great feature of the bag, as it isn't just soft to make you feel good but uses very breathable fabric to avoid overheating its point of contact.Everywhere on the bag there are pockets galore. You won't believe how much you can fit into this bag. I have a Lowe Pro bag for my video camera, which also is designed to hold a 15" (or smaller) laptop plus everything the Tenba is designed to hold yet it is twice the size. It is an enormous bag. If I were to use the Lowe Pro bag for my still camera, like I do with the Tenba, I could fit the same amount of stuff in both but the Tenba would be half the size and far more organized. I'm still wowed by it.Another wonderful feature is the removable photo insert. If you're buying this bag you're buying it to take a laptop and a camera with you, most likely. However, you may not always want to take the camera. That's fine. You can just remove the entire camera section, without disturbing the organization of the bag, and put it elsewhere. Alternatively, if you want to only take the camera equipment and leave the bag (which I just did recently), you can pack just the photo insert in your suitcase and have your equipment well-protected. The bag is designed for the camera, a couple of lenses and a flash. Though I only have one zoom lens (the rest are primes), I'm able to fit six lenses, the camera and a microphone. That's only in the camera insert (which, by the way, can be easily accessed from a top zipper so you don't have to completely open the bag to access your camera). That doesn't account for the laptop sleeve and the amazing number of pockets you have available for hard drives, card readers, cables, etc. With every other bag I needed to make sacrifices in what I brought with me. I do not ever have to do that with the Tenba Messenger.There are many more things I could say in its praise and probably a few minor things I could complain about, but hopefully my point is well taken: this is an amazing bag--buy it. It's probably also worth mentioning that a bag with these capabilities generally is about twice the cost. If you were to buy an equivalent from Crumpler or Lowe Pro you'd be paying more. I am just floored by what his bag can do at any cost, but for it to be pretty much the cheapest in its class is just incredible.
