bag question: Roots

[stet]

Anyone have any experience/know anything about Roots camera bags? I think this is a Canadian company, but I rarely see their products in the states. Anyway, I'm still in the market for a small backpack, and their classic mini is looking good.Plain, small, and supposed to hold two bodies, three lenses and a flash. Comments, esp. from you guys up in Canadia? 😉

http://www.gentec-intl.com/Default.asp?mode=prd&div_id=&prod_id=CS12BE

 

[back alley]

i've seen them in the local camera store. they sell for cheap i think.

i looked at the site and it's interesting that they are part of gentec.
roots started life as a clothes store and now they are part of a much larger company.
gentec is a distributor for camera equipment and it seems they may be branching out a bit.

the bags seemed ok but i really didn't pay close attention to them
joe

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

I've had one for about a year ... It's been great. Lots of room. Not too big. Well made. Comfortble to wear ... 🙂
dan

 

[stet]

I've had one for about a year ... It's been great. Lots of room. Not too big. Well made. Comfortble to wear ... 🙂
dan

Really, the classic mini? Would you mind posting a pic of the inside? I've had no luck looking online for an under-the-hood shot.

Of the bag.

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

Sure ... I'll do it in the morning 😉

 

[jan normandale]

Roots stuff is always well designed and the materials are always high quality.

regards, Jan

Toronto, Canada

 

[Nikon Bob]

Couldn't tell you a thing about the Roots bag but here is a source at the retail level in Canada http://www.blackphotostore.com/english/proddetail.asp?sku=4575 .

Bob

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

Here you go ... it's a pretty lame photo but it will give you an idea of what the inside looks like. I can do better if you like 😀

I just stuffed a few things into it to give you an idea of what it will hold.

dan

 

[stet]

whoa -- that's exactly what I was looking for in a bag. thanks for the pic, Dan, and setting it up. Looks like it will hold more than the Lowepro Micro Trekker 200, or at least as much.

Bob -- Thanks for the Black's link. I was eyeing up the red one on Henry's, but its store review on resellerratings.com is a little spotty. Any other recommendations for a Canadian mail order spot? Black's looks good as a store, but I was hoping for the red or blue bag.

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

I like it ... not too big ... not too small ...

I would be happy to buy one for you and arrange to ship it. I think they come in red, blue and maybe black(?) I should be out and about later today and will stop at London Drugs and see how much they are going for. The bags are often on sale. You may even be able to buy it online at LD ... www.londondrugs.com

dan

 

[stet]

Dan -- that'd be great if you would; London Drugs only ships within Canada, and their price is even lower than the Henry's price. PM coming your way...

BTW, has anyone here ordered from Henry's? Their feedback isn't that great, but some have written really good reviews. They claim to have the Ilford postcard paper (which from a thread on APUG seems on the extinction list) but some reviewers said they had problems with Henry's site claiming in stock, and then shipping the wrong thing or not shipping anything and not contacting the buyer for days...

Any input from RFF members?

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

Looks like they have them on for 20% off. I would be happy to pick one up for you and ship it. Waiting for the PM 🙂

dan

 

[Nikon Bob]

stet

There is also this site for Roots USA http://www.roots-direct.com/ . if that helps any.

Bob

 

[jan normandale]

Dan -- that'd be great if you would; London Drugs only ships within Canada, and their price is even lower than the Henry's price. PM coming your way...

BTW, has anyone here ordered from Henry's? Their feedback isn't that great, but some have written really good reviews. They claim to have the Ilford postcard paper (which from a thread on APUG seems on the extinction list) but some reviewers said they had problems with Henry's site claiming in stock, and then shipping the wrong thing or not shipping anything and not contacting the buyer for days...

Any input from RFF members?

Hi Stet

Henry's has been a camera retailer in Toronto for over 50 years.

Photographers, present company excluded, can be obsessive about things and so they write thing also. Bad comments persist , good ones do not. I buy a lot of stuff from Henry's and they are reputable. I would suggest re reading the negative feedback and read between the lines. Henry's are usually pretty good about standing behind their products. After all 50+ years in business doesn't just happen because you are not good.

Blacks is another photo chain started in Toronto. Now owned by Fuji. They are also very good however have only mainstream high turnover products. They focus primarily on film processing and primarily amateur photography and camera equipment for family shots or P/S travel shots.

Jan

 

[stet]

Jan: I just saw the about us page on the site, and yeah, you don't last that long by doing bad business. Hell, since 1909 and family-owned? That's kind of store I go out of my way to shop at. I usually take resellerratings.com with a grain of salt, but I always check it too, and am only really hesistant with an average below 6.

Might be good to get in an order for postcard paper, though, before it's posted on APUG.
🙂

 

[stet]

with big thanks to Dan/afaceinthecrowd, I now have a great lil' camera bag that holds all of my stuff. I have to say that the bag seems really sturdy and well made. Nice details, too, with quality embroideries and the patterened beaver logo in gray silkscreen on gray nylon on the insides. The interior plastic zippers on the pouches have a leather flap in the closed position to cover them and i suppose to prevent them from hitting your gear. I feel like mesh/foam padding is a must on any backpack you wear for extended periods, too, and these are better than the ones on my other normal bags. If I have any critique at all, it's only that the Roots' name logo is embroidered five times, but that's nothing. what was that someone said about an RFF patch? 😉

In the pic with my hat you can see how small it is (I wear a 7 3/8, if that matters 😛 ) In the other pic I've actually put in 100 percent of my camera gear. Incidentally, with the sole exception of the Canon body and 50mm lens, it was all acquired through RFF! Minolta XG-M from Jon Goodman (which re-arrived today too), 135/2.8 and 50/1.7 MC mount lenses from JohnM, Industar-61 L/D from Sockeyed, CV 35/2.5 pancake from pfogle, and hand strap by Gordy.

I don't anticipate bringing all my gear, or even both bodies, a lot, but I can now go out with one body and multiple lenses and still pack a lot of my normal junk.
And, I go shooting with my girlfriend a lot, and she can put her Nikon F3 and lenses in there too. (with motorwinder -- she's diesel!)

wow. I really want to go ride around town on my bike with everything right now, but I can't yet... Curses, work!