DOMKE camera bag: cotton vs balistic ?

icebear

icebear

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Hi there,

it's that time of the year to care about your gear schlepping it around on the street...
I currently have a Lowe stealth reporter (300 or 400?) and it's pretty OK, no complaints so far.
Sturdy, not too heavy on its own, reasonably water proof.

But I'm looking into Domke as an alternative and I am almost set on the F-6 (2 M bodies + 4 lenses and small stuff) but :

Does anyone have specific experience with the different materials of DOMKE , trad. cotton, heavy wear wax cotton, nylon ?
Color will be Monochrom black, no question here :D.

But to go with the classic cotton material or better with the so called ballistic nylon ? I read about dust issues with the cotton, as this is not that tight as the artificial material. I have a Domke tripod bag (cotton) and film shield bag in nylon, so I do have a rough idea how this will be.

- What material do you recommend from your own experience?

- How about the typical metal lugs, built to last a lifetime but a nuisance? In case I don't like these at all, I'll do a little surgery and replace them with plastic snaps.

Thanks for input from the bag experts ;).
 
35 Year Old Original

35 Year Old Original

I have three Domke bags including the original F2 which I bought from Domke himself. It is in cotton and must be 35 years old. It is still going strong and my only complaint is it is a bit big for my present system (thus the other smaller bags).
 
ktmrider said:
I have three Domke bags including the original F2 which I bought from Domke himself. It is in cotton and must be 35 years old. It is still going strong and my only complaint is it is a bit big for my present system (thus the other smaller bags).
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ktm (motor bike?) rider,

thanks for your answer, 35 years of use, definately quite an argument for the original cotton version. Have you ever used any treatment to make it waterproof after all these years or has the dust of the times built a natural coating on this beauty;) ?
 
I had a cotton Domke bag and wore it down in 4 years. Replaced with with a ballistic version and it's doing ok. Although the strap and rear portions of the bag are still cotton. But the ballistic seems to be holding it's color well.

You see pics of my old bag here.
http://www.ken-m.com/b-sides/november-4th-2011-new-bag-an-old-favorite.html

I remember showing it to some woman at the Domke booth at PDN Expo last year and she was like "Wow, that bag has seen some use." Or something of that sort. I was hoping to score a free replacement, but no luck.

A forum member actually offered me $30 for it. So I sold it. I guess the broken in look is in. Considering kids these days pay $100 for jeans with holes in them I should have just bought another cotton bag, wore it out and sold it again.
 
swoop said:
I had a cotton Domke bag and wore it down in 4 years. Replaced with with a ballistic version and it's doing ok. Although the strap and rear portions of the bag are still cotton. But the ballistic seems to be holding it's color well.
...
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Hello Ken,

obviously wear and tear are very depending on the use. I don't baby my stuff, so it will get dragged over the ground or pushed a couple of feet by foot if I have put it down and need to change my position w/o picking the bag up again.
Open holes that could make and SD card escape would be a desaster (especially when full)... That's a no go.

The holes in yours really look like designer jeans :D.
 
I've got and have used both but currently using the ballistic (F2) as my main bag. As mentioned, the back side is still cotton so it WILL wear out before the ballistic will show any wear. However, the cotton will age and soften up better so it'll fit your hips nicely but the nylon is pretty tough. if I had to get one bag that was going to see real world use, I'd go with the ballistic.
 
I have 3 of them (F6-F2-F1) all ballistic. My first one is the F6, it 'lasted' 10 years, it doesn't hold it's form as it used too.
 
I have a cotton one for past 6 years. I am kinda careful but Sh&t definitely does happen and the bag has held up well.
 
The cotton is a very heavy denim. I have one from the early 1980s with metal fittings -- the straps fray and it you carry it daily, the material can wear through on the side the rubs up against you. I've worn through three or four Domki F2 bags but keep them around to carry the various bodies and lenses.
 
Maybe I should start a poll on this. It might be easier to view the results than keep track. But then I assume there will be no clear winner, just personal preference for either cotton or ballisic, none seems to be obviously better than the other.

How about the metal lugs ?
Any comments on these, are these difficult or almost impossible to operate with one hand, are they noisy when you walk?
 
VinceC said:
The cotton is a very heavy denim. I have one from the early 1980s with metal fittings -- the straps fray ....
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If I'm not mistaken the straps are the same on these bags even if the material of the bag is ballistic nylon the straps are cotton, too. I have seen hand straps and shoulder pads as acessories for the Domke bags but no replacments straps, I guess once it's time to replace the strap, also the bag itself needs some TLC service.
 
I have 4 of them; F2, F3x waxwear, F5xb and F803 all cotton canvass. Had the J803 nice and softer then the cotton but still prefer the texture of cotton.
 
Original Bag

Original Bag

Well, my original is still going strong. I purchased it when I was using a couple motor drive F/F2's with five lenses. It held that kit just fine although my shoulder started showing signs of strain from all the weight. Soon as I got rid of that kit, my back problems cleared right up.

Now, a J803 works great for a M2, two or three lenses, and a Fuji X100 body. My guess is the nylon lasts longer (my motorcycle jacket is made from ballistic nylon to resist abrasion) but the cotton looks and feels better (to me).
 
i have 2 F3X's one is ballistic, and a cotton satchel. all 3 are black. the satchel's strap is thinner, so it wears out faster. mine is now probably half the width of when it was new, so i really dont use it much anymore. i used to use it a lot, carrying leica stuff, so alot of its color has worn out. the F3X's i use moreso for slr's, but i do use the ballistic one more, for leica and other cameras. overall, id say that, not including strap wear, the ballistic is probably more durable. and more water resistant. if im grabbing only one domke, its almost always the ballistic.
 
I don't really care if the cotton ones wear out faster, they last a long time and they work very well. I've had to replace one F2. It's still useable but it does have holes at the corners. The metal clips are one of the best features. Plastic clips ALWAYS seem to break.
 
Pablito said:
I don't really care if the cotton ones wear out faster, they last a long time and they work very well. I've had to replace one F2. It's still useable but it does have holes at the corners. The metal clips are one of the best features. Plastic clips ALWAYS seem to break.
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Thanks for your comment, Pablito. I have a soft style suitcase (cheapo) where the plastic snaps are of course broken after 10 airline treatments.

On my Lowe bag however the snaps are fine and it's about 8 years old. I can open and close them with one hand and they don't make any clapping noise when they not closed.

No noise is important in my book that why velcro closed flaps are a no go, btw one reason I rarely use my Bare Bones Bag.
 
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