Heads-up - domke bag strap potential weakpoint

[Murchu]

If the connector on your bag strap used to adjust its length, is plastic, it may one day break, leaving nothing to prevent your bag and all its contents taking a nasty tumble..

I'm not sure if Domke has changed the design on its bags, or even employs a metal strap adjuster now, but just discovered the above at home thankfully, before moseying out with my own 4/ 5 year old F-5XB. A quick check on my F-5XA strap reveals the same potential weakpoint.

My solution when I get around to it, will be to stitch the strap directly to the metal clips that attach it to the bag, fixing the strap length, but at least eliminating the possibility of this happening again and at a less fortunate time.

Tried to post a picture of the connector in question, but flickr seems disagreeable this afternoon for me, so will try again later.

 

[newsgrunt]

Never ever had a strap tri glide break on any of my Domkes. Have plastic glides on all my bags and backpacks (Thinktank Shapeshifter loaded with EVERYTHING for example) and I don't worry and neither should you.

 

[Murchu]

Never ever had a strap tri glide break on any of my Domkes. Have plastic glides on all my bags and backpacks (Thinktank Shapeshifter loaded with EVERYTHING for example) and I don't worry and neither should you.

Well, happened to me just yesterday. Thankfully the bag was not over my shoulder at the time, and just broke when I attempted to lift it up from where I had it set down. I think that it is just plastic, is a potential weakpoint to be aware of, as I was surprised there wasn't stitching on the strap to ensure it remained attached to your bag should that plastic connector broke.

I'm sure these things don't break for many people, my own pair of domkes are about 5 years old, but that is not the same as saying they do not break. Just in case my post is misconstrued as some sort of attack on the brand, it's not, as I quite like the pair of bags I have and would buy them again. That said, I do now wish that seperator had been metal, or that there was some form of backup stitching in case the plastic seperator failed. I know I will be checking my other non-domke bags, to ensure this isn't an issue with them too.

 

[FrozenInTime]

Plastic is susceptible to moulding flaws - one of the plastic strap end clamps on my M9 failed.
I spotted the strap end was loose so no damage was done.
The fracture's weak spot looked to be caused by surface contamination on the mould.

 

[Leica All Day]

Dang, I have been using Domke for years and I have never had an issue with them....Thanks for the heads up, I will make a mental note to check mine....

cheers, michael