Is this a purse?

You may want to look at the AmeriBag Healthy Back bag. Similar style but better quality. My wife used one for awhile and when she got tired of it I 'appropriated' it for use when I am shooting large format. There is enough room for the dark cloth, 8 or so 5x7 or 4x5 holders, an extra lens or two, a small rf camera and the other assorted junk you need to carry around.
 
yanidel said:
....They are just examples to show that a purse can be a bag in some countries while the reverse is also true....
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Going back to my earlier post above.....it's not a purse, it's european carry-all.
 
dazedgonebye said:
Anyone ever try one of these from Timbuk2?
http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/messenger/messenger-metro/metro

They look about right to me.
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I actually looked into getting one of those, they are just about the same size as the bag I made, but I am on a "buy used or buy american" kick, and this bag (unlike their custom bags) aren't made in the city (san francisco).

Also, seems like every other person around here has a timbuktu bag, and I wanted to be a little different.
 
Yes, It's a purse.

Also, Gradskater, where did you get the materials, how much did it cost, how did you do it etc. After many years I'm finally looking for a bag for my $LR (only have fixed lens RFs for now) and am looking to do it on the cheap. Was that the motivation here, or was it simply to have something different?
 
iamzip said:
Yes, It's a purse.

Also, Gradskater, where did you get the materials, how much did it cost, how did you do it etc. After many years I'm finally looking for a bag for my $LR (only have fixed lens RFs for now) and am looking to do it on the cheap. Was that the motivation here, or was it simply to have something different?
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I like doing little projects, so the motivation was to make a unique bag, not necessarily the cheapest bag. But it did turn out pretty cheap.

I had to buy:
Bag: $14, Camping pad: $10, tyvek: $10. I got black tyvek envelopes ($1 each), just cause I wanted black. I could have (maybe should have) used about a dollars worth of white tyvek. I think I used 3 of the black envelopes, so still only $3. I probably only used 1/6 of the camping pad. Oh, and about $3 worth of self adhesive velcro. Other materials: scissors, super glue, gorilla tape (like duct tape, but slightly thicker and stronger)

Basically I just eyeballed the sizes I needed, trial fit them, trimmed, trial fit again, then trim until I got just the size I wanted for each panel. Cover each foam panel with tyvek, use lots of tape to secure it to the foam, and then tape it to the side of the bag. I tried glue, but it was messy and didn't hold much better. Don't underestimate the gorilla tape. I have no fear of my bag coming apart. Will it standup to the arctic tundra or the sahara desert? maybe not, but it can handle berkeley fine. The insert was easy, just cut a square, cover front and back with a piece of tyvek, and leave about an inch on each side for flaps to attach the velcro. These two pieces I superglued together (glue on the flap part) then added the adhesive velcro to those flaps. Run a few strips of the other velcro side on the walls of the bag, and thats it.

The good thing about tyvek is that it is really easy to work with, just like paper, but is very strong. Nearly impossible to rip. And just like paper, it glues and tapes very well.

Finally, I ran a piece of tape across the top of the padding. Just so that when I was taking cameras in and out, I wouldn't be banging the edge of the padding, and to help hold the panel in better. It gives a smooth, seamless, edge that won't catch on anything.

The weak point of the bag is the velcro adhesive. I could have superglued this, too, and I may if it starts to look like removing the insert is causing it to pull away, but for now it is holding fine. I probably won't be moving it around much anyway since I made it to fit my X-370 with the 28mm lens. My rangefinder goes on top of two lenses, and I made two floating inserts to pad all of that.

Hope that helps.
travis
 
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I managed to score this bag free of charge - a giveaway from my wife's place of work. It's a cooler bag, so its got some thin padding, I just have to fashion some dividers for the interior. Here it is being shown off by my daughter:
 

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