Little Billingham 'Hadley Original' Review

[Dave Wilkinson]

Yes! - never mind all this sissy, 'coloured crumpler' nonsense!, we're talkin proper 'man's' camera bag now!🙂
Dave.

 

[kuvvy]

I have the Original Hadley too although it hasn't seen heavy use. I mainly use this as my carry-on bag when flying, hence mine looks only weeks old despite having owned it well over 10 years.
The material is of such good quality it even feels good whereas I find the Crumplers to be a little harsh to the touch. The bag hangs close enough to the body, even better without the insert as I sometimes just wrap my gear in soft cloths.
Although I have the Billingham shoulder pad I don't find it particularly comfortable, especially if only wearing light clothing. So recently I bought a Domke USPS shoulder pad and this is much better. Thick padding, cut at an angle to 'straighten out the shoulder' helps the bag hang much better.

 

[David R Munson]

OP: Thanks for the review. I must admit I am interested in one of these now.

On a different note, which Grados are those and how do you like them? Do you listen to music much while you shoot?

 

[35mmdelux]

I just sold my Hadley orginal in khaki. Beautiful bag. Attracted more attention than I wanted. Purchased a Hadley Pro in black from RFFer. For travelling a perfect size: camera, couple lenses, cell, recorder, strobe, tickets.

After 15 years with DOMKEs I wanted a bag with more padding for my gear. The Billingham certainly has this and is exceptionally well made. It came down to A&A or Billingham -- the Billingham won.

 

[35mmdelux]

"I have the Billingham Hadley original in black neo fabric with black leather. No one in the two year I use it never asked me if it was a photo bag. In black/black it is the most stealthy camera bag I ever had. Good looking without the insert too for casual bag!"

I hear you...

"Yes! - never mind all this sissy, 'coloured crumpler' nonsense!, we're talkin proper 'man's' camera bag now! Dave."

Yeah! baby.

 

[borismach]

Perfect! Thanks for the review and the pictures. Do you feel it's too stiff to mold into your body? I'm still trying to decide between tan and black...

Try consider also olive color...i like it most...though i yet to own any billingham...but have been searching for an olive hadley original or pro for a few months...difficult to find one...
cheerz,

 

[venchka]

Just when I was really tired of black under the Texas sun......

Y'all really like black over sand or green?

 

[kully]

Get khaki.

Getting one colour over another makes as much difference to 'stealth' as a rotund gentleman hiding beneath a fallen apple.

None of them look like contemporary camera bags.

 

[yanidel]

I have been looking at Hadleys several times but the lack of zipper to secure it is a deal breaker for me. Too easy for thieves to grab something in the metro. That is why I went with a Domke bag.

 

[martin s]

OP: Thanks for the review. I must admit I am interested in one of these now.

On a different note, which Grados are those and how do you like them? Do you listen to music much while you shoot?

No problem. It's either the sr60 or 80 on the image I posted. I do listen to music most of the time (music and NPR), but I try not to listen to music while shooting.

Great that the thread took off like that, I really think Billingham is a company worth supporting.

martin

 

[Penzes]

I like my Hadley pro and I had never issues with curious people with stupid questions. 😀

 

[mike kim]

So, I ended up getting a back hadley pro. I asked the seller if it was canvas or the new fibrenyte material, and he said it was canvas. But when I received it, it was fibrenyte 😡
The bag is (surprisingly) very light and soft, but I don't want the bag to look like new forever... does anyone have any experience with the fibrenyte material? I'm consdering selling it and buying one made out of canvas.

 

[sevo]

So, I ended up getting a back hadley pro. I asked the seller if it was canvas or the new fibrenyte material, and he said it was canvas. But when I received it, it was fibrenyte 😡
The bag is (surprisingly) very light and soft, but I don't want the bag to look like new forever...

How do you know its fibrenyte? I never am able to make out a difference unless I have both next to each other. And my black canvas one is very light and soft and has strong tendencies to look like new forever...

 

[Chuck Albertson]

I don't care about keeping it clean (unless I vomit on it or somesuch) and with some of this 'character' it just looks like a canvas 'manbag' - the only comments I've had have been of the ilke "you must be able to keep a lot of Tampax in that" rather than asking what cameras I have inside it.

I've found that if I vomit on it, the Hadley cleans up nicely with a damp cloth if you don't leave it too long.

Once the monsoon arrives, this is the bag I use for cameras. It's not quite as easy to work out of a Domke satchel, but it keeps everything dry even in a downpour.

 

[mike kim]

Well, when I first touched the material, it felt like synthetic (which is not bad, just not what I was expecting). I may have been able to tell since my family is and has always been in the textile industry, and I've been exposed to the tact of different materials over the years. Also, I checked the warranty card later to confirm my doubts, and it says PRO-HADLEY BLACK F'NYTE.
I kinda like the feel of this material. I'm just concerned about it not wearing down, but as you said, Billinghams are known to look like new for a long time... so I'm not sure. I may be exaggerating.

 

[martin s]

I will one day upload a few images of the sides of my bag. They look worn, as in abused. Don't put a Laptop in the large version of the Hadley if there's tension on the fabric, it will tear in no time. (tension would be caused by e.g. MBA / MB 13")

martin

 

[kully]

Martin - I've carried a 14" old-school (=heavy) laptop in there for a couple of months - no tears - where did yours tear?

 

[martin s]

On the corner, where the material folds. It was a tiny hole at first - and it still is - but it increases a little every time I check. I'm looking for the cable to connect the camera and I'll upload an image. It really is tiny, but you know, still a hole.

I didn't talk to Billingham about it since I don't really care. It's not an issue for me, at least for now.

martin

 

[vrgard]

So, I ended up getting a back hadley pro. I asked the seller if it was canvas or the new fibrenyte material, and he said it was canvas. But when I received it, it was fibrenyte 😡
The bag is (surprisingly) very light and soft, but I don't want the bag to look like new forever... does anyone have any experience with the fibrenyte material? I'm consdering selling it and buying one made out of canvas.

Mike - Let me know if you do decide to sell it as I may be interested and it would be easy for you to mail it to me in Northern California.

-Randy

 

[martin s]

A little update, better pictures. On the first one you can see the stains I was talking about, you can remove them though.