New Bag from Ming Thein

Well, I bought Huff's Oberwerth test bag so I don't shy away from pricey stuff (but he did give me a killer deal)...
$250 does not seem bad, but it does not have any padding (and Ming talks that up as a good thing!) and it sags under the weight of a full load as can be seen in the first modelled photo.
This means that the gear inside will all shift inwards (like a lens pincushing) which makes things harder to pull out while the bag is on your shoulder.

I don't think this is kvetching, but observation of a product.
Charge $100 more, add padding, add structural strengthening.

It does look nice.
 
I like the bag. I like the simplicity and flexibility of the interior arrangement system, the water resistant fabric, and the exterior pocket on the back. I love that there's nearly zero velcro involved, especially none on the flap closure.

The price seems to be about right, compared to Artists & Artisans, Domke, ThinkTank, etc.
 
Ah... I missed the lack of padding. Yes definitely something that would help the bag hold it shape would be preferred.

Huss said:
Well, I bought Huff's Oberwerth test bag so I don't shy away from pricey stuff (but he did give me a killer deal)...
$250 does not seem bad, but it does not have any padding (and Ming talks that up as a good thing!) and it sags under the weight of a full load as can be seen in the first modelled photo.
This means that the gear inside will all shift inwards (like a lens pincushing) which makes things harder to pull out while the bag is on your shoulder.

I don't think this is kvetching, but observation of a product.
Charge $100 more, add padding, add structural strengthening.

It does look nice.
Click to expand...
 
Huss said:
$250 does not seem bad, but it does not have any padding (and Ming talks that up as a good thing!)
Click to expand...

It is a good thing! :) I guess this is an example of how everyone has a different opinion about what constitutes a good bag.

IMO, padding makes bags stiff, bulky and unnecessarily large when they're not fully packed. It seems MT has specific uses in mind for this bag, which results in a design consisting of many of my preferences in a bag.

That said, it does seems a bit large for a RF kit... I might still get one. :) It's difficult to resist a decent bag design, even a version one.
 
I quite like it, although it's a fair bit bigger than anything I'd need...

Regarding the padding, Ming has made it pretty clear that minimal padding was one of the primary design choices, hence the Domke influence he mentions.
 
I wonder if he would still be happy with no padding if he had to pay for his Hassie gear.

;)

(Ming is a 'Blad Ambassador. And deservedly so)
 
So there is padding in the bag, just not in the form of an insert.
The bottom of the bag is padded as is the burrito style divider thing.
If the material is what I'm thinking (car convertible top canvas) it's pretty tough dense stuff, even more than the billingham canvas and probably more than the fybernite. Should offer a reasonable amount of protection so long as you dont run around like a bull in a china shop.

either way, been looking for a bag slightly bigger than the hadley small but smaller than the hadley pro. This fit the bill so I ordered one. I may end up making my own padded insert or stick a piece of foam in there, but we'll see.
 
Looks like you need an AA filter to use that bag, with all the moire going on. How would Ming approve?
 
Any bag that can fit a 13" laptop is necessarily pretty large for me. But sometimes I need the space ...

It looks very nice. The 'continuous loop' divider is actually very similar to what I've rigged for myself in a couple of bags, it's a nice solution for flexibility with different kinds of gear.

I'm tempted. If I hadn't just bought myself a Tenba Cooper 13DSLR, I'd have placed my order already...

G
 
This reminds me a little of the old Leica bags from the 1970s--no padding and just a fold-around fabric divider inside to keep gear sort of organized. I owned a couple of those bags over the years and liked them pretty well at the time. But I had to use padded lens wrap or padded lens cases to prevent lenses and other stuff from banging around against each other. Padded inserts are a better design, in my experience.

Still, it's a nice looking bag. Just not a design I would choose these days.
 
Looks a lot like a Billingham. From my time trying bags from 'specialty makes' I've learned that I should just buy Domke's or Tamracs or similar. They make your life A LOT easier and they are A LOT cheaper. My Domke's are made to a higher standard than my Filson.
 
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