Your thoughts on the Tenba P211

[pismo923]

I have been looking at this as a slim messenger style bag. I would use it with one M body and a couple lenses plus the usual accesories. I see it as a Domke F-803 type bag but with some padding and more flexible storage. What are your thoughts on the bag - good, bad or otherwise?

 

[dc5]

I've had the Tenba P411 forever. It seems to be the same design as the P211, and it is my favorite travel bag...not much bigger than the F803 but so much more can be loaded in it and still retain a slim profile. For my Leica system though, all through the 80's and 90's I loved my Tenba P21...same exact design as the P211, but only 8" x 8". Wish I could find another!

 

[pismo923]

Ordered a P211 and picked it up yesterday. First impressions are very positive. The build quality is very good. Noticeably thinner than the Messenger Mini but will comfortably carry all I would want for a day out shooting. The rear zippered pocket will hold an ipad but without much padding. Indeed similar in size to the Domke 803 but holds its shape more due to the better padding which I appreciate. The pockets at the bottom hold a lot of stuff and is an ideal spot for film, flash, mini tripod, etc. Keeps it out of the main compartment and reduces the clutter. I can see where this bag will be a great travel bag or for those times I want to carry a bit more than just camera gear i.e. book, magazine, maps, etc. This is my second Tenba bag and am coming to appreciate their design. Not perfect (what bag is?) but overall very nice and the price is very reasonable for the quality.

 

[GarageBoy]

A Tenba 2 is similar, but with a zippered main and shorter
Now if they would reissue the Pro Paks

 

[pismo923]

Having used the P211 for a while now I am very pleased with it. The only minor shortcoming is that the strap is fixed and not removable but that may be just a personal preference. I did find that the dividers are a bit hard to configure to snuggly fit small rangefinder lenses but discovered that the insert from the DNA 8 fits perfect in the P211. This vastly improves the efficiency of the bag for a rangefinder kit. If I ever get a larger kit with bigger lenses it's a simple matter of removing the insert and then there is plenty of space for a zoom lens, DSLR, etc. Without it's insert, the DNA 8 takes up very little room so for travel it is very easy to take both bags and have the best of both worlds. This two bag, reasonably priced,lightweight, versatile, well built set up checks all the boxes for me.