First, let’s get the bad news of the way:
My camera, and all my gear won’t fit. The bag is too small for my needs. I’ve got a Nikon D300 Digital SLR with option MB-D10 battery pack/motor drive and NO way was this thing going to fit in this camera bag. The camera is too tall. Now, to be fair this is no fault of Think Tank Photo. They asked me more than once when I asked for a review copy specifically what model I wanted to review and I asked for, and got a Think Tank Photo Streetwalker. I chose wrong. It’s that simple.
But, no way could I get my Nikon D300 with the drive (and preferably, a lens) to fit in a way that I found to be suitable to me. The problem is the motor drive/battery pack. It makes the Nikon D300 too tall for the camera to fit where intendend.I could take off the motor drive, and the lens and the D300 body on it’s own does fit. But I don’t want to spend my days assembling my camera bits and pieces like a jigsaw puzzle or a lego kit. The Streetwalker is designed so the camera with zoom lens fits in the top part of the backpack:
But the Nikon D300 with the battery pack is just too tall at 6.5 inches high. the top 1/4 of the backpack tapers from 5 inches to 3.5 inches. So if your camera is taller than 3.5 inches, the zipper won’t close:
Now, the good news, and there’s lots. This is one well-thought out camera bag. There’s lots of little details that make this more than just a camera bag, but a shooter’s bag. Except for my camera and 18-200 mm zoom this small bag measuring just 11x17x8 inches in overall dimensions swallowed up a lot of my gear:
My Nikon SB-600 Flash
My Nikon SB-800 Flash
My Nikon 180mm f/2.8
Nikon 200mm f4.9 Micro (Macro)
Nikon AF 85mm f/1.8
Nikon 50mm f/1.4
Nikon 24mm f/2.8
Included rain cover.
As you can see, I managed to get a fair amount of stuff in such a small pack. And probably the best feature of this bag is that it stands up when you take it off and put it down (which, with all this stuff inside it was sometimes the best part of this review, the part where you put it down)
I never had any problem with the weight at all. On Saturday I went with the boss for a walk around the university grounds and had no trouble at all with this pack. It’s much better that way than my big domke bag which puts all the weight on one shoulder. The streetwalker divides the weight evenly across your back and both shoulders.
Features
This is where the Think Tank Streetwalker really shines for me, are all the ‘little things’ that other manufacturers can miss:
LOTS of pockets. I lost count of how many little places there are for your stuff: Here’s a few highlights:
Two (actually, four) side pockets.2 are stretchy material which would allow you quickly stuff a pen, map, etc that you need to get at quickly. For more secure items there are 2 zippered pockets and the attention to detail with these pockets are quite impressive:
There’s an extra bit of fabric folded/sewn in to allow for you to overstuff the pockets. No, I know YOU wouldn’t do anything like that. But if, and only if – the need would arise there’s a little extra wiggle room for your stuff. All external zipper pockets have this little feature. Expandable pockets are a nice touch. Here’s another example:
This is the pocket on the external bottom of the bag. Not much inside to write about, but again a nice touch this little expandable feature. Great for cramming your celphone, notebook or any other item you need quick access to, but don’t want to open the bag itself.
And back to the side pockets for a moment, here’s the external side pocket (no zipper) It is made out of a stretchy material that would be great for pens, and other quick to access stuff.
On the back of the bag, I’ve already shown you the external bottom pocket, but it’s the top one that allows you to get real organized if that’s your bag. (get it? – if that’s your ‘bag’?) Sorry.
There’s a mesh see-through pouch that would be great for keys or smaller items. And as you can see in the photo there’s lots of sewn in compartments meant for pens, business cards or the like. There’s also another zippered compartment where you can put MORE stuff. That’s two zippered pockets in this top exterior area alone. Are you keeping track of all the pockets? Good, cause I’m not done yet:
One the inside of the back of the bags front, are two more zippered and see through pockets for even more of your photo gear.
Other organizational niceties include two more pockets on the straps themselves. They’re made out of a stretchy material that would be great for pens and maybe your cellphone. One on each strap equals two more pockets. And, as you can see in the photo two D rings are tightly sewn into the straps allowing to clip a carabiner to them.
Still not organized enough? There’s two nylon straps with velcro, or hook and loop fasteners that would be great for keys:
One of these straps are tucked in a side pocket, and there’s another on the exterior side pocket.
And speaking of side pockets, one of the side pockets has a little red fabric loop sewn in so you could use a caribiner here too to keep your stuff handy and safe.
Interior
Inside the bag it’s all covered in a soft, gray colored goodness that won’t scratch your stuff and the dividers are fastened with the ‘hook’ part of the hook and loop. the interior is covered in soft material otherwise known as the ‘loop’ part. Soft and safe for your pricey camera gear.
One quibble I have about this bag is that it’s almost entirely covered in soft, neutral colored goodness for your gear, but up at the top of the bag there’s about 4 inches or so that’s just covered in nylon instead. I can’t figure this out. Why not cover the whole thing in the soft material? Unless…this just dawned on me now – it’s designed to hold a DSLR and the grey stuff might scratch the LCD screen if it rubs, where as the nylon doesn’t? That’s my guess. If I find out, I’ll be sure to update this review.
The Streetwalker by Think tank photo comes with the main divider which as you can see in the photos above makes a left turn at where the front of the bag tapers down. I found this to limit the customization options of the dividers a fair bit. I tried every way to get my D300 and motor drive to fit but due to the fact that there’s really only ONE way that the center main divider can really go - you’re kindof stuck. The smaller dividers are easily replaced or re-arranged from the factory default as they’re just hanging on with velcro. Yank them out and place’em where you want. There’s ONE divider that due to the taper of the top of the bag can only be placed near the top, but all the others you can divide to how it suits you. Here’s what I ended up with:
I count (including the smaller one, that needs to be up top) seven dividers total. All are covered in nylon so no sharp stuff to wreck your gear.
You don’t want to break your back with a backpack overloaded with expensive camera hardware and the Think Tank Photo Streetwalker has LOTS of padding on the back and the shoulder straps. There’s a waist strap that’s adjustable and strap that connects the two shoulder straps across your chest. Or at least is designed to cross your chest. I found it to be a bit high on me (I’m 5’10″) and would have preferred it to be placed lower. I found it to bother my neck. Felt like I was wearing an uncomfortable tie. I would have prefered to have it down further on the shoulder straps.
Wait, I take that back. see the little blue stripes on the shoulder straps above? They’re not decorations. The ‘chest clip’ (for lack of a better name) slides along this blue strip which means you can adjust the clip so it fits comfortably across your chest. But, as you can see in the photo, as it ships from Think Tank, it’s pretty high. So, I take that back. The chest clip/strap works just fine.
The Zipper
I’m going to save the best for the last, and this is the first thing I noticed about this bag and it dawned on me then and there that Think Tank is a company by shooters, for shooters. The zipper is why you don’t carry your stuff in some crappy bag you found at a garage sale, or stuff it in a sweatshirt in your suitcase and hope the airport staff is having a good day. The zipper is the reason you should get your credit card right now and go and buy this bag. The zipper seals your expensive photo gear from nasty stuff like scratches and dents or worse: breakage. And this zipper does it so well. It effectively creates seal of soft and fuzzy goodness that secures your stuff. I never ever worried about my gear in this bag. Ever. You have to see it to believe it. When I opened the box and opened the bag to have a look inside, I missed the zipper at first glance. But when I went to zip it back up, that’s where I had my ‘ah-ha’ moment. The system they use to close the bag is just fantastic. No way your stuff is getting scratched or dented in this bag. I did find the zipper a bit…stiff at times, but it’s new and I only opened and closed it a few times. I think a bit of wear will help the zipping up of this bag go a bit smoother. I had to tuck in the interior seal a few times so not to get stuck in the zipper itself.
Other stuff I should mention: The Think Tank Streetwalker comes with 2 straps which allow you to carry your tripod . I don’t own a tripod so I can’t test this but there’s easy to read instructions. They just didn’t include random straps and leave you guessing. Nice touch. Want to know another nice touch? There’s a business card of President Doug Murdoch’s contact info included. With email address address and phone number. In the days of where ‘press 1 for…’ is a company’s idea of customer service this is really refreshing.
Every zipper has easy to grab pull tabs. I know this is standard on any bag, but if you’ve got gloves on this can be the difference between a good day and a bad day sometimes.
This camera bag just looks like a normal backpack (unless you’ve got a tripod strapped to it – then you’re on your own) But save for a small logo on the front of the backback it doesn’t say ‘steal me’. It looks like any other backpack for the most part. Think Tank identifies the bag on the INSIDE more so than the outside. If it doesn’t look like a camera bag there’s a chance it just might survive a theft over one that screams ‘camera bag’.
At the top of the bag is a little plastic window where you can put your business card. The top handle is really sturdy and the bag balances on the bottom and doesn’t topple over when you set it down. It stays put.
Sumary
I love this bag. I’m puzzled by the little patch of nylon inside as opposed to the soft stuff the rest of the bag’s interior and it’s a bummer that my D300 with MB-D10 battery pack won’t fit. But that’s my doing. I ordered the wrong camera bag. I should have ordered the Streetwalker Pro. Who knows…maybe if I ask nicely, Think Tank will send me one to review. 
But, if you’ve got a small DSLR and just a few lenses and strobes and maybe a tripod this is a great bag for an urban environment. It’s made really well. No loose seams or stitches. It’s a professional bag regardless of your status: Amateur or Pro. I recommend it completely and fully. A great camera bag for urban areas or day trips. It’s got more pockets than I could ever need. I count 5 external pockets with zippers and 4 pockets with stretchy cloth to quickly jam a phone,or a pen. And that’s just on the outside of the bag. Inside there’s another 2 pockets with zippers for your stuff. That’s a total of 11 pockets and the zipper system is simply amazing. I’m sold. I want one – just a bit bigger.
From the Manufacturer:
| Camera Support Straps
Product Includes: Internal Dimensions: External Dimensions: Weight: MSRP $139.00 |
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Related posts:
You might want to check out the Streetwalker Pro. It is designed for cameras like yours (and my 30D with grip). ThinkTank came out with all 3 models–Streetwalker, Streetwalker Pro and Streetwalker Hard Drive–at the same time.