Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby Rolling Digicam Bag Assessment

I do know what you’re pondering… journey remains to be ridiculously costly, and right here we’re doing a evaluation of the Suppose Tank “Airport” Curler Derby.

I journey rather a lot, however I don’t take a variety of gear after I journey. After I journey I’m on vacation, so I’m not working, aside from the occasional digital camera, lens or bag I’ve with me to check.

My wheeled luggage are used for portrait shoots, and the identical goes for a lot of different photographers I do know. I’m both wheeling two luggage with lighting and digital camera gear or utilizing a wheeled bag and backpack.

My final Suppose Tank Airport got here compliments of some Elinchrom lighting gear I bought second hand. It lasted close to 5 years with out lacking a beat, and it was already pretty outdated when it received to me.

I parted with it as a present to a fellow photographer when my new airport arrived. There was nothing fallacious with the bag at that time.

It appeared slightly worse for put on, however nothing was bodily damaged, and nothing near breaking on the bag. It was a testomony to the sturdiness of the bag.

When it got here to the Curler Derby, I had excessive expectations of it being a fantastic rolling digital camera bag.

Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby Specs

• Materials Exterior: Polyurethane coated 420D velocity nylon, 1680D ballistic nylon backside panel, rubberized laminate reinforcement
• Inside: 210D nylon, polyurethane-backed velex liner and dividers, closed-cell foam and polyethylene board strengthened dividers
• Rain Cowl: polyurethane coated nylon 210T seam-sealed taffeta
• Sort of Closure Zippers
• Carrying/Transport Choices Prime and facet seize handles
• Retractable deal with
• Eight wheels (4 units of two)
• Exterior Dimensions 14 x 22 x 9″ (35.6 x 55.9 x 22.9 cm)
• Inside Dimensions Total: 12.6 x 18.5 x 5.5-7.5″ (32 x 47 x 14-19 cm)
• Pill Compartment: 10.5 x 10.3 x 0.6″ (26.7 x 26.1 x 1.5 cm)
• Laptop computer Compartment: 10.5 x 14.5 x 1.0″ (26.7 x 36.8 x 2.5 cm)
• Weight With equipment: 10.5-11.0 lb (4.8-5.0 kg)

Construct & Look

For many who haven’t seen the Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby, it seems rather a lot just like the kind of bag you’ll take to the airport as carry-on baggage. That clearly relies on the way you pack.

To place it into perspective, I might take out the bag’s inside and use it as a chunk of baggage. It has 8 wheels configuration, and also you wheel it alongside, similar to every other fashionable carry-on baggage.

It will be a expensive alternative, given the standard of padding on the inside, which isn’t required to guard clothes.

I just like the aesthetic of the bag. I choose it when my digital camera luggage don’t seem like digital camera luggage, and this falls into that class. Promoting that you just’re carrying digital camera gear, particularly, a big quantity isn’t advisable.

The development is nearly as good as one might anticipate with this type of bag and value vary. Stitching is on the heavy facet, and sturdiness is excellent.

The zips are top quality as with my earlier mannequin so I can’t see these failing any time quickly.

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby affords tripod straps and a leg pocket to make sure that your tripod is with you in any respect time.

The fabric is thick and sturdy like earlier fashions, however not excessively weighty. This ensures that you’ve protected your digital camera gear however don’t sacrifice an excessive amount of weight to get there.

If you look intently on the bag, it’s clear that this isn’t Suppose Tank first go at all these luggage. It’s the small issues just like the prolonged scuff safety for putting the bag down on the bottom.

You’ll discover the identical high quality of development extending to the inside of the bag so that you’ll be blissful to know that Suppose Tank hasn’t reduce any corners. I’ll cowl this in additional element within the inside part.

As talked about earlier, the bag remains to be pretty light-weight. This implies you may carry extra gear. A kilogram in bag weight equates to 1 lens, and generally that’s a compromise you don’t wish to make.

I actually can’t discover something on the development of the bag. When a producer releases a bag greater than 6 years in the past and hasn’t bothered to replace it, it’s a very good reflection that there isn’t a lot enchancment to be made.

Exterior Options

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby features a padlock for attaching the bag to fastened objects throughout shoots, a welcome addition if capturing in public.

This bag isn’t like a backpack or messenger, so the exterior options are confined to the varieties of options you’ll discover on a standard piece of hand baggage.

According to the “airport” title, you’ll discover slightly label pocket able to carrying a enterprise card to determine the bag. It additionally has a small compartment with a hid safety cable for attaching the bag to a hard and fast object.

This can be related to sitting at an airport the place you will have considerations about somebody strolling off along with your bag. It will additionally apply to capturing in a road the place you could wish to lock it down to forestall somebody strolling away with it.

Given this bag has a excessive capability, it has a pleasant closely padded carry deal with. There’s a second padded deal with on the facet permitting a wide range of carrying choices.

Considered one of my favorite options of ThinkTank Airport Curler Derby is the flexibility to stay upright with out the gear falling out.

Clearly carrying a bag like this isn’t the popular methodology of transporting. Unzip the zip discovered close to the Airport Curler Derby label on the highest of the bag, and also you’ll discover an extending deal with.

You’ll discover a comparable shallow pocket beneath the facet deal with. There may be additionally a tripod holder on the facet which doubles as a water bottle holder.

Considered one of my sole points with the bag is the shortage of retaining loops for the tripod strap. In case you have a smaller tripod, the top of the loops flap round however there’s a method to tuck them into the sting of the bag.

Apart from the key compartments, the outside affords a number of small compartments appropriate for wallets or passports. Beneath the deal with (and the highest identification tag) there’s a shallow pocket.

Inside Options

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby’s interior pockets have a clear materials to make sure you know which pocket to unzip.

Let’s begin with the simple bit, the entrance pocket. The entrance pocket offers entry to a laptop computer part together with a number of small pockets.

This lets you retailer a stylus on your laptop computer or a couple of for those who’re carrying a pill. Sure, meaning it does provide each a laptop computer and pill compartment within the entrance space, which is nice.

Outdoors of the laptop computer sleeves, the entrance space is slightly tight, making it tough to retailer something aside from flat objects so avoid wasting area for cables in the primary part of your bag. I discovered it saved small objects like RGB lights, however my laptop computer energy adapter with the cable wrapped round was too massive.

It’s vast sufficient for among the extra slender strobes just like the AD200, however I’d have considerations about damaging the laptop computer for those who mixed each. I’d advocate strobes or a laptop computer, not each.

The laptop computer compartment of the ThinkTank Airport Curler Derby will carry a 15″ laptop computer. My 13″ HP Dragonfly was dwarfed by the pocket.

Unzipping the primary compartment, you’ll discover your digital camera space together with three clear areas on the lid for storing smaller objects. I like using the clear materials as you may see which pocket to open.

These areas can be appropriate for filters, reminiscence playing cards, spare batteries, cleansing cloths.

The structure of the bag is extraordinarily versatile, with many dividers to permit for any dimension system. This might go well with each APSC, full-frame or medium format methods. The bag is deep sufficient for a gripped full-frame digital camera.

Storage Capability

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby is without doubt one of the highest capability luggage as proven by this photograph. I’ve excluded my AD200’s as a result of laptop computer, however I might simply have slot in a few RGB lights.By way of precise capability, this bag is just about on the highest of the pedestal, bested by solely like likes of manufacturing supervisor sequence in Suppose Tank’s vary or the likes of your bigger Pelicans.

For many newbie photographers, this bag will maintain extra images gear than they personal, providing the right journey companion. For among the extra gear heavy photographers, this shall be one among many luggage, and that’s the place the flexibility of the storage helps.

The structure permits the bag for use for just about something from lighting gear to carrying large 400mm f /2. 8 primes. It’s so versatile that you can take away the interior padding and use it as an in a single day journey bag.

On this bag, I might simply match:

Ease of Use/Consolation

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby contains an extending deal with which permits the bag to be wheeled round like hand baggage.

In comparison with my outdated model, this can be a substantial enchancment in most use instances. The 4 wheel design takes a load off your shoulder whereas wheeling the bag round.

Over a interval of 6 months that I’ve given it a good exercise. The 4 wheel design reduces the danger of substances falling out. Often I’ll shift the bag from flat to vertical solely to note the zip isn’t correctly closed.

The design retains it completely flat, that means the gear is unlikely to fall out except you by chance decide up the bag. Whereas it’s not advisable, it has saved me from some scratches a couple of occasions.

The wheels on the Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby are of top quality. Word the seize deal with on the underside to make it simpler to raise the bag into overhead compartments on planes.

It’s additionally useful to take one thing out rapidly with out having to lie the bag flat. The straps on the highest and facet are closely padded, and whereas the underside strap is mild, it can solely be used often, and I don’t see this as a problem.

The wheeled design lets you push the bag on 4 wheels or drag it on two. There are occasions each are required.

Along with the safety, Suppose Tank included a very good high quality raincoat to verify your digital camera gear is protected and sound in heavy showers. I’d anticipate this bag to climate the storm with out the quilt, however the cowl is added insurance coverage.

Worth for Cash

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby dwarfs my 13″ HP Dragonfly and can match a 15″ comfortably.

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby retails for $399 which is cheap for the bag’s dimension and high quality. You may anticipate this bag to final for five years plus, in all probability ten relying on how a lot you abuse your luggage.

In case you are planning to purchase one thing like this, most individuals would usually have the identical minimal necessities:

• Excessive capability
• Sturdiness
• Good high quality wheels

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby covers all of these, which doesn’t usually come on the low finish of the worth vary.

The key competitor can be one thing like a Pelican which might be priced slightly greater and doesn’t actually go well with carrying a laptop computer. I choose Pelicans for long run storage and the Suppose Tank for taking to shoots.

Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby Assessment | Conclusion

The Suppose Tank Airport Curler Derby is a well-executed curler bag, a sturdy workhorse.

It’s arduous to not like Suppose Tank Curler Derby. It’s the epitome of a well-executed bag.

It’s an enormous step up from the earlier Airport Vary and the 8 wheeled design is a welcome addition.  The inside affords such a excessive diploma of customisation that I’ve discovered myself taking it many occasions after I don’t must.

Usually utilizing a bag of this kind can be confined to shoots when I’m taking a variety of gear, but it surely’s really easy to wheel round that I usually take it for a weekend away (together with extra lenses than I would like).

This in itself is difficult as a result of I’ve spent the higher a part of 10 years telling my spouse she overpacks and right here I’m taking alongside sufficient gear to produce 12 photographers.

My private points are simpler to identify, the problems with the bag, much less so. They’re so minor that you just actually must nitpick to seek out them.

In case you have a have a look at the cons part, you’ll discover it surprisingly empty (or poorly thought our cons) and that’s not an accident. It’s simply that good a digital camera bag.