Choosing a Bag and why go with ThinkTank

Alright, so i've been like many others out there starting out wanting to get a bag. Whether it was just a sling one or a backpack to a rollerbag. I know alot of poeple have asked, why should i go with a certain company over another.
I started out with a Lowepro bag as my first bag buy, i liked it, however durability i found wasn't there. To say i'm abit rougher on my gear than the hobbiest would be true. However no matter what type of photographer you are, you need it to simply last, and having to buy something twice doesn't make a lick of sense.
Last summer i decided to finally jump on the train of ThinkTank. While i found their bags were abit higher price i can finally see why. I heard of stories that a photographer had one of their bags for years and its took on major abuse and he sent it to them for repair. They ended up sending him a whole new bag free of charge.

Well i thought i share another great note from our lovely friends of ThinkTank
I bought a International V2 bag and a AI15 laptop bag over the summer. Now for thoses that don't know, these's bags work together. The roller bag has a kagaroo like pouch on the front to put a AI laptop bag in. However whats abit annoying that the strap for the laptop bag gets annoying and sometimes hard to put in. So i decided to take it off. Now maybe not one of my smarter moves but i did end up losing it.
I email our lovely friends at ThinkTank asking how much for a new strap. Randy replied saying whats your address we will send you one. However i replied saying it was my fault i lost the strap and i would be more than happy to pay (guessing around 20$, heavy duty strap) Yet Randy replied its no problem we do this for our customers.

Well just with that token, i will stay with ThinkTank til the day i stop buying photogear. To have a customer care group that cares that much is amazing in my eyes.
I hope for those wondering who to go with, go with a company that will support and fix their product 100% of the time at little to no cost to you.

Ditto. Also have had great experiences with Think Tank. Great equipment and great people to deal with.

Playonpics.com wrote in post #12066314
I started out with a Lowepro bag as my first bag buy, i liked it, however durability i found wasn't there. To say i'm abit rougher on my gear than the hobbiest would be true.

My last backpack was a ThinkTank and yes, they are durable, but so are LowePro. I've had a LowePro shoulder bag for 12 years and I'm not really very careful with it. It's been with me to many parts of the world, it's been to all kinds of climates you can think of. I've used it for concerts and sport, it's been handled pretty roughly and it's still in very good shape. I have used it alot! I find it to be amazing really and I still use it now and then. I'm not sure what you do with your bags, but even though I'm using mainly ThinkTank now, the LowePros are very good...

Love my TT bags and cases. I honestly have an obscene amount of them.

Think Tank products are the best in my opinion! They seem to be designed for current camera and lens sizes to fit perfectly.

And Randy in customer service at Think Tank is very responsive, gives your issue thought and consideration, and is very helpful and informative.

I always turn to TT first when I need "yet-another" camera bag.

-howard

that's a very nice story. i have the international V2 as well and never regretted buying it. wish they have more backpack choices though.

Ya like wise, i would like to trade up my lowepro one to a TT one.
But their card wallet, belt system, rollerbag and laptop = success
Need a water protector tho since Kata ones aren't great.

timnosenzo wrote in post #12070582
Love my TT bags and cases. I honestly have an obscene amount of them.

hfgarris wrote in post #12070664
Think Tank products are the best in my opinion! They seem to be designed for current camera and lens sizes to fit perfectly.

And Randy in customer service at Think Tank is very responsive, gives your issue thought and consideration, and is very helpful and informative.

I always turn to TT first when I need "yet-another" camera bag.

-howard

We should start a club...

This post got me off the fence and I now have a Retrospective 20 on the way.

NicolasRubio wrote in post #12076429
We should start a club...

I think we just did ....

The only thing I really wish TT made is a bag like the LowePro flipsides. I like the idea of the main compartment being against my back for security and the potentially dirty side of the bag facing out. If they made a flipped around Street Walker Hard Drive, I think it would be pretty close to the perfect backpack.

mike_d wrote in post #12079609
The only thing I really wish TT made is a bag like the LowePro flipsides. I like the idea of the main compartment being against my back for security and the potentially dirty side of the bag facing out. If they made a flipped around Street Walker Hard Drive, I think it would be pretty close to the perfect backpack.

Isn't this what you want?

NicolasRubio wrote in post #12080193
Isn't this what you want?

I don't really care for slings. When I want a backpack, its because I'm going to carry more weight than I want on one shoulder.

mike_d wrote in post #12080482
I don't really care for slings. When I want a backpack, its because I'm going to carry more weight than I want on one shoulder.

My bad... confused Flipside with Slingshot!

I am considering the streetwalker, streetwalker pro or the sling-o-matic 10/20 for my 7D w/ 17-55mm attached and one or two additional lenses. This would be used for Disney. I can see the normal backpack having a lot of usable room but being inconvenient to ever switch lenses out of. At the same time, the sling-o-matic looks slightly odd imo with its boxy design and the sling strap. I haven't really been able to find many pictures of someone wearing it but it seems to sit really low on the back from videos I've seen.

Tough call.