Help me find a bag!

My wonderful girlfriend was so kind as to purchase an Xti for me for my birthday, and it's on the way. However, I've been agonizing over the type of bag to purchase for what I have as well as what I plan on getting. Once my packages come from UPS, I'll have the Xti (of course) and a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro.

Plans:
Battery Grip
50mm F1.8
70-200 f4L
430EX
10-22 wide angle

At the moment I don't necessarily need something that will hold the 70-200, since that's probably a little ways off yet.

Ultimately, I think I'll need 2 different housing options. I do quite a bit of hiking during the summer and fall with my girlfriend, and I just recently bought a Kelty overnight pack for that purpose. Is there something small that I can put inside that pack to protect my equipment? I really like the Kelty pack, so I'd like to find something that I can use in conjunction with that. Here's a link to the pack I bought for reference.

Second, for day-to-day use I'd like a messenger-bag style that's not TOO big, but something that can hold my laptop. The PC I have is pretty small, a Dell XPS M1210. I tend to carry it with me pretty much everywhere I go, and I'd like to have my camera with me as well.

There just seems to be so much out there, and living where I do, there isn't a camera store for over 300+ miles in any direction, so it's not really feasible to go anywhere to try stuff out. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!
-Greg

You could consider picking up a Domke Padded bag insert for the backpack.

Otherise, I like the small but roomy Tamrac Explorer 2 5502 (black not old blue style) which can hold an XT with battery grip and a combination of two lenses (one attached) and a flash or another small lens as well as batteries, memory cards, filters, etc. It can also hold a 70-200 f4L but not attached to the camera.

Hm...I have The Dreaful Embarassmen from Crumpler and I got it for school, but it will hold my 14" laptop with 2 text books and my 20D plus 18-50 F2.8 and nifty and 430EX pending on what else I take. Kinda nice and it's not made for cameras but it works.

If you like messengers, the 6MDH is good for what you plan on having but I don't think it works with grips but should for the xti + 24-70, 10-22, 70-200, and flash. Or so it shows. I have the 7MDH mainly cause i wanted a bag that would work with the grip and work with the 70-200 attached and it does. But it's a 2.8 so bigger than the F4.

Um, there's also the slingshots which are nice and good for several hour use pending on what you need. But a 200 is recommended cause it'll let you grow into your plan line there, but it's not too big if you get only one other lens right away.

I hear a lot of reviews for the crumpler bags and SOOO many people seem to recommend them. What is it that makes them so good?

Also, I stumbled across the Thinktank Urban Disguise 50. Does anyone have any experience with this bag? Any positive/negative feedback on it? Will this do what I want?

nebular wrote in post #3677290
I hear a lot of reviews for the crumpler bags and SOOO many people seem to recommend them. What is it that makes them so good?

I'd say Crumplers have a combination of style, of nice construction and of not looking so much like a bag holding an expensive camera.

^Tis true! I love the looks, the padding, and what you get for your money.

_aravena wrote in post #3675141
If you like messengers, the 6MDH is good for what you plan on having but I don't think it works with grips but should for the xti + 24-70, 10-22, 70-200, and flash. Or so it shows. I have the 7MDH mainly cause i wanted a bag that would work with the grip and work with the 70-200 attached and it does. But it's a 2.8 so bigger than the F4.

I have the 6MDH and it holds my XT with the grip on and one of the lens (but NOT the 70 200) attached. All the stuff in my signature fits nicely in the bag with room for personal accessories.

It doesn't really look very laptop-friendly though, unfortunately. I want to avoid having to carry two bags if I can help it.

My wife is available.

nebular wrote in post #3680848
It doesn't really look very laptop-friendly though, unfortunately. I want to avoid having to carry two bags if I can help it.

The you're asking for a much bigger bag.

Greg,

I have the same pack that you have. I pack my camera gear in my Tamrac Superlight 5 bag and put it inside the Kelty at the top (for weight distribution). I was hiking in the San Juans just two weeks ago and I had my 30D, 18-50 f/2.8, 50-150 f/2.8 (which is an inch and a half shorter than the 70-200 f/4), 10-20mm UWA, 30mm f/1.4 and 1.4x TC packed in it (I don't carry a flash in the field). I also am able to strap my Slik tripod on the pack as well.

When I travel, I have an old Jansport day pack that I put my 13" MacBook and Superlight in. It's not a sling bag, but you might be able to find a similar capacity sling bag (I know of none). The MacBook goes into a Skooba case, which I absolutely love, and fits nicely inside the pack. Provides nice protection from the "elements".

If you want a nice slim small thing, check out gearx.com and their crumpler messenger bags. They are legit, i know their prices are sweet! I got my 7MDH from them. They have some smaller bags, just go to the cumpler site to see more details on the bags.

So after digging through Crumpler's site, I found a bucket bag that fits into the Dreadful embarrassment. It looks to me like the bucket bag would be fairly ideal to just swap right into my Kelty pack. I think it'll fit in there ok, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this. Does the bucket bag take the place of the laptop compartment (not sure if the divider is removable or not) on the DE?

i used tamrac expedition 3. it serve me well so far. you cam get on ritz for $75 or go to ebay (as what i did) and pay $49 including shipping with factory packaging from tamrac.