Review: Think Tank Speedracer beltpack camera bag

I posted this to my blog but since there wasn't many reviews of this bag, going to add it here as well. Please feel free to PM me questions or comments.

(I'm splitting this up in multiple posts since there's a limit of 8 image tags per post)

Thinktank Speed Racer camera bag review

A waistpack?

The 80's, neon, roller skates and old men. Those are images I picture when I hear the words “waistpack”. You don't see many people wearing them, except for joggers or maybe that shopper who has bundle of coupons within arms reach. So when I ventured on the idea of a bag that actually can hold a decent amount of gear, yet not become too much on my shoulder, I didn't think it would have been a waistpack. I broke my collar bone three years ago but still can't carry things on my right shoulder for too long before it gets sore, and that's the shoulder I usually carry bags with.

Searching for the perfect bag

My experience with camera bags is like most people, I went through a few shoulder bags, the classic block shapes with a usually thin strap holding my gear. After a while I found that carrying the amount of gear I wanted on the trip was not as easy to hold. In most photo trips I took, I was doing lots of walking and lugging a bag over my shoulder wasn't comfortable. Soon I tried backpacks but then I ran into another problem, you had to take them off to get to the camera. I also found that backpacks in general were usually really bulky and deep.

Also for the backpacks that are thinner, they can barley hold a standard DSLR with battery grip attached, which I normally equipped on all of my cameras. Another solution I researched was the new sling style bags, a cross between a standard shoulder bag but worn like a messenger bag. I liked the idea but many of the slings were too small to really carry enough gear. Also another problem they put too much pressure against one shoulder.

Benefit of the waistpack design

My only experience with waistpacks has been playing paintball. The paintball pod packs designed for carrying paintballs are usually waistpacks, they are pretty easy to carry over 1,000 paintballs and still run around without any stress on your back. From searching B&H's catalog and other sites, I found a few camera bags based upon this design. After much research and debate, I ended up purchasing the Thinktank Speed Racer waistpack and going to briefly go over the design here, also touch on how well it works.

Intro to the Speed Racer

From Thinktank's web site, the Speed Raceris their camera belt pack, that is built around one major compartment vs their other designs that are built upon a modular design of smaller packs. This is more personal preference but I wanted something less busy and simple, just one larger pack than buying packs for each item I'm going to bring with me. Important to note that you can add packs to the Speed Racer if you want.

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First off the construction of the Speedracer is well done, This feels like a quality bag, slightly heavy but very solid with some interior foam to hold it's shape. The padding and included dividers split the interior into three spaces but I think most people would prefer splitting the interior into two spaces. The bag personally feels like a Lowepro and it was not surprising to learn the co-foudner, Doug Murdoch was a lead designer from Lowepro. It is not using materials as thick as a Domke but honestly I think it's still built just as well. Guess time will really tell.

Overall design

The bag is a larger designed bag which some people may find too large compared to the newer style messenger bags. Nice feature is this bag can handle a pro DSLR with lens, where often other messenger bags require you to remove the lens to store the camera. Here's a size reference with the 5d markII and bag together.

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The bag also has a "hidden" two pockets for memory cards and a rain cover, with tethered strap.

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One area I find lacking in bags is how they use the straps and buckles. The Speed Racer uses a unique style of a material loop which a nice metal buckle is linked it.

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As you can see, I have the main belt almost to the smallest size possible. Now I wear a size 32" pants, which I don't think is that small but from this bag, I'm near the limit. For women or thin guys, this might be a deal breaker and honestly not sure what you can do if the bag is too big for you. It's important to note that the bag is not designed to be very tight, more able to move and adjust as needed.

As with the shoulder strap I ran into the same problem. The shoulder strap is almost at the smallest size yet it just barley fits my frame. I'm 5'9" and 140lbs. so this might give you an idea how well this will fit smaller people.

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nice review.... I had this bag for a while and it was almost perfect, except I found the side pockets/bags useless. I talked to a rep and suggested they make the side pockets big enough to fit a flash head. The rep told me they will be getting a revamp in 2011 for the beltpacks.

so i wait....

I actually found the side pockets small but not too bad, I could store the 580 flash in there with some room to spare. Interested to see what improvements they make in the 2011 version.

Great review!
Recent shoulder injury too--so I'll give this bag a look.
Thanks!

Great review! I had a neck injury not long ago, so any heavy strain on the shoulders is bad. I think I'm gonna go with this, except my waist is around a 30 so I might go with the Freak instead if that's how the belt system works.

Anyone know if these can be worn comfortably to the side while walking around, instead of the front or back?

AlexMoPhotography wrote in post #11532471
Great review! I had a neck injury not long ago, so any heavy strain on the shoulders is bad. I think I'm gonna go with this, except my waist is around a 30 so I might go with the Freak instead if that's how the belt system works.

Anyone know if these can be worn comfortably to the side while walking around, instead of the front or back?

Thanks!

The waist size I think it's somewhat fixed on all of the beltpacks, but if you need more adjustment the module series is the better choice.

http://www.thinktankph​oto.com/categories/cam​era-belts.aspx
http://www.thinktankph​oto.com …ar-component-systems.aspx

You can use this pack on your side, resting on the hip but it's a semi-soft case, so it's not going to form perfectly. Unloaded, it's not bad and when I just had a lens or two inside I could let it rest either on my hip or front/back.

Also I used this pack during a wedding, basically 8 hours of walking around and shooting. The pack did great, my only issue is that when I have the pack unloaded, and just holding a lens or flash unit, it's a large pack with means the gear will bounce around. There is dividers but they don't work like the module ThinkTank packs would work.

It's really a moot point since I use the pack to hold my camera and lenses where as the other module packs can only hold lenses.

Excellent write-up, along with the Amazon version too . However, only thing that may have missed in my speed reading is just how many lenses that this bag can carry? Or, is that where you mentioned the expandability of it, to then have more compartments for more gear, per needs? Granted you did state "As you can see, there's enough room for the 5d, with grip and RRS l-frame, plus flash unit, and extras in a little space below. If you look very carefully you can see a 15mm fisheye hiding under it all. While the fitment is a little tight, it's not bad and still enough room to add a longer lens or even a few more items. With the 70-200mm f/2.8 instead of the flash unit the space was tight enough that it took two hands to close the top." However, if a person wants to take along (for example) 2 other lenses + what is on their body, is the Speedracer a suitable option (if expanded it too)? Again, thanks!

ShadowCaver wrote in post #11536520
Excellent write-up, along with the Amazon version too . However, only thing that may have missed in my speed reading is just how many lenses that this bag can carry? Or, is that where you mentioned the expandability of it, to then have more compartments for more gear, per needs? Granted you did state "As you can see, there's enough room for the 5d, with grip and RRS l-frame, plus flash unit, and extras in a little space below. If you look very carefully you can see a 15mm fisheye hiding under it all. While the fitment is a little tight, it's not bad and still enough room to add a longer lens or even a few more items. With the 70-200mm f/2.8 instead of the flash unit the space was tight enough that it took two hands to close the top." However, if a person wants to take along (for example) 2 other lenses + what is on their body, is the Speedracer a suitable option (if expanded it too)? Again, thanks!

Heh, I think I wrote the Amazon review, then my blog review, then this posting.

The space inside a bag is somewhat different to each person who uses it. I personally like to have my bag packed where it's not so tight that if I drop the bag from a few feet, there's no metal to metal contact which might break something. That being said, I could fit the following in the bag, and still felt it was comfortable in closing and carrying.

Mounted in main compartment
Canon 5D markII w/battery grip
RRS L-frame for Canon 5D
24-105mm f/4 (mounted on body, hood reversed)
70-200mm f/2.8 IS (with hood reversed)
15mm fisheye

Mounted in mesh side pockets
Canon 580EXII in Canon soft case
Canon battery pack for flash in Canon soft case
Canon 5D battery charger
Canon remote
Sekonic L-358 light meter
Extra AA batteries (about 4)

Mounted in front pocket
Various "cheat sheet" laminated manuals
Think Tank Pixel Pocket memory card holder
Emergency mini-kit (about the size of a M&M's bag, contains band-aids, etc.)
Expo-Disc in soft case
Small business card sized white balance lanyard (forgot brand)
Business cards (about 20)

Now this is what I would call a maximum load for this beltpack/waistpack. I'm sure you can pack even more, also you can save room by removing the lens from the body as you store it. But even at this point, it's getting to be hard to zip close. It's also very heavy and as the bag gets heavier, it's going to put more pressure on your waist. I tend to like my bags at a balance point between "everything I want" and "everything I need", often the need wins out and I'll leave behind a lens or two to save weight especially on a longer walking trip around town.

There's one difference I've noticed between this bag and the module Think Tank kit. This bag looks like it sticks out more, as you load up this bag, instead of keeping the weight towards your center mass, it starts to pull away from the body (just the problem of having one large container vs many smaller). So when I had this fully loaded, moving quickly or running were more difficult that I would assume using the module Think Tank kit.

It's not a deal killer but it's good to know if you indeed need a kit for on the go, and having a case for the camera body is not needed. I chose this bag because I wanted an alternative to the traditional camera bag, also I wanted to keep my body inside when I was walking to the area. But if you're shooting a wedding, or event where you're doing little walking to the site and mostly shooting, this bag would not be an improvement over the module design, because of factors like adding more compartments, closer weight distribution, and more adjustments.

If you want to expand upon the Speed Racer, the waist belt has a 2" (not exactly sure on size) part that will allow additional Think Tank modules to connect to. The selection they have is pretty good and covers most (if not all) lenses.

Feel free to PM me for more questions.

... as long as I can safely, securely, happily get body + my main three lenses (one of 'em attached to the 50D) + accessories in there, that sounds positive route. Will head to local brick 'n mortar to try these out options out though to make sure. Your real world use and perspective are helpful, thanks.

Just ordered it off Adorama today. Will post a small review soon!

I always considered the Racer as a photographer's tool kit for standing near sidelines. As much as it can hold, sometimes it's okay to not load it all up. Then you don't dig through it and you have space for your hand to reach in and grab a lens quickly. It's also good to leave a slot open for dropping a lens into.