NEW ThinkTANK SLING BAG - URBAN ACCESS 10
INTRO
This is a real-world, real-life, real-whatever you want to call it, review of the Think Tank sling bag, the Urban Access 10. Before we get started, just know that I have a lot of camera bags. Way too many camera bags. Some that I’ve been using for years, some that have barely been used at all, and others that are beat to hell but still get used from time to time. I have bags that are designed for traveling, different bags for flying, bags that I use for just lighting gear, but most of the bags I own are the ones designed for shooting with. The Urban Access 10 is just that and out of all the bags I own this is the first sling style bag. There are times when I prefer to shoot with my Holdfast Moneymaker and times when I prefer to shoot with a bag. After years of trying backpack after backpack, I’ve finally found one that’s actually comfortable not a pain in the ass to get to my gear.
With the amount of bags that I own, I’m sure you’re wondering why you don’t see more bag reviews on my site. That’s pretty simple as well. They’re time-consuming and I don’t get paid to write them. So, to be completely honest, I prefer not to waste my time writing up reviews on bags that I personally didn’t like using for one reason or another. Maybe, one day I’ll put a list together of all the bags that didn’t make the cut. I would much rather write up reviews on bags that I personally feel are worth telling other photographers about. The Think Tank Urban Access 8 and 10 are both in that category and yes, I highly recommend it.
OPINION BASED
Bag reviews are hands down the toughest reviews for me to write and that’s simply because the majority of what you’re about to read is based off of my personal opinion. From the comfort of the bag to how easy it is for me to use. My thoughts on the design, overall look and style, and even the features that it offers are very opinion based since there will obviously be some that are useful to me but not others. That’s what a bag review is all about, right? Always keep that in mind when reading bag reviews especially the ones written by me.
[F-STOP TILOPA BACKPACK REVIEW written for SHOTKIT]
I can’t tell you what will fit comfortably on you or how many tiny little hidden pockets you like inside the twenty different larger pockets. What I can tell you, though, is that I’ve tried a lot more camera bags than the average photographer and I’m simply going to give you my extremely honest and unbiased opinion. The goal of this review is to hopefully help any photographers who might be looking for a bag like this know a little more about what I like so much about it and why I choose to shoot with it over every other bag I own.
With most of this bag review being based off of my opinion, there’s one thing that I’ll cover which a lot of other bag reviews don’t mention which is durability. A camera bag’s durability or how good it holds up against the test of time is far from being opinion based. The reason that most bag reviews don’t cover durability is simply because the photographer writing the review typically only uses the bag for a few weeks to a month at most. Since I knew pretty quickly how much I liked shooting with this bag, I decided to hold off on writing this review to really put this Urban Access sling bag through its paces and I used it for a solid 5 months, having received it before the actual release.
No matter how comfortable, stylish, or “likable” a bag is, if it isn’t built to last and starts to fall apart within a year’s time then it isn’t worth your money. Sure, it’s a good test to see how good the company’s customer service is, but you better hope that it was just a fluke or you’ll be looking for that email again after another year. A bag should last a lot longer than one year, but if it doesn’t, good companies looking to keep a good relationship with their client base should replace the bag even if it’s been a year of use.
Before I go any farther in this review, I want to make one thing clear. None of the bags that I’ve owned or used have held up as good as those made by Think Tank. Bravo to them for that. Two of my oldest bags are shown in the photo above, which I just took while writing this review. I have a ThinkTANK Airport International (left in the photo above) that I’ve had for 4 years now, beat the shit out of, and it still looks as if it might be a year old at most. It’s still going strong and besides the wheels showing the abuse I’ve put them through rolling through the cobblestone streets of Philly, everything else on this bag has held up like a champ. Not a single broken zipper or stitching has come undone. Same thing with my ThinkTANK Airport Navigator (right in the photo above) that I’ve owned even longer, probably close to 6 or 7 years now. I’m pretty sure it was the first roller bag that I purchased and if I could pick one bag that has seen the most use it would be this one. I have literally beat the living hell out of this bag, even after replacing it with the Airport International since it became my flash bag for weddings. You can see its wear and tear from years of use but it’s still in excellent condition.
DISCLAIMER
Since I’ll be making some comparisons between the Think Tank Urban Access bags and the Peak Design Everyday Backpacks, I wanted to be clear that I have no affiliation to either bag company. Both are excellent bags, and as you’ll see further down in the review I did have a Peak Design fail on me. This by no means represents them as a company or that all of their bags will fall apart. I’m sure there are those who have had issues Think Tank bags, but I’m going to write about my experience with these bags and how I rate them.
The Urban Access 10 under the Milky Way
COMFORT
The Think Tank Urban Access 10 is one of two new sling bags (the other being the Urban Access 8) that were released this past November. A sling bag is worn like a backpack but rather than two shoulder straps, it has one strap that goes across your chest. These are different from the Urban Access 13 & 15, which are your typical two strap backpacks. So, before I get into the comfort of these new sling bags, remember one thing. If you’re looking to two-strap it, these aren’t the bags for you.
When it comes to backpack style camera bags, I have still yet to find one that is truly comfortable. Yes, I have a bigger build than most photographers throwing backpacks full of lenses on their back, but it’s pretty common knowledge that most photographers have yet to find a camera backpack that’s both comfortable while also being designed with useful features. The closest “two strap” backpack that I’ve found to be somewhat comfortable is the Peak Design Everyday Backpack 30L. Yet, after wearing one during a few shoots or simply walking around the airport with one, I quickly learned that the design of the straps is flawed. Without the chest strap connecting the two shoulder straps, the bag simply just starts to slide right off your shoulders and becomes a huge pain in the ass. Not only that but annoying as shit to carry around for more than 20-30 minutes.
The Urban Access 8 and 10 have dual side-loading access panels. This makes it so that you can wear the bag while shooting and have access to your gear without having to completely take the bag off. A huge pain in the ass with any camera backpack that doesn’t have a side panel to easily access your gear. The Peak Design Everyday Backpack V1 was the first side access style bag that I used and really loved it at first. The biggest issue I had right off the bat was the fact that it just wasn’t comfortable to wear. I put up with it, but the first thing that I noticed when I threw the Urban Access 10 on was how it was the exact opposite.
Design & Features
Pockets
If you’re a fan of having an endless amount of pockets, then hidden pockets inside of those pockets, this isn’t the bag for you. There’s nothing more annoying to me than having to search through 100 different pockets when I lose something, which happens a good amount, only to realize that it was hiding out in a pocket that I looked over the first five times. Having a good amount of pockets are nice, but some bags can get carried away and most go unused. The Urban Access 8 & 10 bags have a pocket design that’s very impressive, probably one of the best that I’ve seen. I’ve honestly been on shoots with the UA10 (Urban Access 10) and had something in every pocket. There’s also been times when I’ve only needed to hold a couple lens cloths and spare batteries.
Padding / Comfort
Both of the new Urban Access sling bags only have a single strap instead of two that goes across your chest. One of the design features that I really like is the ability to slide the bottom of the shoulder strap from one side to the other. Making it a quick transition if you’re a lefty or prefer to have the strap go across your body in the opposite direction. Basically, it slings both ways, if you’re into that sort of thing.
My biggest beef with these types of bags when I owned a few (non-camera) back in college was how they sat on my back. Some would want to slide around or not sit in a spot that was comfortable. When wearing the UA10, it’s pretty much sits right where I wanted it to right out of the box, but they’ve made it really easy to adjust it so that it sits right where you want it to without having it slide around.
As far as padding goes, there’s just enough to make it comfortable without adding any unnecessary bulk. The shoulder strap itself is padded as well as the back panel that rests against your back. The padding on the back of the bag is thick enough so that none of the gear your carrying will be jabbing you in the back while you’re shooting. A nice bonus considering I’ve used plenty of bags where that isn’t the case. It’s also not stiff as a board either. They designed it with just enough flexibility to slightly bend with your body as you move around. If I’m bending down, kneeling, or putting my body in some kind of awkward position to get a better composition, it doesn’t feel like I have a piece of plywood on my back. It actually moves a little with me which I really love about this bag. This is easily the most comfortable camera bags that I’ve worn on my back.
Size
Even though the Urban Access 10 is the larger of the two new sling bags, I still initially thought that it was gonna be too small. Not only to carry the gear that I like to shoot with but also pretty sure that it would look too small on my back. Neither is true and to be honest, it’s pretty deceiving. If anything, it’s actually the perfect size for how I like to shoot and as per my biggest critic (my wife), it’s the first backpack that actually looks good on me when wearing it. It can hold two mirrorless body/lens combos or a mirrorless body/lens combo with two additional prime lenses. Obviously, you aren’t carrying around a couple of large zoom lenses plus a couple of combos, but if that’s what you like to shoot with then you already know that this bag isn’t for you.
I’ve been mostly using it to carry my Leica SL2 and Q2 like you see in the video at the top of this, along with one other lens for my SL that fits as well. On shoots where I might need a 2nd SL body, I carry that in my hand while my Urban Access carries everything else. I haven’t once ran into an issue where I felt the need for a bigger bag. If I need to bring more lighting gear than a speedlight and trigger than I’ll just bring a 2nd bag.
OTHER FEATURES
There’s a large pocket on the front that is shown below which is the perfect size for holding a flash, or even a small travel tripod if I ever need to bring one. Typically, I don’t really carry tripods, but for those that do, the Urban Access sling bags also come with an easy to use strap to help tie down the tripod to prevent it from moving around or falling out. I typically will either throw a flash in this pocket, an additional lens, or even just a large water bottle. The buckle that Think Tank used on this pocket to keep the flap closed is pretty unique. Personally, I haven’t seen one like like it. It’s extremely strong, yet easy to pop on and off with one hand when you need to. I’ve yet to have it come unbuckled, or unlatched, without my help and haven’t had anything fall out of this pocket because of the buckle not being able to stay locked.
SIDE ACCESS PANEL
The idea of having a side access panel is one that I really loved. I know that there’s a lot of different options out there right now but one of the first ones that I tried was the Peak Design Everyday Backpack V1, which I still have. Besides taking a little getting used to with how to pack your gear without having things bump into each other, it’s not very comfortable. If you have one and think that it is, God bless you, but just about every photographer that I’ve spoken to who owns one agrees with me. There’s definitely a design flaw that causes the shoulder straps to basically do everything in their power to push themselves off of your shoulders (at least for a guy my size). However, I put up with it being that I loved having the side access panel and it was still a better bag to shoot with then using a messenger style bag. I’ve shot with messenger style bags for so long now that a year ago I just needed a change. I still love that style of bag, but when it comes down to it, if you move around a lot while you shoot like I do they can be a real pain in the ass at times.
It was the idea of being able to access your gear via a side panel rather than having to take it entirely off that got me interested in trying a backpack again. I had been bouncing back and forth between using my Holdfast Moneymaker (which I still use and love today) and using a messenger style bag up until that point. The problem with both of those options is that it’s annoying as all hell to get down and low to the ground. Not a huge deal, but it’s one that made me really start looking around at newer backpack style bags since I’m typically laying on the ground or pretty damn close to it for a lot of the time that I’m shooting.
While I still do like the Peak Design bag, the more I used it, the more I noticed its flaws. It wasn’t just me either, I spoke to several other photographers who used the same bag and I heard the same complaints. The biggest and most concerning one is the design of the zippers. Peak Design put a thin piece of plastic that you can grab onto for each zipper. The problem is that the plastic tab is very thin, making it very easy to accidentally grab both zippers without realizing it. If you happen to grab both zippers when closing the side panel which basically provides access to the entire inside of the bag you’re in big trouble. You’ll realize it as soon as you go to throw the bag over your shoulder and your gear goes flying. One zipper closes the bag while the second one reopens it without you realizing it. think that you’ve zipped it closed, yet meanwhile, you’ve accidentally grabbed the wrong zipper and just opened the side panel in the other direction. You think that your gear is secure and zipped up inside of your bag until you go to throw it over your shoulder and all your gear goes flying 10-15 feet away from you onto the street (worse case scenario). I’ve had it happen once, which was enough for me to always keep a close eye on it. But, I’ve spoken to a lot of others who have had it happen more than once.
There are two zippers on the UA8 and UA10 just like with the Peak Design bag, but they’ve designed it so that it’s actually almost impossible to grab both zippers without realizing it. The zippers have a chunky grip to them which not only makes it tough to accidentally grab both, but also makes it easy to quickly grab the zipper with one hand and open or close the side panel with ease. The other thing worth mentioning here about the side access panel is the way that Think Tank designed the bag so that it opens with the panel flap away from you. I didn’t realize how much better this design was until I actually used the Urban Access 10 for the first time. The Peak Design bags have the side panel open up with the flap towards you, so it can easily get in the way as you’re either taking gear our or putting gear back in. With the Think Tank design, the flap opens away from you which makes it a lot easier to keep it out of your way as you grab what you need. As you can see in the photos below, you actually need two hands a lot of the time when using the Peak Design bag. It’s very rare that I have ever needed to use two hands with the Urban Access sling bags.
Think Tank Urban Access 10
Peak Design Everyday Backpack V1
DURABILITY
Since this bag review has already went on a lot longer than any previous bag review that I’ve written, I’m gonna keep this part short and sweet. Especially, since I’ve already touched on it earlier in the review. Since I started shooting with the Urban Access 10, my wife Sandi has been shooting with the Urban Access 8, both have held up perfectly and basically still look brand new. The canvas material used might not be as fancy or sexy looking as leather, but I can tell you that it stands up against the elements much better. It cleans up nicely, doesn’t scratch, and even the padded areas hold up really good. I’ve yet to have it start to even show signs of wear.
Compared to the Peak Design Everyday Backpack, after 10 months of use, the bag started to lose its shape and one of the zippers started to tear off making it impossible to close. While this could have just been a lemon, I will say that even though it was out of warranty, I reached out to customer support and was quickly sent a new bag. Do I trust the new bag that they sent me? Not that I can see the design flaws and can see how the zippers can easily start to tear apart again. Peak Design has also recently released a V2 of this bag which I personally haven’t tried yet. I’m curious to see if the new bag is built to last a little longer. No matter what, the bag you see below was the very first bag that I ever purchased from Peak Design. It gave me a good impression of their customer service, but not that great of a first impression on how well their bags are built.
Conclusion
To wrap this review up, I’ll start off by stating that I really didn’t expect to like using a sling bag like the Urban Access 10. The 8 was a little small for me, but when I first saw the 10, I assumed it would be too small as well. Turns out, it actually doesn’t look or feel too small at all. In fact, it’s actually the perfect size and holds just the right amount of gear that I like to shoot with. With all the new bag companies releasing similar models, whether backpack style bags or single strap sling bags with side access panels, this bag is the one that I highly recommend. If you’re looking for an extremely comfortable bag to hold your gear while shooting, I can say with confidence now that I prefer to one strap it with a sling style bag. The zippers are easy to grab with one hand to open or close the side access panel, and they are built to last. While Think Tank may not have a sexy leather version of this bag I can promise you that they decided to go with this specific canvas material for a good reason, durability. Think Tank does have other canvas material that looks a little more rustic and stylish than the black material used on the Urban Access 8 and 10, which I’ll be showing you an example of in my next bag review. A bag that Sandi has fallen in love with and uses to carry her Leica Q2.
As usual, thank you for reading and please leave a comment with any questions you may have. Until the next review, I hope everyone is staying safe and hopefully healthy during this crazy time of living during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Specifications
Internal Dimensions:
8.6” W x 14.2” H x 4.8” D (22 x 36 x 12.3 cm)
Exterior Dimensions:
9.1” W x 15.6” H x 5.9” D (23 x 39.5 x 15 cm)
10” Tablet Pocket:
7.5” W x 9.8” H x 1” D (19 x 25 x 2.5 cm)
Weight:
1.6 lbs. (0.7 kg) including all accessories
Note:
The Urban Access 10 sling bag tapers and dimensions are taken at largest point.
MATERIALS
Exterior:
Durable water-repellant (DWR) coating with polyurethane backed fabric for superior water-resistance
500D 2-tone poly tech-weave
YKK® RC fuse zippers
420D high-density nylon
Nylon webbing
High-density nylon air-mesh
3-ply bonded nylon thread
Interior:
Stiffened closed-cell foam dividers
Polyurethane backed liner and dividers
210D nylon
Super-Grip velex
Hexa mesh
High-density nylon microfiber
2x polyurethane coated nylon 190T seam-sealed rain cover
3-ply bonded nylon thread
