Think Tank Airport International V 2.0

Okay, I don't know what's going on here because I have a Think Tank backpack and think the quality is top shelf. This $329 rolling camera bag body looks great and is very well built as I would expect from a Think Tank. However, when I extended the handle, I was, let's just say, shocked to see how poor the quality was. I've owned a number of rolling bags in my life and this was literally the flimsiest, most rickety handle I have yet to see on a rolling bag, of any brand or price!

I was really disappointed to see this because this bag is designed to house a 500mm lens, a 70-200mm and a couple of bodies. So, we're talking about gear valued in the neighborhood of $12,000 to $15,000 range? (depending on the bodies) and weighing in at least 17 lbs plus the 14 lbs of the bag. W-H-O in their right might would transport $15,000 worth of gear with a handle that feels like it's about to give out from the moment it's taken out of the box? Not me, that's for sure. I'm so surprised by the inferior quality that I'm going to call Think Tank directly and inquire. I just don't want to believe that this is what they call quality. How can you product a 5 star bag then put a .25 star quality handle on it?

I want to try another bag because it's construction and size is exactly what I need so if I just got a lemon, I will definitely post another review.

***UPDATED REVIEW JANUARY 11, 2010***

Okay, here's the deal. I went to a local camera shop that carried the bag and gave a try. The handle felt sturdier than the one I got from Norman Camera so I decided to call Think Tank Photo and ask them about my issue. The rep I spoke to told me that although I was not the first to complain about the handle, he also assured me that he had never seen one come back because the handle broke so I decided to give this bag another try, this time Adorama, I company I know and trust.

Guess what? The handle is still not rock solid but it's DEFINITELY better! AND this time it can lock at second tier so that shorter people can comfortably roll the bag too. I'm really glad I gave it another try so I've increased my rating from 3 stars to 4 stars. If Think Tank would make the handle that didn't shake I would give it 10 stars because like I said from the start, these guys know how to make camera bags.

Think Tank and Adorama also know how to talk to their customers, unlike Norman Camera because instead of using good customer service skills and trying to make an unhappy customer feel better about their shopping experience, I got an email from those guys calling my review "a rant." I was in the customer service business for years, that's NOT what you do when you've got an unhappy customer on your hands because in our case, repeat business was the name of the game.

Here's my closing advice:

The bag is good if you need to carry 500mm, a 70-200mm, a wide angle, and a couple of bodies internationally and BUY THE BAG DIRECTLY FROM AMAZON OR ADORAMA.

I hope I've helped somebody out there.

The other reviews are really well-written, no need to babble on, but I will say that after years of trying bunches of bags and never being totally satisfied, I've found the most near-perfect case available. GREAT quality, tons of room to spare, well thought out divider system, and thankfully a small zippered pocket on the outside for wallet and keys and boarding pass, etc! You'd be surprised how many other brands leave that out!

I did consider the bigger Think Tank Airport Security, in fact, I mulled over that one for days, but it just seemed a bit too big for comfort (unless you have a LOT of gear of course). I went with the International, hoping it wasn't going to be too small. Not even close! I've got room to spare and then some. I carry a 5D Mark II with several lenses including 70-200mm, plus Rode mic and some accessories, and I could easily fit a 300mm/2.8 in there and still have room left.

The build quality is the part I really like, those zippers are MEATY and strong. The outside sleeve fits my 17" Dell E1705 that's in a BodyGlove case... tight, but fits. This case is worth the price! What's not perfect? The handle, it does feel somewhat flimsy. It's fine for my gear, but I wouldn't stack a separate laptop backpack on top of this case, the handle probably wouldn't like it. Showstopper? Not at all, this case is so well made in every other aspect, it's a hands-down winner.

Buy Think Tank Airport International V 2.0 Now

There are a lot of camera bags out there. There are a lot of good camera bags out there. There are VERY FEW great camera bags out there. This is a GREAT camera bag. And, it's one of the ONLY internationally sized bags out there. Think Tank is a small company with EXCELLENT customer service. When looking into the bag, I called them, and they are the ones who sold me on it. Their warranty is: if it breaks, call us, we'll make it better for free.

I looked at buying this bag 3 years ago. A few things scared me off. #1, The price. It's an expensive bag to say the least. #2, It didn't have a dedicated laptop sleeve, and the "low dividers" solution seemed inadequate to me. #3, No backpack straps. #4. Think Tank is a small company, and didn't have nearly as wide of a distribution back then (i.e. I couldn't get it Amazon Prime back then and didn't want to pay big shipping costs . . . ) So, I bought a Tenba Rolling Shootout. A good camera bag which satisfied many of the above requirements (still expensive, though.)

3 years later: I've never used the backpack straps on the shootout. Too heavy. The laptop sleeve is virtually useless. Hard to get in and out of it, and awkward for airport usage. And, the design of the rolling apparatus leaves a lot to be desired. The single handle design makes the bag tend to rotate around when you are wheeling it. The sleeve and the roller handle take up a lot of valuable camera space. And, it's rounded at the top, taking away more camera space. There are "convenient" pockets on the outside that stick out and make it hard to position in an overhead compartment or under a seat. More over, they make the bag attract attention as potentially being bulky and heavy.

OK, so why say all this in a review of Think Tank bag:

Every inch of this bag has been thought out in excruciating detail.

Even though this bag is not as deep on the exterior as many other bags on the market, the interior depth is larger than most. The telescoping handle only takes up a portion of the top of the bag, but this works in your favor when carrying a camera body with lens in place. It makes a good supportive structure that is easy to retrieve your camera from. Compared to the Tenba, I can stack my 70-200 f/4L with the hood reversed on top of a speedlite, The lack of the laptop sleeve and back straps adds about 2 inches of depth despite being 2 inches more shallow on the exterior. The international sizing makes this bag about 3/4 of inch too shallow to stand the lens up, but I could in a pinch. For certain you could in the Airport Security 2.0 domestic version.

EVERY inch of this bag is usable. There are no sections that are curved and therefore hard to put your equipment in. There is a nice front compartment for storing things like pens, passports, etc. And, the stretch compartment on the front will easily hold a 15 inch laptop in a sleeve.

Moral of the story: Don't spend $700 to buy two bags. Spend the money once and buy THIS bag. You will be happy. It carries a METRIC BUTTLOAD of stuff.

And, for those who like this stuff: Here's what I have in my bag ATM:

Canon 5DMIII with 24-105 f/4L IS attached.

Canon 50D body.

Canon 70-200 f/4L IS with lens hood reversed (and the hood for the 24-105 around that hood) and in soft case.

Canon 17-40 f/4 with lens hood reversed and in soft case.

Canon 85 mm f/1.8

Canon 50 mm f/1.8 II (Nifty Fifty)

Canon Speedlite 580X II in a Tamrac Case

1954 Rolleiflex MX-EVS Type I

Black Rapid Sport Strap

Battery chargers for both cameras.

Batteries for both cameras.

Giottis Medium Rocket Blower

Various filters in the square plastic B+W cases they came in.

Cables, card readers, etc. etc. etc.

Plenty of room, and everything is well cared for. I could easily find room for another lens or two.

Read Best Reviews of Think Tank Airport International V 2.0 Here

The Think Tank is an excellent rolling bag. I am getting too old to carry around all of my gear. I purchased this mainly for air travel but am finding that I use it more for local shooting. With this bag I can roll all of my photo equip around the house, out the door and simply raise it into the car. I can lock the bag to the anchor rings in the luggage area, lock the bag shut, and just leave the bag in the car. The heavy padding also provides some insulation for days in which the car gets hotter or colder than I would prefer. Before this bag, I would grab my preferred lens, camera, maybe a flash, the tripod, and go out. Now I have no qualms about putting all of my gear in the car, because I simply lift the bag up into the car.

The bag is expensive, but well made and is worth the money. There are several external and internal pockets to sort out smaller stuff. The lens pockets are deep enough to hold more than the lenses. So there is plenty of room for us amateurs to carry our equipment. The pros will have to give their own take on this bag, but they also have assistants, and many pros have an entourage to help them out, so it is a different world than mine.

This is an excellent case for photo gear for either local or distant travel. Highly recommended!

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Someone told me when I started getting serious about photography that I would eventually have a whole closet full of camera bags, and they were right. There's no such thing as one bag that's perfect for every situation. You need several; this is my favorite for air travel.

I've tried backpacks and wheel-less bags, but camera gear is so heavy that I much prefer a wheeled bag. It makes sprinting from gate to gate and wandering around the airport during long layovers so much easier.

This bag is sized for European carry-on standards, which means it's slightly smaller than the maximum US carry-on size. I like that, even for domestic travel, because it means I can tuck a laptop in the stretchy front pocket without going over the limit. (You can buy shorter dividers if you want to put a laptop inside the main compartment, but that won't work for me; I have some lenses that take up the full depth of the bag, like the Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM Telephoto Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras.)

It fits easily under the seat or in the overhead bin in a normal plane. Not sure about commuter planes; I think it would have at least fit under the seat, but I was never given a chance to try. They made me check it at the gate every time with commuter jets. The bag is solid enough that I didn't worry my gear would be damaged. That was when having my laptop in the front pocket was convenient, because I could easily remove it and carry it on the plane.

Like others, I don't care for the handle very much. It's difficult to get out; it fits into the bag so tightly that it's hard to get a grip on it, especially if you have small hands. It does seem rather flimsy compared to the average retractable handle. And I, too, have problems getting the handle to stay at the height I want it to. Given the price, you'd expect better. But all in all, a minor annoyance. It doesn't keep me from using this bag whenever I fly.

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