Crumpler Sinking Barge Backpack

by Josh Root, March 2006

Summary. The camera bag that is perfect for every occasion does not exist but the Crumpler Sinking Barge bag is near perfect when it comes to carrying a camera along with a laptop and other everyday "stuff".

Introduction

Bags are annoying for almost every serious photographer. One reason is that finding the right bag for every situation is virtually impossible. One bag I could never find was the one that would let me carry my day-to-day stuff and my camera. In school, "day-to-day stuff" would have been homework, laptop and lunch. On a car trip it is books and a snack. Most days, it's the stuff I take to work: a magazine, my laptop, a mouse, papers, etc. Often, I want to have that stuff with me and my camera as well -- not my full kit, but a body and a lens or two. I have tried putting a small camera case inside a standard backpack, but they were always too space-consuming and hard to get at. Photo-specific backpacks are not even remotely designed to easily carry books or a sweatshirt. And photo-specific backpacks are bulky.

A few years back, Lowepro came out with the Street & Field Rover Light backpack. This was a hybrid design that attempted to be the pack that I wanted. The bottom half was a padded and divided camera bag and the top half had a standard backpack space. It didn't really work as a day-to-day backpack. The top half was not big enough for papers, and the divider between top and bottom was not strong enough to keep anything heavy like a laptop in the top. Good for taking a camera, a change of socks, and lunch on a hiking trip, maybe, but not the everyday hybrid bag I was looking for.

Enter the Crumpler Sinking Barge backpack...

Crumpler is a company that started in Australia in 1995 making bike messenger bags. As their popularity grew, they branched out into laptop bags and cases, gadget pouches, and backpacks. The company has developed a reputation for well-designed and well-made bags in funny colors, and an offbeat marketing and corporate image. Most of the bags are made of tough waterproof nylon in color choices ranging from subdued to garish, with names like the Barney Rustle Blanket, the Skivvy, the Quarfie, and the Moderate/Considerable/Dreadful Embarrassment.

At some point the Crumpler people noticed that people were stuffing dividers and padding into their messenger bags to use them as stealth camera bags. So they designed a series of camera shoulder bags and backpacks as well.

The Details

The Sinking Barge is Crumpler's hybrid bag. Instead of just splitting the pack in half (like the Lowepro Street & Field), they designed a clever system that creates a wedge shaped pocket at the front/bottom area of the pack (by front, I am referring to the area of the backpack that does not have the shoulder straps). This pocket hinges at the bottom to open outwards, but unlike a normal backpack front pocket, it has a set of gussets that prevent it from flipping all the way down and dumping it's contents. The result of this is that you can open the pocket and get at the camera without having to reach in with a hand to prevent the camera from falling out. And while it's a little awkward, you can get the camera out while the bag is still hanging from one shoulder. You don't have to take the bag all the way off your back to get at the camera.

Because the camera pocket is located at the front of the bag, there is space for a full-length pocket against the back of the bag. Making good use of this space, there is a padded pocket for a 12-15 inch laptop. Just in front of that is a pocket for paper, magazines, etc. The pack keeps these papers flat and the laptop protected. Even with a laptop and papers in this pocket there is enough room left for a lunch, book, or sweatshirt. It isn't huge, and probably wouldn't fit a full load of college textbooks. But it is plenty of space for normal use.

The laptop/papers pocket has a padded flap that velcros over the top, presumably to give a second layer of protection to the laptop. This flap is too large. And it is hard to open and close when there are other items in the pocket. I just folded it back into the laptop pocket. My laptop and papers don't seem to suffer for the lack of it. The flap is a good idea; it's just a bit too big. You could shorten it if you have a sewing machine and it bothers you enough.

The camera pocket is padded with the standard fabric over foam. There are two dividers that create three sections. I was able to fit in my Canon EOS 20D, a 50/1.4, a 28-70/2.8, and a small flash unit. Other times, I split one section with an additional divider and carry a Epson R-D1 Rangefinder, 28/1.9, 40/2, 15/4.5 (w/the external VF), and the same flash unit. Overall, it is not a perfect fit for either kit, but it works fine.

One cool thing about the padded section is that it has a mesh flap that zippers closed over the camera, and you can remove the whole padded section as a unit. I'm not sure why you would want to do this. But I'm sure that I'll end up taking advantage of it at some point. At the very least, it means that you aren't locked into using the pack just as a camera backpack.

There are 3 other small pockets in the pack, two in the camera section and one on the outside of the front of the pack. One of the two in the camera section is made of mesh, and could probably be used for a few rolls of film. I use it as a pen/pencil/key pocket since, oddly, there are none of the usual organizational pockets or loops that you see on most backpacks these days. Not a big issue, but could be improved upon.

Crumpler aims for a very clean design style with most of it's bags. No obnoxious patterns, no straps or loops hanging off the side, and none of the silly cosmetic straps and whatnot that bag companies are fond of sticking on to make it look like your book bag will be with you on your next Everest assault.

The clean design looks nice, but creates a few minor annoyances. The bag always has a slight overstuffed look to it. Now, there is the possibility that I am overstuffing it. And maybe the larger version of the Sinking Barge (the Customary Barge, fits 17" laptops) would make a difference. In other little nitpicking, I wish the grab/hang loop was a bit larger and easier to use. I've also gotten used to having a mesh pocket on the side of my backpacks for a water or soda bottle. The Sinking Barge that I have is made of a couple of shades of blue. Shades of brown/tan and black/grey are options as well. The backpack straps are comfortable even with a full load. There is a nylon webbing hip belt. While I'm not sure how much this helps with load-carrying, it does help steady the pack if you are jogging or on a bike.

Finally, I wish that there was a cell phone pocket on one of the backpack straps. But guess what? Crumpler makes those as well. And I'm sure they would be happy to sell you (and me) one to add onto the Sinking Barge.

Things I like:

A hybrid camera/stuff backpack that works well
Padded laptop pocket
Full length pocket for papers and magazines
Carries a useful amount of camera gear
Padded camera section is removable
Very well designed access to the camera section
Comfortable to wear/carry

Things I don't like:

Flap for laptop/papers pocket is way too large
No pen/etc pockets
No water bottle holder
No cellphone pocket
Grab/hang loop is hard to use

Conclusion

I am very pleased with this bag. It is a great camera backpack for the way I use it. For me, this means: carrying a small camera kit along with my daily stuff, airplane carry-on when I don't bring my full load of gear, car trips, adventures in the city, and maybe even light hiking. It gets daily use -- which is something that I cannot say about just about any other bag that I have owned. There is very little I dislike about the Sinking Barge. Even the items I listed above are just little nitpicking that could be fixed with 2 hours with a sewing machine if I really cared enough.

If you are looking for a bag to carry a Canon 1D with a 70-200/2.8, the Sinking Barge isn't going to help you. But if you are looking for a tough, well-designed, good-looking backpack to help encourage you to carry a camera more often in your day-to-day life, then this is a great option.