Manfrotto, an Italian company that’s been around since early 1970’s is no stranger to making high-quality products mainly aimed at those with an interest in photography. What started off as a tripod manufacturer soon became a world-renown manufacturer of several types of camera accessories, one of which is the humble messenger style bag.
When carrying expensive equipment around with you, whether it’s a camera setup or even just a laptop, discretion is always an important tool to have and that’s why from the outside the Manfrotto Street Messenger bag looks just like any normal messenger bag, you’d see a college student using to carry essentials around in, albeit slightly thicker. While the design (which, I’ll get to soon) is quite nice, there’s nothing about it that screams ‘hey look at me, potential mugger, I’ve got expensive stuff in me’, which in this day and age is a feature worth having.
The design is as the ‘street’ name implies is quite urban. The bag just looks like it should be carried through big cities, but at the same time, thanks to a green and black color scheme would also look quite good out in the country. The green coloring is completed with a camo pattern taking up the inside of the bag. I suppose in all honesty it doesn’t really matter where you carry it because it looks awesome. Should you be caught out in the rain while traveling through the city or countryside, you’ll have no worries as the Manfrotto Street Messenger bag is made with a water-repellent material to keep your stuff safe, meaning no nasty repair bills at the end of the day.
Obviously, a bag designed for carrying camera kit around needs to have plenty of space and the Manfrotto Street Messenger bag has been designed with space and practicality in mind. Included with the bag is a removable smaller padded bag which offers room for one full-sized DLSR or CSC camera as well as extra room for up to two lenses and indeed it does manage to fit my partners CSC camera and two lenses with ease. This removable bag offers thick padding for extra protection and a removable insert divider. Once the smaller bag is back in the big bag, there’s a tiny bit of space left over within the main pocket, which can be used for storing anything such as a water bottle or even a charger for your camera or laptop.
To the rear of the main section is dedicated laptop section that can fit laptops up to 13inches in size. protection in this area is achieved with padding at both sides to ensure both the top and bottom sides of the laptop are protected. One really well thought out feature that Manfrotto has included with this bag, is a quick access point at the top of the bag, that allows quick access to your laptop without having to lift the front flap up completely.
Around the outside of the bag are various different pockets for storing bits and bobs. Under the front flap is a pocket with room for several pens and even your mobile phone amongst other bits. On the flap itself is a pocket for storing other items, while at the back a third large pocket that’s perfect for paperwork is present.
With all this space, the Manfrotto Street Messenger bag has so far been a godsend and will continue to be so. With room for a laptop, paperwork and all sorts of bits and bobs as well as the camera equipment, this bag is a space lovers dream.
When it comes to carrying options, the Manfrotto Street Messenger Bag has two. The first is a rather simple carry handle on top of the bag. This handle is great for simply lifting the bag up or for using when the load is light. The other option is the adjustable shoulder strap, which is made of a strong material, ensuring a safe damage free experience. While the strap is quite well made and easy to adjust, I do find myself having some issues with it, one being it doesn’t adjust as far as I’d like, meaning that instead of sitting towards my lower back, it instead sits slightly higher up and the other is that the metal adjustment point does sometimes dig into me causing some discomfort.
All of this does come at a price though, be prepared to pay almost £85 if you’re interested in the Manfrotto Street Messenger bag. While the price seems steep, I’d say that given the excellent build quality, spacious compartments and equipment protection, you can’t go wrong with this if you just need something to get your equipment around safely and discreetly.
PROS:
- Discreet design gives the bag less attention from would-be thieves
- Plenty of room for your gear
- Water repellent material for protection against the elements
- Seperate well-padded bag for camera and lenses
CONS:
- Some issues with the shoulder strap
- Hoco M4 Portable Wired Earphones Review: Great Sound But Poor Design
- Cookey XXX Large Picnic Blanket Review: A Picnic Blanket As Big As A Double Bed
- Sandberg Waterproof Power Bank 6000 Review: Charge Through The Storm
- Kmoso High Precision Active Stylus Pen Review: Is It Worth Almost £30?
- Jabra Elite 85h Bluetooth Headphones Review
