New version of F-802: Disappointment!

[Chris__M]

Today I bought my fourth F-802 Reporter's satchel.

I have been shooting for 15 years professionally and gone through 3 of them so far (BTW, aren't they supposed to be impossible to wear out?)

I carry this thing all the time. And I travel all around the world with it and my roller bag.

So today I open the package - and couldn't belive my eyes. THE HANDLE HAS BEEN NARROWED. It will no longer fit over the handle of my roller bag - which is the way I always drag it around all the airports of the world. And actually it's almost too small to even carry comfortably!

WHY? WHY? WHY?

One of the most crucial parts of my equipment is crippled.

If anyone at Domke hears me - PLEASE tell me I can find the older version somewhere and exchange this one for it.

(Oh, and if someone wants a museum piece of a beat up F802 I have one that's worn entirely through...).

Regards and laments

Chris Maluszynski

[admin]

Hi Chris,
Well not impossible to wear out, but I'm willing to bet you put it through the ringer. As far as your handle, I'm unaware that this happened, can you send me photos of both at arauch@tiffen.com so I can look into it for you?

Thanks,
Andrea

[Chris__M]

Sure, here's the photo comparing the old and new handle. The new one is like half the width of the old, and it's pretty uselsess.

[Arnaud]

What did you to wear it such a way ?!?

[Chris__M]

I carry my cameras and laptop in the thing and travel a lot. In the end it wears out.

[JackKurtz]

There's a metal bar in the top of the flap of the F802 bags, under the handle, that helps it stay rigid. One of the my F802 bags the bar eventually cut through the back of the flap. The bag was five or six years old and like a gold fish that lives past its prime I just figured it was time to replace the bag.

I've had several 802 series bags and they're great. That was the only one that wore out that way. I had another one wear out wear the strap is sewn to the side of the bag. That was a problem cause the bag literally fell apart while I was walking the streets of New York. Fortunately I was just a couple of blocks from Adorama, so I walked over there, with my gear cradled in my arms, and picked up a replacement.

A couple of years ago I got a J802 ballistic black satchel and I love it. It's a tiny bit bigger, which is perfect for slightly larger digital bodies like the 5D or 5D Mark II, and has a nice pocket that runs the length of the front, perfect for notebooks (paper ones, not computers) or tiny accessories (my Canon 270EX flash) or probably my iPad (if I get one). The ballistic bags seem to be bulletproof. It gets dirty and I wipe it off and looks like new.

Jack