Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$210.00
from Lens & Repro, NY Summary:
My main criteria was to get the largest backpack that was DEFINITELY SMALL ENOUGH to carry-on an American Airlines flight to England this fall. The low price I paid was for a closeout on the previous model P265: PBA, without the Rain Fly or Tripod Pouch, and with a different set of internal partitions than is shown in catalogs/websites. The SRP on Tenba's website is $410, and regular mailorder prices are $256, so $210 was a really good buy. But, since it was so wide & thick, I called Tenba's customer service to verify the size of their next smaller pack, the P263: PBL35. Then I checked with Keith (salesman at Lens & Repro) and exchanged the P265: for a current P263: with the Rain Fly & Tripod Pouch. I just wish the P263: had the dual access into the pack.
Strengths:
Enormous, but supposed to be airline carry-on. Easily holds 2 Nikon FE2's with lenses & motor drives mounted, flashes, other lenses, and accessories. Also has two large pockets on the front.
Dual access into the pack.
Upper zippers open the whole front, just like a normal pack. Lower zippers, behind a pocket, allow access to the bottom half of the pack. This is nice when you need something small from the bottom, and you don't want to let rain, sand, prying eyes, etc. into your photo pack.
Very comfortable pack harness. The harness zips behind a cover to keep it safe and out of the way when you're not carrying it on your back. Carry handles on the Top & 1 Side. Multiple exterior lash-on points.
Very strong construction, and a cool multicolor logo label. ;^)
Weaknesses:
Enormous! After adding the pack harness & padding thickness to the inside dimensions (14 X 21 X 7"), I don't think it's thin enough to fit through the airline x-ray machine "mask".
Fairly heavy. (Because it's built VERY strong)
No Rain Fly or Tripod Pouch. (See Bottom Line)
Similar Products Used:
Tenba P263: PBL35
Other small 35mm bags
Customer Service:
Courteous answers to questions between purchases. (See Bottom Line)
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