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Be careful trusting the strap on your Ona Berlin bag!


fotofool

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If you have one of these bags I would strongly suggest inspecting that joint and then asking yourself if you are really comfortable hanging your camera gear from it.

 

If you read my posts, you'll find that I compared the ONA bags to the Billingham bags (and others) in person (actually at a Leica store) with my gear, and found the design and construction details, and overall functionality (weather protection, etc), lacking (for my needs and preferences) with the ONA. And I determined that after looking at multiple bags from each company.

 

As I said, I'm glad you're a happy customer. My concerns, though, were reinforced, and exacerbated, by this discussion.

 

Jeff

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Don't misunderstand. I am not satisfied with the design of the strap mount. I would not buy another Berlin with this strap mount design nor suggest that anyone else do so. I am, however, satisfied with the response I received as a customer when I made a complaint. It was prompt, courteous and fully resolved my issue.

 

I think, given the picture I have posted and sent to the manufacturer that the issue of recalling the bag to do a root cause analysis on the failure mechanism is a red herring. You don't have to have an investigation, or even be a textile engineer, to see what went wrong. The leather is paper thin at the stitched joint where the sewing process perforated it and therefore ripped! Instead of investigating the obvious they should simply fix it.

 

If you have one of these bags I would strongly suggest inspecting that joint and then asking yourself if you are really comfortable hanging your camera gear from it.

 

If you like the bag, I would ask ONA to explain their repair and issues with the first fault to give you confidence in using and feeling good about the bag again. If you find it dissatisfactory in the future saddle (equine) repair places have done amazing things for me with leather repair in the past. It was the latches that put me off the ONA before seeing these issues, I have to say I'm more a substance over style chap in most cases. Bags are a very personal thing as we know !

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ONA bags look good but are cheaply made. Straps, buckles, stitched are not supposed to come off or unravel on a new bag.

 

If you need a bag to carry an expensive camera, look to bags like Billingham. The material is not fancy but the design and workmanship is high quality. Just examine how the strap on a Hadley Pro is affixed.

 

And, no, I do not work for Billingham.

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All good bags have what in industry is called 'design redundancy', in which critical components are intentionally over engineered or duplicated. You can see this on Billingham or Think Tank bags (other brands are available) and see that if a bit of stitching did come undone the whole thing wouldn't fail in one go nor is the webbing thin enough to tear. I reckon you could hook the strap up and tow a car with a Think Tank bag, and that's the sort of thing to look for in a good bag.

 

Steve

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Two years ago I had a problem with zipper on my Gura Gear Kiboko backpack (couldn't zip it fully). I've contacted manufacturer and got a replacement bag (updated version of the same backpack) within 3 days at no charge and without even request to return the old one.

 

That's the customer service I'd expect from good/trusted brand.

 

BTW I had ONA Brixton and wasn't satisfied at all, materials weren't top notch, same with stitching etc.

Edited by Mmark
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I am a little Suprised that no one from the manufacturer either via LFI who promote the product or pos this forum has not got involved in a positive way and just sent a brand new bag ( or offered another from their range) to the customer free of charge. The good publicity would be worth the cost. Or have I been spoilt by the service I get from Amazon, Apple and my Leica dealer in Manchester.

BrianP

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I remember some years ago I had an issue with a wheel on a Think Tank International roller. They couriered a replacement set of wheels to me together with some loctite to avoid it happening again in the future, thanked me for the feedback and told me that try had changed their production procedure for future rollers so that other customers wouldn't have the same problem. That's customer service, and one of the reasons I have bought a number of TT bags since.

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  • 2 weeks later...

fyi, for those who might be interested in a messenger style bag and one that looks 'anonymous' on the street and without labels or leather and buckles, then I highly recommend Courierware About | CourierWareCourierWare

 

They are not only super well-made and with a lifetime warranty, but they are relatively inexpensive. And in addition, they are locally made by workers paid living wages (and not using an offshore labor force for cost savings.) The materials are domestic and of the best quality available.

 

It's also the same company that Stephen Schaub contracted to make his 'Bare Bones Bag' which can be seen in action here:

 

These bags are very discreet, have just the right amount of padding, and are very easy to work out of (plus they hug your body and don't bounce around like some of the more rigid box-like bags.)

 

They are the first to build messenger style bags (started in Cambridge MA) and have decades worth of experience. The owner is very open to special requests and the best way to buy one is to 'build one' yourself (pick through the options list.) I own several of them and have asked for certain things to be left out, or requests for things to be added. And he will repair/fix/change things anytime later. There is a lifetime warranty on the bags themselves with no questions asked, including bags of his that you might have bought some where else secondhand Lifetime Warranty | CourierWareCourierWare

 

If a messenger style bag is something that might work for you, I (obviously :)) recommend you take a look at Courierware.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I'm getting my bowery delivered today but this thread has me concerned. It looks nicer than a Billingham but maybe I should send it back and go the safe route with the Billingham.

 

Don't worry, it will be fine if you don't put anything in it. Billingham's are only for carrying heavy stuff that you don't want landing on the floor, so are very boring and they make you look like an angler.

 

But seriously I think you have a problem, a stylish bag shouldn't be more important than the expensive camera and lenses in it, which is where a lot of these boutique bags fall down, style over function. It is a shame, but I'm glad I saw this thread, I had already browsed the web site and found a local shop that sells them. ...

 

 

Steve

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Don't worry, it will be fine if you don't put anything in it. Billingham's are only for carrying heavy stuff that you don't want landing on the floor, so are very boring and they make you look like an angler.

 

But seriously I think you have a problem, a stylish bag shouldn't be more important than the expensive camera and lenses in it, which is where a lot of these boutique bags fall down, style over function. It is a shame, but I'm glad I saw this thread, I had already browsed the web site and found a local shop that sells them. ...

 

 

Steve

 

The courierware bags that the poster above me mentioned are actually looking pretty nice and seem like a good alternative to Billingham which I've had before and I'm somewhat tired of.

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My experience with Billingham is great, I had a loose stitch on one of the divider. I sent a couple of pictures by mail to Billingham. Only a couple of days later I received a compleet new divider set and they don't want the old one back. Now that's customer service. At this moment I still now nothing about my Ona.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a few dealings with Billingham CS. All exceptional, the first one was with the Leica bag. As you all know the Leica bag is made by Billingham and carries the Leica two year warrantee. Billingham warrantees it's bags for five years. So after four years the D-ring started to cut the shoulder strap. Leica would do nothing, but Billingham repaired the bag for free.

 

The second one is a bit complicated. I purchased the eventer and the handle was not stitched properly and stared to come loose. I was on a trip to California where I purchased this bag and noticed the problem just before my return to china. So I returned the bag to the store where I purchased and they promised they would resolve the issue. They contacted Billingham distribution and there were no bags is the u.s.supply chain. So when they contacted Billingham main office all shit broke loose. I got apologies from the president, and rumor has it that he apparently fired the staff that caused the the problem. While the bag was not available in the US, it was available in Beijing, and within a couple of days of returning home I had received a replacement bag.

Edited by swamiji
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  • 1 month later...

As a common sense photographer, I don't understand why any manufacturer would make a large camera bag (for heavy, valuable loads) without integrating a strong strap (leather or webbed) that goes completely around the bottom, sides and top of the bag, for a COMPLETE LOOP of strength. The single strap (essentially a support belt) acts as a sling, holding anything up to its breaking strength (which can be several hundred pounds for a 1-inch wide nylon web strap). The length is adjustable at the shoulder position with double-hole metal fittings, like a military belt, with a similar breaking strength.

That basic, inexpensive design does not use or depend on weak connecting loops, weak stitching, weak bag material, etc. The camera bag (with expensive gear) just sits on the strong strap, like a passenger in a chair.

And I don't understand why anyone would buy a camera bag that does not have this most basic, STRONG, design.

So ... please smarten up manufacturers, use Function first, then Style. And I suggest "buyer beware" for customers.

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