Safrotto Bags and their Billingham-copy

[kanzlr]

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hi,

 

I read a bit about the Safrotto bags, especially their Domke 802 and F1x copies. According to threads here and over at the RFF they are superior to the domkes they copy.

Also, they are about the same price as the Domkes, not a cheap rip-off in the true meaning of the word.

 

now I came across the SAFROTTO CL-002.

It looks like a copy of a Billingham. Has any of you experience with these?

I wouldn't have bought a Billingham, but wanted to try their Domke copies when I stumbled upon it.

 

you can search ebay for it.

 

For € 28,-- it looks pretty good, really.

 

Any hands-on experience?

 

thanks

[Johnny_Johnson]

I believe that is the bag that I decided not to purchase after I discovered that the trim on the flap is vinyl, not leather. You might want to verify that detail before making a purchase if it is important to you.

 

Later,

Johnny

[Mascarpone]

Just don't supoort chinese plagiarism and brand piracy.

 

Every 'similar to the one you want' product that I ever saw coming from China was either bad or looked good in the beginning and turned out to be bad sooner or later.

[bill]

Just don't supoort chinese plagiarism and brand piracy.

 

Every 'similar to the one you want' product that I ever saw coming from China was either bad or looked good in the beginning and turned out to be bad sooner or later.

 

Here's a suggestion... Don't write ill-informed, ignorant, xenophobic bollocks about something you know nothing about. Domke went bust. Their designs were picked up by Safotto at that time, and have been improved upon by them. They are now better made, of heavier quality with metal, not plastic fittings. The modern ''Domke'' brand bags are inferior in every way.

[Mascarpone]

Domke went bust. Their designs were picked up by Safotto at that time...

 

Show me some proof of that...

[kanzlr]

Excellent, I was 100% sure that somebody would bring up the don't buy Chinese copies point :-)

 

And see, in general I'm totally d'accord. But in this case, this is no Billingham copy, it is just designed in a similar fashion. And the decision is not Billingham or Safrotto. I don't even consider the Billingham. I just want to know if this bag is of good quality like their Domke style bags.

 

And as pointed out, even their domkeish bags are not just cheap copies. They cost the same, but offer more. A lot of people say that Domke quality went way down. Why not buy a better product for the same amount?

 

Anyhow... I wanted to know if this is a nice bag, not if this 28,-- item is comparable to the 150,-- Billingham :-)

[250swb]

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There was a time when Zhou half cases brought out a bit of xenophobia, being seen as inferior to Luigi half cases because they were cheaper and made in China, but lordy, times have changed.

 

Personally I think the shoddy of the original Domke matches the shoddy of the Safrotto copy, they are six or two three's, both bad but differently bad. I haven't seen a Safrotto copy of the Billingham though, but a Billingham is a 'bag for life', with superb aftercare and repair if it is ever (rarely) needed.

 

Steve

[bill]

Steve, if you are going to regurgitate the past, get it right, eh?

 

Zhou cases are replicas of Luigi's cases.

 

As to Safrotto, Jim Domke sold the Domke bag line to Saunders. Saunders sold the entire Saunders company to Tiffen. Tiffen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2003. Tiffen is now restructured and funded by a VC called Topspin. Safrotto legitimately stepped in during the Chapter 11 period. Neither Tiffen nor Topspin have any case against Safrotto.

 

I have an "old" (pre-Tiffen) Domke, and a more recent one, a couple of years old. I also have a Safrotto. The old Domke and the Safrotto are built with better quality canvas, and with metal fittings; the modern Domke, by contrast, is thinner canvas, the stitching is more uneven and the fittings are plastic.

 

I would not buy another Domke. I would buy another Safrotto.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[LuxBob]

Just don't supoort chinese plagiarism and brand piracy.

 

Every 'similar to the one you want' product that I ever saw coming from China was either bad or looked good in the beginning and turned out to be bad sooner or later.

.

In the fifties people said the same about Japanese products.

At that time, the motor cycle industry was dominated by British motor-bikes; BSA, Ariel, Norton, Triumph and many others.. There was great pride in the brands and the engineering but they quickly disappeared once Honda, Yamaha and the likes strated importing their far superior bikes. It was also said that they would never be able to make cars.

Also around that time there were camera makers like Ilford, Braun, Agfa, Kodak, Wray, Periflex and many more, then the Pentax appeared.

[Mascarpone]

Steve, if you are going to regurgitate the past, get it right, eh?

 

Zhou cases are replicas of Luigi's cases.

 

As to Safrotto, Jim Domke sold the Domke bag line to Saunders. Saunders sold the entire Saunders company to Tiffen. Tiffen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2003. Tiffen is now restructured and funded by a VC called Topspin. Safrotto legitimately stepped in during the Chapter 11 period. Neither Tiffen nor Topspin have any case against Safrotto.

 

I have an "old" (pre-Tiffen) Domke, and a more recent one, a couple of years old. I also have a Safrotto. The old Domke and the Safrotto are built with better quality canvas, and with metal fittings; the modern Domke, by contrast, is thinner canvas, the stitching is more uneven and the fittings are plastic.

 

I would not buy another Domke. I would buy another Safrotto.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Okay, Bill, in that case I was wrong.

[kanzlr]

btw, is molinari a reference to the excellent italian espresso?

[aesop]

...phew, glad that's over! Perhaps another reminder that this is an international forum would not go amiss.