What bag to carry the M-11 in?

[Bobonli]

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I saw somewhere that you can get more stuff into the Wotancraft bags if you remove the dividers and use wraps to just stack stuff into it. Waiting for my 3.5l to arrive sometime next week. 

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[ldhrads]

2 hours ago, Bobonli said:

I saw somewhere that you can get more stuff into the Wotancraft bags if you remove the dividers and use wraps to just stack stuff into it. Waiting for my 3.5l to arrive sometime next week. 

I just got the 3.5L, I like it a lot for my M11-P which is sitting in it with a battery/SDcard accessory. I have the MATE on the camera, so it’s a little large. I did have the divider in, but I took it out. We shall see which way I keep it.  For now I really like the Wotancraft bag.

[JefreyL]

Hadley small pro. Sage green with black leather.

[Kiwimac]

On a recent overseas trip I found that a Pacsafe LS250 shoulder bag with the half insert from a Billingham Hadley One inside to be a great solution. 
 

The bag doesn’t scream “camera” as it just looks like a normal tourist bag. 
 

It also offers excellent anti theft properties such as locks on all the zips to make them hard to open for pick pockets, steel mesh embedded in the fabric to thwart attempts to cut open the bag, RFID safe pocket, Dyneema woven into the shoulder strap to prevent that from being cut and the ability to undo one end of the shoulder strap, secure it round a table, chair etc and re-attach it with a locking clip so that it’s difficult to snatch whilst you’re enjoying la dolce vita in a cafe. 
 

The bag also isn’t overly expensive and has plenty of space for your other daily bits like water, tissues, phone, guidebooks etc. 

You won’t stuff a whole multi body, multi lens kit in there but for one body and a couple of lenses it is ample. 
 

A bonus is that, sans the insert, you have a great shoulder bag for everyday use. 
 

It even assuages your conscience because it’s made from recycled nylon fishing nets recovered from the ocean. 

[brickftl]

wow you guys have money to burn!

I bought this inexpensive bag from amazon. It holds a single camera (M10 or M11) with lens attached plus 2 other lenses. Perfect for a day outing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CPJCGGJV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 

[RMF]

On 8/5/2024 at 3:00 AM, Fazal Majid said:

I've been using this Rofmia bag to carry my M11 with Visoflex attached, a 50/2 Apo Summicron ASPH and a 18/3.8 Super-Elmar ASPH. It'll also hold a battery and a Minox mini tripod, but they are hand-made in Japan in small quantities and sell out immediately when released:

https://en.rofmia.com/product-page/shoulder-bag-v3-s

I also have a Leica Aneas small shoulder bag, which has a unique sliding divider system, no nasty Velcro to deal with. Nowhere near as discreet, however. Long discontinued, sadly.

https://leica-camera.com/en-PT/Company/Press-Centre/Press-Releases/Photokina-2014/Press-Release-Aneas-Edition-for-Leica-–-the-premium-camera-bag-made-in-France

Otherwise I have a bunch of small Tumi Beale crossbody bags that will also hold a M with ease, albeit without padding.

 

 

Wonderful to hear about a fellow Rolfma user 😀. I use a Rofmia shoulder bag v2 as well for carrying one M body, and one extra lens…works perfectly and the Dyneema material is space age superb. These are wonderful niche handmade Japanese bags, hard to get but worth the wait and costs (especially with the Jpn yen favorable rate to many of us).

I also use a Rofmia Daypack https://www.rofmia.com/product-page/daypack-v2 when traveling (storing my lenses and bodies in various Artisan & Artist ACAM pouches such as this https://leicastoremiami.com/collections/artisan-artist/products/artisan-artist-gear-box-pro-acam-60d-camera-body-pouch?variant=34302584651907). 

[Fazal Majid]

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On 8/24/2024 at 5:48 PM, RMF said:

Wonderful to hear about a fellow Rolfma user 😀. I use a Rofmia shoulder bag v2 as well for carrying one M body, and one extra lens…works perfectly and the Dyneema material is space age superb. These are wonderful niche handmade Japanese bags, hard to get but worth the wait and costs (especially with the Jpn yen favorable rate to many of us).

I also use a Rofmia Daypack https://www.rofmia.com/product-page/daypack-v2 when traveling (storing my lenses and bodies in various Artisan & Artist ACAM pouches such as this https://leicastoremiami.com/collections/artisan-artist/products/artisan-artist-gear-box-pro-acam-60d-camera-body-pouch?variant=34302584651907). 

Yes, I also have two of their Daypacks (one regular, one in dyneema leather), and tried to get the Large model, but it literally sold out in less than 2 minutes, the time it took me to log in to PayPal. Oh well...

What shoulder pad do you use with the Rofmia shoulder bag? Their strap definitely needs one.

When carrying the M11 with Visoflex in a backpack, I use the Zing SXB1  (Large, the regular also works but is a tight fit) to protect the camera and lens from bumps. It's meant for SLRs and has a clever fold-around design. I do have some camera inserts but find them unwieldy, I'll use them when I take my Nikon Z with a couple of longer lenses.

[Pixeleater]

Another brand to consider is Belroy. It’ll fit an m10 with attached lens.

Belroy 2.5L Sling

Edited August 27, 2024 by Pixeleater

[TheEyesHaveIt]

Anybody use the Billingham M Combination bag? My Wotancraft Pilot 2L was great but bit too small to carry the M11, 3 lenses, and some accessories (which is the max I personally would like in a shoulder bag). The Billingham Hadley Pro Small, while great, is larger than necessary for this kit. The M Combination bag seems smaller (though boxier?). The other one I’m contemplating is the Oberwerth Q bag (the M bag is another option but seems larger than needed?). Seems nobody has many thoughts on the new Oberwerth ReLon bags but the M size could work too.

Edited August 27, 2024 by TheEyesHaveIt

[jgeenen]

There is a review of that bag at https://findingrange.com/2011/10/03/billingham-combination-bag-for-the-leica-m-review/. I personally use a Rock‘n‘Roll Havana Small bag (very nice in general, but too small front pockets), which was reviewed by Mr Slack here https://www.slack.co.uk/small-havana-rocknroll.html. There is a Mini as well which might be even better for your needs.

[jdlaing]

1 hour ago, TheEyesHaveIt said:

Anybody use the Billingham M Combination bag? My Wotancraft Pilot 2L was great but bit too small to carry the M11, 3 lenses, and some accessories (which is the max I personally would like in a shoulder bag). The Billingham Hadley Pro Small, while great, is larger than necessary for this kit. The M Combination bag seems smaller (though boxier?). The other one I’m contemplating is the Oberwerth Q bag (the M bag is another option but seems larger than needed?). Seems nobody has many thoughts on the new Oberwerth ReLon bags but the M size could work too.

I do. I’ve had it for many years now and it’s a great small bag.

[Jeff S]

One thing I prefer on some of the somewhat bigger Billinghams (and other bags) is a top handle, for added flexibility.
 

Jeff

[Smudgerer]

I have the Wotancraft 7L and the 3.5L bags, I do not have any of the M11's only the lowly M10's but the sizes are the same............I rate the Wotancraft bags very highly, for years I've used, still do use, Domkes, but I appreciate the lightness and also the shoulder strap set-up of the Wotans...........One thing though I do find annoying, ( and let's face it any bag has an annoyance or two that's why many of us have too many bags ), is the tightness of the front and rear pockets, that and their depth. I wish they were gussetted to allow easier access.

Edited August 27, 2024 by Smudgerer

[R6M6]

I have a Billingham L2 ( similar to Billingham M bag) and like it very much. Because of the rectangle shape 2 bodies with lenses and 2 additional lenses fit to the main compartment ( e.q. M10 + Elmarit 28 asph , M9 + Cron35 and Elmarit M 90 + Cron 50) and in the front compartment batteries, booklet, Trinovid 10x25. 

[Mute-on]

2 hours ago, R6M6 said:

I have a Billingham L2 ( similar to Billingham M bag) and like it very much. Because of the rectangle shape 2 bodies with lenses and 2 additional lenses fit to the main compartment ( e.q. M10 + Elmarit 28 asph , M9 + Cron35 and Elmarit M 90 + Cron 50) and in the front compartment batteries, booklet, Trinovid 10x25. 

Also have an L2. Fantastic bag for two Ms with lenses, plus another lens and accessories in the front compartment. Unfortunately the L2 is discontinued. The Billingham M Combination bag looks almost identical, save for a zip on the front compartment, and straps that are attached to the lid rather than the lower.

[R6M6]

What I like very much with the L2 are the brass feet! No Hadley has this, unfortunatly! 

[Jeff S]

41 minutes ago, R6M6 said:

What I like very much with the L2 are the brass feet! No Hadley has this, unfortunatly! 

The 207 also has brass feet.

Jeff

[TheEyesHaveIt]

One thing I've noticed personally with the Wotancraft Pilot is the inside material is somewhat rough. So especially on the 2L, which might be a little cramped, when you reach into the bag, your fingers are scraping up against the sides. Definitely torn up my cuticles more than once due to that. Billingham on the other hand has very soft material on the inside. May or may not bother you.

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[charlesphoto99]

29 minutes ago, TheEyesHaveIt said:

One thing I've noticed personally with the Wotancraft Pilot is the inside material is somewhat rough. So especially on the 2L, which might be a little cramped, when you reach into the bag, your fingers are scraping up against the sides. Definitely torn up my cuticles more than once due to that. Billingham on the other hand has very soft material on the inside. May or may not bother you.

I agree. The problem with Billingham inserts is they start to shed over time. IMHO there's no 'perfect' bag - yet. 

[Jeff S]

The Fogg bags’ linen interiors provide a nice blend of softness, yet sturdiness, with no abrasiveness to gear (including black paint Ms), and no signs of deterioration after 25+ years of use from my earliest samples.  The more recent Fogg bags use a slightly different linen material, but I suspect that they would have similar longevity.  Pricey, but high quality.  The Billingham interiors are softer; haven’t used them long enough to determine long-term durability.

Jeff