Customizing the Billingham "25 Rucksack" for use with an SL-variant body and M lenses

[hdmesa]

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I thought this might be of use for some of you who own or are considering the Billingham 25 Rucksack backpack, which as-shipped is a bit too large for M lenses, even with an SL-variant body.

I purchased the two products below to get the right number of dividers to make my setup:

• Rucksack 25 Padded Divider Set –  this is a second set of the dividers that come originally with the bag
• Rucksack 25 Padded Insert Set – this includes the entire main padded surround-insert, the long padded wood base, and dividers that come originally with the bag

$32 for each / $64 total (USD) – Since these two items are the same price, I could have just ordered two of the padded inserts, but I thought it was a waste since I didn't need to end up with three of the main padded inserts.

I had to purchase both of these since I needed the following:

• 4 more small dividers to combine with the original 2 dividers for 6 total
• 1 more long base padded insert (wood reinforced) to combine with the original
• Note that none of the long dividers with the bend at one end are needed – you'll end up with 6 of them total – just store away in case needed in the future.

My original wrap-around padded insert was getting a little shabby anyway, so I replaced it with the new one and saved the old one as a backup. Then I took the padded long divider (the wood-reinforced one that doesn't bend) that originally comes at the bottom of the bag and moved it up to form the first horizontal divider. The bottom of the bag is still incredibly well-padded since the padded surround insert around the inside of the entire bag is about an inch thick. Then I put the second long divider across above it and divided the spaces into small squares using the small dividers. This gave me room for four M lenses plus the SL2-S with an M lens attached in the top compartment (CV 75 1.5 pictured).

To get even more storage out of this if I buy more M lenses, I can move up the two long horizontal dividers and divide the bottom section into the same four compartments as the middle section. This will give a total storage of 8 M lenses plus the lens on the camera. The camera w/lens in the top section can be turned sideways with the grip facing upward in order to fit in the smaller space that's left. The battery, charger, and lens caps I have stored in the bottom section right now can easily be moved to the outer zipper compartment, which currently is empty and reserved for a jacket or whatever else I want to carry in it. That outer pocket is huge.

Also if you didn't know, you can purchase up to 2 end pockets that attach to either side of the backpack. I have two of the AVEA 5 side pockets and two of the AVEA 3 that I can move around between bags as needed, and both work well with this bag, either alone or in some combination. The AVEA 5 is large enough to hold a very long M lens or two smaller M lenses stored vertically (you provide the padding between them or use a double M lens rear lens cap that lets you join two lenses together vertically with one rear cap between them). The AVEA 3 is very narrow and only suitable for misc items like pens, lens wipes, etc.

Pictured below in row order from top to bottom and left to right:

1. Lens wipes & cloth / SL2-S with CV 75 1.5 mounted
2. 28 Summaron in Leica pouch / 28 Lux / CV 50 APO / Blower bulb or extra lens space
3. Extra batteries (2) in pouch / charger / Extra lens caps in Leica pouch that came with the M Adapter L (Note that this entire row can be made to be like the one above it by moving the horizontal dividers up higher and then turning the camera sideways in the top compartment)

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Edited February 24, 2022 by hdmesa

[Jeff S]

I leave mine as is, perfectly accommodating my SL2, SL24-90 and SL90-80 (and formerly an SL 75 Summicron, which I sold).  I keep M lenses on my M bodies, and use either no bag or a very small one, a key benefit of the compact M system for me. Different strokes… whatever works.

Jeff

[hdmesa]

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

I leave mine as is, perfectly accommodating my SL2, SL24-90 and SL90-80 (and formerly an SL 75 Summicron, which I sold).  I keep M lenses on my M bodies, and use either no bag or a very small one, a key benefit of the compact M system for me. Different strokes… whatever works.

Jeff

Yes, I used to carry an R5 + RF 100-500, RF 28-70 f/2, and RF 50 1.2 in this bag before I sold all my Canon gear.

All I have currently is the SL2-S and a few M lenses – no M bodies – and almost all bags sized for an M-body system are too small to accommodate the size of the SL2-S, and bags that easily fit the SL2-S do not have the right compartment size for M lenses. So those of us exclusively using the SL system with M lenses have to use makeshift setups sometimes.

Although I will take this bag on some trips dedicated to photography, most often the Rucksack will simply be a way to hold all my Leica gear in one bag. From there, I can pull out the body and one or two lenses for a lighter travel kit. And for that lighter bag, I've been able to use the Leica Combination Bag for M System (also Billingham) to work with the SL2-S. To do this, I removed one of the compartment dividers, which allows the SL2-S with lens attached to fit in sideways with a second M lens in the single compartment left next to the camera. The front zipper compartment holds the charger, spare battery, etc.

Edited February 25, 2022 by hdmesa

[Jeff S]

Yep, a million options, and almost as many threads. 😁

Good that you’ve found solutions that work for you. Divider sets, from Billingham and others, can help to personalize many non-Billingham bags, even some not necessarily designed with cameras in mind.

Besides the Rucksack, I have the Hadley Pro and the Hadley One, with multiple extra inserts, the latter able to accommodate my SL and zooms for transport or for shorter carry distances than the backpack. I kept a couple of small 20+ year old black Fogg bags that fit my M gear, but sold all the larger packs from my medium and large format film days.  Couldn’t haul all that stuff nowadays.  

Jeff

[hdmesa]

Just now, Jeff S said:

Yep, a million options, and almost as many threads. 😁

Good that you’ve found solutions that work for you. Divider sets, from Billingham and others, can help to personalize many non-Billingham bags, even some not necessarily designed with cameras in mind.

Besides the Rucksack, I have the Hadley Pro and the Hadley One, with multiple extra inserts, the latter able to accommodate my SL and zooms for transport or for shorter carry distances than the backpack. I kept a couple of small 20+ year old black Fogg bags that fit my M gear, but sold all the larger packs from my medium and large format film days.  Couldn’t haul all that stuff nowadays.  

Jeff

I hear you. I can't believe I used to haul around a Pentax 67 system with 4-5 lenses in a giant f64 bag back in the early 90s. That gear would crush me now! Can't imagine hauling large format around. I guess that's why Ansel had a pack mule and assistants sometimes

I've never tried the Hadley bags, but maybe someday. I do have an Eventer, which I used to carry a GFX system in. One thing I haven't tried swapping out yet between bags is trying a large shoulder pad on a smaller bag – just to see if it further reduces the load. Even these small M systems can get very heavy since they are so dense and fit in such small bags.

[cheekz4dayz]

Thanks for sharing this OP! I liked how you were creative with the dividers solution. I use the rucksack 35 as my daily and also have a few other Billingham bags. Honestly, I have way too many bags just don't tell my partner 😂😅