What’s in my bag…

ThinkTank Retrospective V2.0 by Christophe Dandurand

It took years for me to find the rare pearl, the ThinkTank Retrospective V2.0.

I had banned backpacks and other more or less rigid specialized containers (certainly many are very good, but do not correspond to my way of working), but by dint of searching and getting information I came across the ThinkTank Retrospective V2.0 which is for me the best in terms of quality, price, capacity, and resistance.

Four trips to Africa over more than 5 months, allow me to take stock of this shoulder bag and it will be more than positive.

I would not fit in the exact dimensions but know that 90% of my photographic kit fits inside (sorry the 400mm f2.8 does not fit)

Z9 Nikon with cage – Z7 II Nikon – 200mm f2 – 105mm f1.4 – 14/24mm f2.8 – 50mm f1.4 – Powerbank 27000a – iPad 12 – Z9 sup battery – flashlight – various cables – CF express card reader – Z9 and Z7II battery charger – FTZ 1 and FTZ II – a Pluto kit and my two case straps.

The weight exceeds 13kg (the airlines tolerate a hand luggage of 15kg max).

The only thing I added is a small military type of bag that you can find everywhere in surplus stores. I attached it with metal carabiners, so it could hold my 105 mm lens, which is quite large and heavy, as well as a foam pad that I placed at the bottom of the ThinkTank Retrospective V2.0 to protect my lenses from the many hazards of riding across the savannah in the safari cars.

This bag is full of surprises, it is made by ThinkTank, a company which for quite some time has been taking into account the opinions of photographers for their updates of their future bags, and that is a great luxury, because apart from the foam that I put at the bottom there is nothing to add to this bag to achieve perfection.

The strap is of an unprecedented robustness, the seams, the fabrics, the metal rings, the Velcro elements are very high-quality products and 4 years later, when I show it to friends, it is like the first day I brought it home from the camera store! And that is rare, because I am not gentle with my equipment.

Africa was a very good test for this bag, because it involves more than 10 hours a day in the field for more than a month each trip, when the bag is thrown around the back of the vehicle, exposed to dust, rain, humidity, jolts, and general rough handling of the bag in the car and during trips on foot hiking the landscape. I did everything to this bag, and it is still in perfect condition, I still can’t believe it, for that price, don’t look elsewhere – it is the ThinkTank Retrospective V2.0 that you need!

Write to Christophe Dandurand