I work in some pretty inhospitable environments; in places that take multiple planes, trains, and automobiles to get to. I’m typically trying to manipulate my bags and gear at -31F (-35C), or 100F (40C), trying to get my gear out for a shot in a blizzard, or while bouncing along in a soaking wet zodiac. I’ve been searching for the perfect bag for a long time.
I recently came across Stanley Aryanto‘s new bag venture, Two Red Tabs. This bag is a product of passion and isn’t in commercial production yet, however, there is a pre-production sale of only 200 bags now live.
What I Need
I need a bag that is as easy to manipulate with sweaty fingers as it is with oversized gloves or those times when I can’t feel my fingers anymore. I need a bag that can get wet. I shoot in blizzards, I shoot in the rain, I shoot with waves crashing over me.
I’ve tried a variety of dry bags, but I’m never happy with how they store and protect my camera gear. I need something purpose-built for photography.
I’m also taking some pretty small planes to get where I’m going. Older ATRs don’t have significant overhead compartment space and caravans don’t have any overhead room at all. My packing has to be efficient and my bag has to cater to that.
Lastly, sometimes I’m shooting for several hours with some heavy gear all while obeying regulations that don’t let me put anything on the ground. So, I need a bag that is light while still maintaining a robust harness system to keep me agile.
This is where I introduce you to Aryanto, from The Wicked Hunt. Aryanto was frustrated with his available backpack choices. It sounded like Aryanto felt like me. He wanted to be able to access each compartment easily while still being comfortable out on the trail, regardless of how extreme it got. Perhaps most importantly, we both need a bag to be safe and secure while protecting thousands of dollars of sensitive equipment. Tired of looking for a solution, Aryanto decided to make one.
A Modular System
Two Red Tabs backpacks are modular, specifically designed to be used while hiking, for day use, or while traveling.
Harness System
The robust and ingenious harness system comes in two parts. The comfortable shoulder strap system is easily adjustable with buckles and velcro. In order to qualify as a true hiking pack, the Two Red Tabs bag also has a wide padded hip belt. This belt helps to take the pressure off your shoulders while walking or standing for prolonged periods of time. Now, thinking back to those small overhead compartments, heavily padded shoulder and hip supports can add a significant amount of depth to your bag. Two Red Tabs has made the harnesses so easy to remove that I can just take the straps and belt off, bagging them in a bigger checked bag of non-critical gear and clothing. Despite this flexibility, the straps and belt are still firm when attached. This means that I can easily slip my bag under the seat in front of me in anything but the smallest of planes.
More Than One Bag
The Two Red Tabs bag can also expand to carry more than enough gear for longer cross-country hiking, or be pulled apart and stripped down to provide a bag more suited to short day hikes or urban exploration.
Adding an attic section of the bag lets you increase your storage significantly while pouches attached to the hip belt can give you extra and immediate access to a few pieces of critical gear while you walk.
If you need something smaller, a front section of the Two Red Tabs bag can be unstrapped to provide you with a much smaller and lighter backpack or sling for city walks. The Two Red Tabs pack provides you with options to break down the bag to suit your needs. You have a larger more robust hiking pack, a stowable carry-on, a small day backpack, a shoulder bag, a sling bag, and even a belt/fanny pack.
The inside of the bag contains a variety of velcro-secured dividers that I could move about depending on the different gear complements I might need or the immediate use of the bag. As you can see, I set the bag up differently for travel versus the setup for shooting.
Access
The Two Red Tabs bag has 6 different entry points. Two side openings that allow you to access equipment by slinging it, and critically for me, without putting the bag down on the ground. It’s a bit of a tight fit, but I can access my Canon 300mm 2.8L with a mounted extender through these slots.
I work with GAdventures in Antarctica and since the onset of avian influenza, nobody has been allowed to put personal bags down while ashore. The ability to access my gear while the bag is slung across my chest is a game changer. And just to put a cherry on top of it, you can sling to either side, favoring your right or left, perfect for us left-handers who are so often neglected. No more juggling bags and lenses over fields of penguin guano.
The main compartment zips open from both the top and the bottom, making it easy to access your equipment in tranches, without exposing it all to the environment at one time. This is critical for me. My gear is stowed while heading back to the ship on a zodiac to protect it while at high speed over water. However, if I see something, I can open small portions of my bag to get at a particular lens set up without risking all of my gear.
For those of you who are landscape or night sky photographers, the Two Red Tabs bag also offers multiple ways to strap in a tripod so that your hands can be free. I used the side mounts to get my monopod aboard the zodiacs where it’s important to always have your hands empty.
There’s also a heavily protected laptop sleeve behind the chest harness that allowed me to pack my camera and laptop together for flights and transport. With two quick buckle snaps I could have my laptop out if I had a brief break between guests or while waiting for flights.
Durability
Over the last few weeks I’ve been able to put the Two Red Tabs bag through its paces during a recent set of trips to Canada’s subarctic with Frontiers North Adventures. While out on zodiacs looking for beluga and bears, the bag was often soaked by spray while tearing about on Hudson Bay. At no time did I worry about my gear. The way I can open the bag and still have most of my gear protected by spray is perfect for days on the water or, I suspect, seeing through a wet snowy blizzard.
Now, I’m not sure that I’d be comfortable going overboard with this bag as it isn’t a dry bag, but I’ve made peace with that given that dry bags just don’t meet my other needs. Well, that and I carry insurance.
You can tell that Aryanto left his engineering career to follow his passion. This bag is well engineered.
The Little Details I Loved
I’d also like to mention a few additional things that I really loved about the bag.
All of the zippers had great little pull tabs on them. I have no concerns that I could operate the bag in a variety of temperatures. I especially liked that the main compartment zippers had little loops protecting the last inch or two of each zipper, ensuring that the bag wouldn’t be opened accidentally or even maliciously while I was out and about.
I loved the quick release on the chest strap between the shoulder straps. I often find myself pulling and pushing at straps to adjust a bag, but in this case, the strap release was easy to manipulate.
What Could Be Improved
I wouldn’t mind seeing waterproof zippers on the main compartment. Again, although the bag is water resistant, it isn’t a dry bag. More robust zippers would give me a few more moments if I should find myself actually underwater before the bag was drenched. The problem with robust zippers however is weight. Given the purpose of the bag as a hiker, I’m not sure the extra weight would be worth the extra protection.
I also wouldn’t mind seeing a MOLLE or PALS strap on the shoulder straps. When ashore, I often like to hook my tripod mount for my longer lenses to my bag so that I can use both hands to balance or scramble if necessary. That being said, there are a variety of ways I could attach my camera to the Two Red Tabs bag without a PALS strap. Perhaps it’s not too much to expect an old dog to learn a new trick.
All images provided by Two Red Tabs or me, as attributed.
