I searched for awhile to find the “perfect” bag to house my gear when I’m out shooting photos. There are so many good brands out there, but you can’t really tell how well they’ll hold up when all you see are photos of the bags on the web: ThinkTank, Northface, LowePro, Tamrac, Domke, Naneu and so many others.

There are backpacks, rollers, slings and duffels in every style, color and shape imaginable. Some are made for students, some are made for parents and others are designed to be used by photographers to hold camera equipment.

After searching, I settled on the “Naneu Pro K3L” backpack. Boy, was I disappointed to find out that a bag that cost me $146.64 USD could be built so very poorly.

Sure, there are plenty of high-end, $400 bags out there, but come on, Naneu… you can do better than this. A bag shouldn’t fall apart in the first month of light use.

Well, this one did and I recommend you stay far away from Naneu bags until they can demonstrate that their build quality has improved. Naneu Pro NSBLBL K3L Adventure Backpack – D-SLR Camera Kit and Laptop PC (Blue) $135.99 Sub Total: $135.99 Shipping: $10.65 Sales Tax: $0.00 Total: $146.64

After having this bag unused in my basement, I decided to take it out for a test-drive to NYC for a 2-day photo shoot. After lugging this bag around packed with a medium load, the bag began to break down.

The problems with the Naneu Pro K3L began in places that you really don’t want a bag to start failing on you: The shoulder straps and the tripod holder/sleeve/pocket.

Now they are saying this model of bag is out of stock. This may be a good thing, because it keeps other people from having to lose their money on such horrible construction, or potentially have the bag fall apart with thousands of dollars of photography equipment inside.

You certainly wouldn’t want those straps to fail while you’re walking up a flight of steps.. potentially sending your expensive lenses, camera bodies and other gear crashing down onto the concrete.

So to all those out there who may have considered this bag and this company, beware of the Naneu line: It is over-priced for the quality by a very LARGE margin. Straps: Tripod “Pouch”:

Alright, I can hear you already… Before you say that the tripod was missing a rubber foot or had barbed wire poking out of it, take a look at my Manfrotto 055MF4 four-section tripod I had stowed in the pocket designed to hold a tripod of this size:

The bag is now completely unusable and I can’t trust that it will hold a load. It was far from completely full of either personal or camera gear.

My quest for the perfect bag(s) continues…

Update: Naneu Pro sends me a Tango bag to make amends!

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