I came across Red Oxx's Gator bag while browsing for a smallish carryon bag several months ago. Made by a small, quality outfit of
ex-parachute riggers in Billings, Montana, the bag was rated the Best Travel Shoulder Bag for 2005, by
this reviewer. When I first read it, I thought the article was a little bit over-the-top, but I have to admit that I was intrigued by this little bag.
The problem was, there really was not much else I could find out about the Gator. No other review on the web, as far as I can see. And not a whole lot of photos. I stayed on the fence since... "sounds nice, but $95?"
Fast forward to today. One Air Boss later. If you have no clue what I am talking about, scroll down a few inches to
my blog write-up on the Air Boss.
The Gator is no different. The quality of materials, attention to detail, and craftsmanship are superb. The Humvee of small bags. It is made of 1000-weight urethane coated Cordura nylon, regarded as the "kevlar" of the bag industry. The seams are double-stitched, and the huge #10 YKK zippers won't foul up or break. The D-rings are
welded stainless steel. Bottom line is, the bag is over-built, and will carry pretty much anything you can put in it without a hiccup. If the
Guvernator carried a man bag, this would be it.
But I also wanted a bag that will do double duty as a camera bag. And this is really the purpose of this mini-review. See, oftentimes, when I travel with a real camera bag as carryon, there is not much room for other (i.e. non-photography related) stuff I want to bring with me. And if I use a plain old carryon, I don't feel like my equipment is secure or protected enough.
Aside from doing double duty, it must also be small and light enough to comfortably carry around all day (as camera and daypack) when I am there.
There have been a couple of long-running threads on the rangefinder forum (RFF) on this topic. One that I started a year ago about
"man purses", and more recently, a thread looking for a
man bag for casual shooting, which could also carry a camera and a couple of lenses. You know, the kind of discussion we live for in these forums! Well, that is the kind of "jack-of-all-trades" role I had in mind when I got this bag.
The Gator measures 12(L) x 9(H) x 6(W) inches, and is just about the same size as a Domke F6. In fact, the F6's four-compartment insert fits nicely. Here it is beside the F6.
Here, you can see that it can hold a good-sized rangefinder kit with room to spare. That's an Epson R-D1, bottom of a leather ER case, with 40/1.4 and hood lying flat on it's base. A Leica M3 in a Luigi case, with a collapsed Summitar is in one pocket of the insert. Three more pockets for lenses, etc.
Here is the bag with an SLR kit. The D50 with Sigma 35/1.4 fits nicely. There is a Tokina 12-24mm f/4 in there. That lens with a white rear cap? That's a Nikkor 80-200mm F/2.8 AF.
It is interesting to note that packed with the heavy SLR lenses, the bag felt very comfortable slung over my shoulder. I think that is thanks, in part to the massive rubberized Claw strap (this alone retails for $20 and is well worth the price) that stretches with heavy loads, and in part to the fact that the padding keeps the bag from sagging despite the weighty contents.
That brings us to what I think is one of the neatest features of this bag. The bottom and both large side panels are lined with 1/4 inch thick 4-lb closed cell foam. What is that exactly? Something waaay better than the foam used on the Domkes. Going by feel, it is the same quality of padding in the insert of my Billingham S3. Not the dividers. The insert that you snap into the bag. Excellent built-in protection.
Using an insert like the Domke's is really just to keep things from banging into one another. I generally just carry a few items and can probably do well with one RF camera + lens in a wrap (or something like the Artisan & Artist Rina case), and one or two lenses in small pouches. That will leave me with plenty of room in the bag for other stuff.
I know what you are thinking. Not to worry - the bag is sturdy but not too bulky. The top and ends are not padded, so the bag is more streamlined, sort of "compressible" side-to-side. It is not stiff and won't bounce off your body like, say, the Lowepro AW 100. It is not too wide either- 6 inches is just right in my view. It is just as thick as my Billingham S3, and 3/4 inch thicker than a Domke f5xb. Just the right size to go under the airplane seat.
What else? Little things like two gusseted snap pockets on one side which can hold film, sunglasses, ipod, what have you. The other side has a full zip pocket. Two gartered end pockets sized for water bottles. Inside the bag, there is a full-length pocket perfect for magazines, and 4 slips for pens.
The only con about this bag is that I don't think it is waterproof. The cordura is water repellent, but the zipper and seams are probably not.
That, and it makes about as much of a fashion statement as a pickup truck.
I like trucks.
Well there it is. If you are looking for a tough, protective, versatile bag, this is definitely worth considering. Guaranteed to outlive you, it is
warranteed for life. Sure, it is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. You will ABSOLUTELY not find a better made bag anywhere. For any price.
The folks at Red Oxx are a nice, helpful bunch too. Before I bought the bag, I asked them some questions about using the bag for cameras, and had a series of helpful emails with Jim Markel, one of the company's owners. He even added a photo of the bag holding a Nikon DSLR to their website. You can't put a price on little things like that.
Read more about the
Gator at
Red Oxx.com.
