The Wotancraft City Explorer “Paratrooper” camera bag

March 21, 2012 Bags, Misc Reviews 24

The Wotancraft City Explorer “Paratrooper” Camera Bag

Last week I showed you a quick look at the Wotancraft “Paratrooper” camera bag and today wanted to show you a closer look via video. This bag came from barton1972.com and is part of the “City Explorer” line of bags. It is unique due to the way you open it up to access your gear, which is from the front instead of the top. The bag is high quality and made extremely well so no worries in that department. I carried the bag around for a week with an M9P and SLR Magic 50 T0.95 which is a huge setup and it fit just fine. The bag is tough, stylish and looks great with its leather accents. The cost of this one is $229 but would last you a lifetime.

I would suggest this bag for Micro 4/3 shooters, Sony NEX shooters, Fuji X shooters, etc. Even an M9 with one or two lenses would work and you have plenty of room in the bag with all of the pockets for storage of memory cards, light meters, batteries, film, even chargers.

You can check out the entire line of bags at the link HERE but be warned, their website seems to be slooooow. I still prefer the Fogg bags for my daily use and my Artisan & Artist when I travel but for those seeking a small bag solution, this one is high quality and the price is in the same ballpark as the Billingham models.

One cool thing about this bag is that you can actually wear it around your waist like a fanny pack if you do not like straps around your body. There is a hidden strap in the back of the bag that pulls out to go around your waist. You can then remove the shoulder strap quickly and easily.

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24 Comments

  2. Just got this bag based on your review for my mirrorless kit. GREAT bag! Mine is the ‘army green’ one. Love it so much, might get the Navy gray one too!! Thanks!

  3. Heavy! Their website gives the total weight about 1.4kg. Empty.

    That’s what my Billingham Hadley Digital weighs, including an E-PL1, 3 primes and a few accessories inside!

  4. I just ordered the Ranger, which is relatively larger. Pretty excited about it. Also got a strap. Hopefully, it’ll be here soon!

  5. I have been using this bag now for a while and am very happy with it. I haven’t got the Fuji X pro-1 yet, that’s what the bag will be carrying eventually, but in the meantime I’ve stuck my Nikon D300s body and my Nikon 16-85mm walk around zoom into the bag with the divider in place without a problem. I know it’s not meant for big cams like that, but it works for me. The quality of that bag is outstanding and I use it paired with the smaller ‘Grenadier’ bag which I hook to the shoulder strap of the ‘Paratrooper’. Brilliant combo.

  6. I just purchased this camera bag, I dont think people really understand how this camera bag is supposed to be used. This is a minimalist bag and its not to be worn like a fanny pack, the waist strap is to be strapped on with the shoulder strap like a paratrooper bag to secure it to your body so if you were skating, biking, or jumping off a cliff it’d stay on with minimum bounce thats what this bag is for… I use a tiny pentax Q kit so its perfect, but yes this bag is really small inside I barely fit my Q with a couple extras inside…

  7. A very nice bag but much to obvious to carry in the present city-life now. You don’t buy this kind of thing to hide a cheap Nikon or Canon… but rather an expensive Leica?

    To me, it also looks to have a very limited space inside. It looks even challenging to put your rangefinder in it without the risk to get scratches from the zippers.

    But I must be honest: after walking around about 20 years with Lowe Pro now, I’m chasing the perfect ‘incognito-bag with surprising inner space’ for while now, it isn’t easy to find.

    • The Think Tank Restropective series are very incognito. Check them out. They have high reviews.

  10. Barton 1972 makes some good gear I use a tan braid strap of theirs. Yes, Steve, the web site is ‘slooooow’ as you put it. In fact its about half that speed, but worth a visit.

  11. I guess I’m going to be the lone dissenter here. I am of the opinion that all bags designed for cameras are ugly. With one exception, that is; Gariz camera bags. There is a stereotype that camera bags fill and I am of the opinion that bags NOT designed for cameras are far nicer looking. For instance, Billy Kirk bags are terrific and stylish and they fit cameras nicely.

    • It’s all a matter of personal taste I guess. The ‘Paratrooper’ has a distinct style that I like, does not really look like a camera bag and can be used for different purposes also. I have other bags but this one is smallish but quite spacious, versatile and rugged.

  14. I like the looks of it… but would have to actually use it to see if I like it.
    Anyway I like Wotancrafts style.

  15. I use my Billinghem Hudley and it works just fine. It fits my ep3 kit that covers me from 24 to 600mm

  16. I bought that bag a few days ago and I am very happy with it. It is VERY well made and practical for my uses. The main compartment is quite deep and has a fence net which helps preventing lenses or other items rolling out of the bag. That waterproof ‘inner bag’ is padded and provides great protection against shock and moisture. I can grab things out of the bag without even looking at it. Great bag for street shooting and travelling.

  18. Stylish and good-looking. But it looks too much like a camera bag. Plus, the front opening is indeed dangerous (I can see someone’s Noctilux falling out of the bag and hear the NOOOOOOOO ……). Also seems harder to look “down” into the bag while wearing the bag.

  19. Hmmm the front loading seems a very prone design for something say like an expensive M lens spilling out on to the ground..

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