Living on the Road

Op/Tech Wrap

Bagless camera bag

Op/Tech’s hook-and-loop-fastened wraps form a burrito-like skin around any delicate photo/electronic gear you move about regularly and wish to protect. Lately I use a small point-and-shoot more than anything else, and have found at least one way to limit acquisitions: I won’t buy a dedicated bag for a point and shoot. Since I usually have a messenger bag or backpack with me, I wrap my point-and-shoot in one of these Op/Tech protectors and throw it in my bag. The padding is thin but sufficient.

Before I started keeping my lenses in a neatly organized Pelican case, I stored them in Domke bags, and bought a bunch of these lens wraps to augment the Domke’s interior cushioning, keeping my pricey glass accessories secure. The wraps are handily versatile in their adjustability, though admittedly require an extra step or two, compared with a dedicated case, to open and close. You can get an excellent case for a small camera for about $13, but they tend to be size-specific, whereas the 12-inch Op/Tech wrap I use regularly can swallow a flash, lens, Canon G10 or the next — no doubt smaller — point-and-shoot I’ll buy.

Domke makes a nicer, more expensive, version of this product, which I’ve also used. The Domke wrap is better made, better looking, but not functionally superior when it comes to keeping accessories or small cameras safe.

-- Elon Schoenholz 11/23/09

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