Crumpler

It’s a small shop at the corner of Richards and W Cordova. I came here specifically to look at the camera bags. I came in with my well-​traveled Tamrac backpack and all my gear to see what would be most comparable, but in a messenger style bag or sling bag.
The guy at the store was helpful but not salesy at all — as it should be. He was around when I had questions and he let me tryout some of the different bags and see which ones best fit all my gear.
I ended up buying the 7 Million Dollar Home bag. I was debating for a while between the green and red ones, and ended up with the red one. By the time I’d walked home, I already had buyer’s remorse — mostly over the color but partly over the bulkiness.
I waited a few days to see if it would grow on me, but it didn’t. A couple weeks later, I called the store to see if they had the green or other colors in stock so I could swing by to exchange (still hadn’t used the bag). I left a voicemail and a few days got a call back saying they had plenty of greens in stock still and to come by any time.
Since my buyer’s remorse wasn’t just about color, but also about the bulkiness of the bag, I packed it up with all my gear and walked back over to the store. Still had the tags and the receipt, and this was the bag’s only «usage» since I’d bought it – literally just walking from my apartment to the store. So it was still absolutely new and unused.
I was convinced in my 20 minute walk that the bag was just too big, bulky, and heavy and I should consider other options. The guy at the store was totally open to me trying out some different options again and asking more questions. I ended up buying a Barney Rustle messenger bag with a separate portable Haven pouch (L) for the camera gear which I could insert into the messenger bag (or any other bag). I ended up spending more but am much happier with this bag.
I felt much more comfortable with the style and fit of this bag as it doesn’t have the camera frame and instead wraps better around my hip or back, depending on how I wear it. I walked around for three hours in the rain after my exchange, and the camera gear never got wet despite the bag’s exterior being soaked. At no point did I feel the bag was too heavy or bulky the way I felt about the camera bag.
I was grateful to the store for having a great exchange policy and grateful to the guy who worked there for his easy approach to providing me the information I needed and helping me find the right product for me. It’s a small investment but comfort really matters. And Crumpler showed me great customer service that worked with me and my indecision.

In addition to great messenger bags, Crumpler also carries suit cases, laptop bags, camera bags, backpacks, and wallets. The Vancouver store is small and efficient in it’s presentation. Worth checking out if you are in the market for a sturdy new bag.

Australian bike couriers are responsible for these attractively designed, tough bags and you couldn’t ask for better! Over 10 years ago, Stewart Crumpler, then a bike courier, designed and made his own messenger bag in order to get his cold beer and hot pizza home in safety and they soon caught on and are now sold in North America, Asia and Australia. Clearly there are a few people around the world who need to transport beer and pizza at safely as well… or you can also use them for books, lap-​tops, cameras and anything else you carry around with you. They are incredibly reasonably priced and very functional without being drab in design. Once a year at their New York store, they celebrate the beginning of Crumpler by allowing fans to trade in beer for bags! A very novel marketing approach for a product that needs little fan –fair, the bags speak for themselves.