Linisus Blog

EDIT (August 2nd, 2005): I happen to have an extra Crumpler Formal Lounge in Blue colour available for sale for $100 + actual cost of shipping. E-mail me if you are interested at jon_lin [a@] linisus [bot] com.

My Crumpler Formal Lounge arrived today, and I quickly abandoned my priorities to stuff it up full.

I was very excited to wait for this bag to come in… Did it fulfill my quest to find the perfect bag?

First off, its very firm and is foamed up very well; it protects all my goods on the inside. Its more bottom heavy, pointed out more bluntly with its fat bottom. On the outside and with some of the straps, it reminds me of Lowepro’s Sliplock system, and can easily hold a carabiner-connected Nalgene bottle. The back straps go over the main compartment, so you can’t access it unless the bag is removed.

The back is insanely padded, with almost a centimeter between the outside and the bag itself.

It can also fit my future iBook/Powerbook, up to sizes of 15 inches. Along with the iBook, you can stuff a decent lunch and a water bottle on the inside.

The camera compartment holds my mobile kit nicely, and has room for a SB-800 flash and other things necessary for the photojournalist.

Now, the extra side-pockets are very small and tight, and can’t really hold anything three-dimensional without putting pressure on the threads.

The bag overall is very tight; it may be because it has not been broken in yet, but especially for the smaller pockets, the bag needs to be “pulled apart”. It feels good on the back though; with my small body and torso (I measure 5 feet 6 inches top-to-bottom), it doesn’t make me look stumpy. I’m actually surprised I can fit so much stuff in the main compartment, with a bit of room to spare.

Abiet being pricey at $150 USD list price, it is a fairly good bag overall. It will currently sit at the top of my best bag list. Much better than the Lowepro bags I went through… It is almost my dream bag.

The Crumpler Formal Lounge: Recommended.