Looking for a flight bag that has compartments like a camera bag

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

May the force be with you
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Aug 8, 2013
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First Officer 6PC
I need a flight bag that acts more like a camera bag. OR a camera bag with handles in the flight bag location.
Requirements: 1: movable dividers or built-in dividers. 2: handles attached to the bag itself, not the lid.

This is my current situation. I LOVE that it is compartmentalized.
1762369961584.png


1762370371257.png
I HATE that the handles attach to the lid. Anytime I need to relocate the bag, I have to fasten the 2 buckles. Not a big deal but it sits in a specific small space and it is not convenient to deal with the bulky, stiff "lid" in that small space only slightly larger than the bag itself.


My other flight bag can just be lifted in and out w/o reconfiguring the bag to move it. But it was just a big open bag where cables get tangled in other cables and the vest, etc.
Its also a great way to scratch my ipad, damage my headset, etc.
1762370643206.png



I want a flight bag with handles like this:
1762370321448.png


But the option for dividers like the first camera bag above.


I have searched up and down Amazon but I am unable to find a marriage between these two.
Anyone have such a bag?
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I need a flight bag that acts more like a camera bag. OR a camera bag with handles in the flight bag location.
Requirements: 1: movable dividers or built-in dividers. 2: handles attached to the bag itself, not the lid.
Click to expand...
This:

www.thinktankphoto.com

Retrospective Camera Bags

Retrospective Collection
www.thinktankphoto.com www.thinktankphoto.com

I have been using punishing their Retrospective 7 V2.0 for 8 years (6200hrs +/-) and it’s still holding-up well. I carry an iPad—sometimes with a 13” laptop or 2nd iPad—a lightweight headset, accessories, and various accoutrement. It’s proved to be dead solid perfect for me. Visiting their website just now, I note that they have added quite a number of new products. I just hope that the quality of materials and construction hasn’t declined.

*Edited to correctly state the Retrospective version I'm using--there are several. I should add that this is the best flight bag I've ever owned (for my specific needs), and well-worth the price.
 
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www.511tactical.com

Basic Patrol Bag 37L

#html-body [data-pb-style=WTNS5R6]{justify-content:flex-start;display:flex;flex-direction:column;background-position:left top;background-size:cover;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-attachment:scroll;margin:10px 0 0;padding:0}#html-body...
www.511tactical.com www.511tactical.com

The pilot shop at KAPA carried their own version of headset cases and flight bags but the new owner only carries the brightline and other stuff. I use the flight bag as the emergency bag in the airplane.
 
Someone on here or some other pilot forum recommended these to me, and I've been using it for years. And it's considerably cheaper than pilot or camera bags. It has lots of various pockets and dividers.

lapolicegear.com

LA Police Gear Tactical Bail Out Gear Bag - Best Seller

The LAPG Tactical Bailout Bag was designed to be the ultimate in personal gear carrying. It's perfect for a wide range of tasks.
lapolicegear.com lapolicegear.com
 
Maybe head over to the local sporting good store and check out range bags. Some of them might work for you. They generally have padded, adjustable compartments, and plenty of storage space for something like a headset. Plus, they are tactical, so that's cool.

edit:

Looks like I got beat by one post! So close.
 
mark.staggs said:
Someone on here or some other pilot forum recommended these to me, and I've been using it for years. And it's considerably cheaper than pilot or camera bags. It has lots of various pockets and dividers.
Click to expand...
A great deal for $19.99 + $10 S&H in 2013, but I wouldn't say it's compartmentalized.
 
Years ago I ordered a bag from a place just outside of Fort Rucker. The one I have is sized perfectly for the old paper approach plates, and was open with no lid at all. It was a great bag but not divided like you are after. Mine is too small for that. I even got it with my name embroidered on teh side. I remember that they had one with a flap lid too. I guess it's what they call the "Large Instrument Bag" today
Searching today, it seems like they have a very limited selection and their website isn't very good (I ordered mine back in teh days of paper catalogs)
Anyway, they have a few potential candidates, maybe, and they are CHEAP but they don't have decent pictures online...

Bags

The Hangar - Pilot shop and aviation proucts.
thehangar.com thehangar.com
 
I noticed that your current bag has D-rings on the ends for a shoulder strap.
1762379719735.png​

Why not shorten the shoulder strap, or add a new short nylon strap to be used as a handle, and leave the original handles open, or remove them?
 
GeorgeC said:
A great deal for $19.99 + $10 S&H in 2013, but I wouldn't say it's compartmentalized.
Click to expand...
Agree it doesn't have a ton of compartments, but it's got a boatload of pockets which might serve the same purpose. My biggest issue with the bag is it's got so many pockets, internally and externally that I forget which pocket has what. :)

As far as price, yeah, it's not as cheap as it was, but it _is_ cheaper than what you find on Sporty's or camera-specific shops.
 
My FlightGear Crosswind bag is not compartmentalized, but they offer a variety of accessory bags that Velcro to the inside of the main bag. Search for "Flight Gear Mods". If you wanted to, you could scavenge the velcro dividers from a camera bag and attach them to the velcro wall in the bag.
 
Is this for work? I have a Contrail FL390P. I love it. You can get different pocket attachments that you can move around in the main compartment. They aren't cheap, but if you send them an email and tell them what airline you're with, you'll probably get a discount. I got 20% off.

www.contrailbags.com

Here is youtube video that reviews the bag, and shows the inside pocket thingies.

 
When you are flying, where does your bag live?

Do you want its contents easily available during flight?
 
It is for work. It lives here. Prefer contents to be available during flight. Before and after each, I have to snag a flashlight and the Hi-viz vest before the pax load/unload otherwise I have to wait so quick access is important. Also pens, paper, chargers and whatnot during flight are less important but I still prefer accessibility.

Bag lives in the red shaded area supposed to be contained with in the seatbelt-like strap.

1762443183001.png
 
Bryan, how's the job going? Any more interesting flights so far?
 
Kent Wien said:
Bryan,

I’ve used this before and liked it.


Now I just use a bunch of those first class amenities kit bags to organize everything inside.
Click to expand...
I’ll second the Bright Line Bag. If you order direct from them you can customize which components you get. I ended up spending less than what the packaged bag would have cost and go the right sized (for me) components. They also have camera specific inserts for their modules you can get.

brightlinebags.com

BrightLine Bags | Gear Bags | Pilot Bags | Modular Bags | Bags For Pilots

Discover the BrightLine Bags FLEX System which allows you to build custom gear bags for all the different types of your gear. Versatile modular bags, gear bags and pilot bags all available from BrightLine Bags.
brightlinebags.com brightlinebags.com
 
I started with a Sky High bag. It has internal compartments. Sky High no longer exists, but their bags occasionally come up on eBay.
www.ebay.com

Sky High Flight Bag | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sky High Flight Bag at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

When I decided the Sky High's footprint was too big, I got a BrightLine as Arm3 posted above. Love it. Sits nicely on my Warrior's front passenger seat when I'm solo.
 
Bill said:
Bryan, how's the job going? Any more interesting flights so far?
Click to expand...
It is the best job in the world. A Lot of interesting things have happened. Mostly me learning how to play the scheduling game so I can get paid 150%
I will update my post on the other thread.
 
Arm3 said:
I’ll second the Bright Line Bag. If you order direct from them you can customize which components you get. I ended up spending less than what the packaged bag would have cost and go the right sized (for me) components. They also have camera specific inserts for their modules you can get.

brightlinebags.com

BrightLine Bags | Gear Bags | Pilot Bags | Modular Bags | Bags For Pilots

Discover the BrightLine Bags FLEX System which allows you to build custom gear bags for all the different types of your gear. Versatile modular bags, gear bags and pilot bags all available from BrightLine Bags.
brightlinebags.com brightlinebags.com
Click to expand...

I used to have a Brightline, it's hard to access the little pouches on the side when it is sitting next to the seat. It also did not hold up to the abuse I gave it during the year or so of ownership. it was also awkward to fit under the seat when you're commuting or deadheading.
 
Arm3 said:
I’ll second the Bright Line Bag.
Click to expand...
Groundpounder said:
I used to have a Brightline...
Click to expand...
Aren’t Brightline bags a requirement to work for a regional? I could always tell that a new-hire F/O came from the regionals because it seemed that they all had a Brightline bag, festooned as they are with zillions of cute little color-coded zipper pulls jingle-jangling all the way down the concourse. But they might actually be good products.

The Contour 360 looks interesting, but I’ll stick with the Think Tank.
 
funny. Until I scroll up and read all of your post, I was going to suggest a Caden or other camera bag.
 
Roger Wilco said:
Aren’t Brightline bags a requirement to work for a regional? I could always tell that a new-hire F/O came from the regionals because it seemed that they all had a Brightline bag, festooned as they are with zillions of cute little color-coded zipper pulls jingle-jangling all the way down the concourse. But they might actually be good products.

The Contour 360 looks interesting, but I’ll stick with the Think Tank.
Click to expand...
I don’t know. Never worked at a regional before.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I need a flight bag that acts more like a camera bag.
Click to expand...
And you can't use a Camera Bag as your Flight Bag why????? :cool:

I've use various "Flight Bags" and just any old bag over the years. If it holds what you want and it has Flight Gear in it... It just became a Flight Bag. Now days I'm using a bag I got from one of the many Pharma event I've worked on. Designed to hold all their samples and has a Laptop and iPad slot in the back compartment. Works great for my primary iPad and the bigger slot holds a notebook and my backup iPad.
 
Another vote for Contrails. Very customizable with different pockets and dividers. Several sized to choose from. Most importantly, it is incredibly durable. I've had mine for seven or eight years and it shows almost no signs of wear. The magnets to hold the handles together is also brilliant.
 
I think this bag that I bought over a decade ago is pretty close, unfortunately I can’t find it on Sporty’s anymore. Likely discontinued. But it has a shoulder strap or small carrying handle that can be used without closing the zipper top and Velcro dividers(excuse my junk, I haven’t cleaned this out in a while).

Anyway brand is Flightgear by Sporty’s if you can find one. It’s held up pretty well and I’d recommend it if I could find one.
 

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Someone above recommend the Contrail series. I settled for the Contrail 360S. It is not perfect and wouldn't take much tweaking to make it a far better design but it meets the criteria of having a trolly strap (Can be zipped at the bottom for an additional pocket), side mounted handles, zipper top access, method of segmentation, and it can accommodate my company iPad, personal iPad, etc.

As a bonus, it will also carry my laptop and 2nd monitor. It is very ruggedly built.
It is a little different in that you buy the bag you want, then you purchase the pockets separately based on what you wish to carry.

I do not like the pocket attachment system as it is a line of Velcro only on the top so the bottom floats freely. Not a major deal as it feels secure but batteries and other little crap and going to get under those pouches. I think top to bottom Velcro like on camera bags would be a far better option. Also, it only has Velcro on the long sections. I could arrange the space better if it was on the short dimensions as well.

Lastly, this use of pockets instead of dividers does create some wasted space which is where I am going to keep my headset.
Not perfect but the closest thing I am going to find to what I desire.

Edit: Also has some magnets in the lid so if you are lazy or in a hurry, you can throw it over and it will "shut itself" until you decided to zip it.

Here are some photos and in the last one you can see the foot print is a bit smaller next to the others I tried.


20251128_122823_resized.jpg

Trolly Pocket that can be zipped to make an additional pocket.
20251128_122245_resized.jpg

Personal 10 inch iPad in the slim pocket
Documents and landing instructions in the front pocket. Room for pens and more if needed.
20251128_122235_resized.jpg


Handles located where God intended.

20251128_122204_resized.jpg



Camera bag on the left. Normal flight bag in the middle and Contrail on the right.
Catahoula for scale.

20251128_122416_resized.jpg


At the end of the day, this is as close as I am going to get.
 
Glad you (mostly) like it. I have a 390, and for me its the perfect size. I had a 410 for a while, but it was too big for what I needed.

Don't forget you can attach anything with a MOLLE strap system to the ends. I have a water bottle holder on one end, and a small zippered pouch on the other. I may dump the pouch, I don't use it for much but the water bottle holder is super handy, and when its not being used it doesn't add any bulk.

PXL_20251129_190109047.jpg
 
Groundpounder said:
Glad you (mostly) like it. I have a 390, and for me its the perfect size. I had a 410 for a while, but it was too big for what I needed.

Don't forget you can attach anything with a MOLLE strap system to the ends. I have a water bottle holder on one end, and a small zippered pouch on the other. I may dump the pouch, I don't use it for much but the water bottle holder is super handy, and when its not being used it doesn't add any bulk.

View attachment 147656
Click to expand...
Excellent, I did not realize that. I'm going to get the water bottle attachment!
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Excellent, I did not realize that. I'm going to get the water bottle attachment!
Click to expand...

I don't know what size water bottles the F/A's give you guys, but the giant 1 liter bottles they give us fit perfectly, along with the 32 oz Hydroflask that is in the photo.
 
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