ROBIN WONG : My New Favorite Street Photography Bag

I admit, I have been browsing Wotancraft's website for several years now, looking at their various beautiful camera bags, but I never hit the purchase buttons. I already have several well functioning bags that served their purposes very well, and I see no need to splurge on another bag. When Wotancraft reached out and asked if I wanted to try one of their bags, I immediately said yes! They sent me their Pilot 7L bag, which is a shoulder/messenger styled camera bag, and I thought this was just the perfect bag for my street photography adventures. I made a video to share my thoughts on why I love this Pilot 7L so much, you can find the video here (click).

These are the main reasons why I think Wotancraft Pilot 7L bag is so awesome!

Beautiful design - I believe bag design is just as important as the functionality, as it is something you carry with you everywhere and you see the bag even before you see your camera stored inside. The Pilot 7L is minimalist in design, looking sleek and in all black, does not scream attention, just perfect for my street shooting needs as I do need to blend in the background.
Right size - The bag isn't too large, and small enough to sling around at the back or the side comfortably. The size was just right to fit plenty of gear - not just my street shooting gear, but plenty of room to fit my content making gear as well. I can fit: 10.5 inch tablet PC, one medium sized mirrorless camera, two medium sized lenses, one DJI Osmo Pocket 3 for content making, a mini tripod, an umbrella, a notepad, and still plenty more room to spare for accessories like writing pen, spare batteries, cards, cases and lens cloth.
Sufficient padded protection - this is extremely important to me as I do move around quickly and knock the bag around, on the wall, onto other people and the bag needs to have thick enough lining to protect the gear it carries inside. Some popular/highly regarded branded bags out there have so thin of a padding that I do not feel safe lugging my gear inside it. The Pilot 7L has adequately thick padding all around, under and inside the bag, I feel quite secure lugging my cameras and lenses in it.
Bottom Tripod Carry - when a bag is designed to fit and carry a tripod, it is usually very large in design, and I don't want to carry large backpacks or oversized shoulder bags for my street shooting excursions. Having a smaller sized bag like the Pilot 7L yet having the straps at the bottom to carry a tripod is a huge bonus, since I am not just a photographer, I need to make videos for my YouTube channel. Whenever I am not making content, I repurposed the bottom carry to fit a mini folded umbrella instead of a tripod, because it rains so much in Malaysia and carrying an umbrella at all times is a necessity.
Water repellent - the bag material is made to repel water, and I really appreciate this as I have mentioned, it rains a lot in Malaysia. Whether I choose to continue shooting in the rain, or walk around from place to place with the bag exposed to rain, having water repellent material puts my mind to ease, the gear inside can stay dry. I demonstrated this in my video as I splashed water onto the bag.
Comfort of use - perhaps the most under looked factor when choosing a good camera bag, or any bag is comfort while in use. I find the Pilot 7L to be very comfortable while being slung over my shoulder, the strap and padding on shoulder kept the pressure minimal, and the weight distribution of the bag was very well managed. Fitting in full gear (laptop, 2 cameras, 2 lenses, multiple smaller items and accessories) I can walk around the city streets for hours without feeling any strain on my neck, shoulder or back.

I know bag choice is personal, and everyone has their own picks on what works best for them. As for me, I really do love the Wotancraft Pilot 7L! I thought it looks really good on me too.