I've been looking for a camera bag for my new dslr. I have a Canon Rebel, so it's not a huge camera, and as I'm just a mom who is looking to take excellent photos of my kiddos, I have no need of the latest and greatest gear. I want:

a) A bag that will protect the camera
b) A bag that will work with my existing items I need to carry (diaper backpack, keys, etc.)
and c) A bag that will allow me to pull out and put away the camera with relative ease (photo ops come and go quickly for busy moms)

It doesn't need to be pretty or fancy, just needs to do that. I saw the Crumpler products here on Amazon and was pretty impressed by the photos and the reviews. Upon seeing them in person at REI, however, I was underwhelmed.

PROS: I looked at the 5 mil and this, the 3 mil. Both are of durable material, with solid stitching, zippers, velcro, and snaps. Both have a nice, solid, reinforced bottom. Both hold my camera snugly.

CONS: Just...really? That's it? For the price and the hype I expected... I dunno - More?

Tight fit: The 3 mil was a squeeze to fit a Canon Rebel t3i with a kit lens - and that's all I had in the main compartment. I had to completely remove the velcro-adjustable  divider to make the camera fit. It was continually a shuffle to get the thing in and out of the opening, too. I guess the upside is that it holds the camera snugly. The downside was that by the time I got it out, I'd lost the photo op. We bought it and I used it for about a week before giving up. I could never get over how much I had to tug on my smaller dslr to get it into and out of what should have been an easy-fit holster bag.

WIDE bag: This thing looks small - well, it sorta is, but I don't know why people say it looks like a purse. It totally looks like a camera bag to me, especially when it's got a camera inside. It's WIDE - it sticks out from your hip a ways. If you wedge a wallet, cell phone, and keys in there (good luck with that), it's nearly bursting. It's just so wide it bumps up against stuff. It really doesn't look slim and purse-like as in the pictures.

Odd size: On it's own, this thing is wide, awkward, and hard to fit much more than the barest necessities. I didn't even try to fit in an extra battery or the manual or anything like that. But if you try and slip it into a purse or even a largish diaper bag as extra protection, it doesn't work there either. The top flap is such a pain to open and slip the camera out that using it in or with another bag just isn't feasible. It's so wide that slinging it alongside the diaper backpack is annoying and bulky. It takes up all the space in my usually cavernous purse. In short, I don't like the use of this thing on its own and I don't like it with another system either.

Uncomfortable: Because it sticks out a ways and is a strap bag with no padding on the strap, it's just uncomfortable to wear around. It swings around a lot and into my way while walking around the park/town/etc. Just not fun to carry at all. It did make me realize I need to be hands-free, so I guess that's one point in it's favor: it's turned me on to backpack bags.

Looks: I don't care for the brown and orange (the only colors they had). It looks more like a camera sling than a purse, so it's not terribly inconspicuous, but it looks pursey enough that it makes my husband look like he's carrying a purse. I'm totally a practicality-over-looks sort of girl, but this manages to be neither - it doesn't work as well as I'd expect for the hype and the price and it looks dang ugly in the process. Frankly, at this point, I'm returning it and going for some Lowepro backpack that can carry all my diaper stuffs AND the camera and will be easier to get at the camera.

by the way - 5 Mil: I looked at the 5 mil and liked it even less. It was an odder fit for the camera, looked more like a fat purse than this one did, and was more expensive.

SUMMARY: This product is well made with good quality materials, hence the 3 stars. It also does what it's advertised to do - it holds a camera in relative safety. But beyond that, it just is an awkward sort of bag. For all the glowing reviews that Crumpler gets, I'll just have to chime in and say:

"I just don't hardly get it."