Tenba Cooper 13 Slim Quick Review

Ask any hobbyist photographer how many camera bags they have owned over the years and the answer surely will be high.  I may be a bit guilty trying to find the perfect bag that will hold and protect all the gear I need, be comfortable to carry and also look good while doing it.  Everyone wants something just a little bit different in form, function and style, so relying on others to give an opinion is quite difficult.  Up until a few weeks ago, I thought I had my ‘perfect’ bag, a Billingham Hadley Pro.  Then Tenba had to go and release the Cooper series.

Once Tenba announced the Cooper 13 Slim, it solved a few of the issues I had with my prior general messenger bags.  The first being that it was sized specifically to hold a 13″ thin laptop.  My MacBook Pro fits in the back of the bag like a glove.  This keeps the size down to something that I don’t mind carrying around all day hiking or while traveling.

Next up on the feature list we have an expandable pocket on either side of the bag.  When the pockets are zipped up, they can hold slim objects such as batteries or phones.  The beauty of the design however, is that when unzipped, the pockets grow and can hold water bottles, lenses or even small tripods.  The pockets are actually useful here, unlike many other bags that have them.  There is also a leather strap on either side of the bag that is perfect for attaching a Peak Design Capture Clip too.  This way, if you want near instant access to your camera, you can simply hang it off the side.

Probably one of the most impressive aspects of the bag is the ‘silent velcro’ that Tenba has put on the bag.  Normally, if a bag comes with velcro, I immediately cover it to prevent the noise.   Amazingly, Tenba has put a new special velcro on this bag that, when the flap is pulled down, then forward, the velcro releases about silently.  In practice it is very easy to use and reduces the velcro noise by at least 90%.

The material of the bag is a soft peach waxed cotton canvas that feels wonderful.  The bag itself has no padding, but the included removable insert has just the right amount.  The padding is thinner than the Billingham inserts, which in my opinion, is a good thing.  It lets the bag conform more to the body when being carried.  The insert reminds me of a Domke F-803 3-compartment insert in terms of thickness, but much better built.  Tenba provides two tall dividers, two short dividers and two ‘door’ dividers so it’s easy to position things just how you want them.  Stacking items is easy with the ‘door’ dividers and greatly expands what you can carry.  Organizing smaller items is also easy with a plethora of pockets that are provided.  The front of the insert has a pair of pockets, there is a zippered slot in the front of the bag with some more pockets, then another 2 pockets on the front of the bag.  These are great for storing batteries, LensPen’s, business cards, filters and other small items.

If you want to further protect your gear, there is a zipper that will close up the main compartment of the bag.  When not in use, this zipper can be hidden completely, which is great since I generally don’t use it and other bags, such as Domke’s with top zipper’s are tougher to get in and out due to the zippers.  The only time I think I will use this top zipper is when I’m carrying a tripod on top of the main compartment, as shown below.  With the main compartment zipped, I can lay the tripod across the top and close the flap to hold it in place.  It works surprisingly well and keeps the weight balanced well.  Speaking of the flap, there is also a zipper built into the flap so you can access your without lifting the flap.  This is probably the best implementation of this I’ve used yet.  There is plenty of room to lift out a camera with a decent sized lens very quickly.

Moving to the inside of the bag and what it can carry, I’m surprised at how the bag will conform to whatever gear you stuff inside of it.  Most of the time, I will put my X-T1 lens down in the center compartment.  Other times however, I may have a battery grip on the camera or have a large flash attached.  My other bags were too stiff to be able to accommodate the grip or the flash, so putting the camera in those older bags geared up was not an option.  This is not a problem with the Cooper, as the bag simply expands to hold it.

So this new Tenba Cooper 13 Slim bag seems to have it all, and after using it for a few weeks, I have no real complaints with it.  The build quality is solid, the material feels great, it is very weather resistant and can comfortably carry a large amount of gear with a laptop.  Below are some more pictures of the bag, the gear I can carry and some other bags next to the Tenba for a size comparison.

In conclusion, the Tenba Cooper 13 Slim has now replaced all of my other bags.  For what I need it for, it’s the perfect size to carry around either a little or a lot of gear.