5 Principles of Camera Bag Design

About This Video

Five principles, counted backwards. Number five: security, meaning both securing equipment from breakage with crash foam and security from thieves. Van's bag looks like a tool bag, not a camera bag. Number four: durability. The bag's maiden voyage was a dirt bike trip down the Baja Peninsula. Thirteen years later, the zippers are smooth and the grip buttons snap almost automatically. Number three: repairability. The bag was designed to be fixable by any shoe repair shop in the world, for cheap.

Number two: size. The gear must fit in the bag and the bag must fit under airplane seats. Number one: handmade in the USA, manufactured by Kill Spencer in Los Angeles. Mauricio, the man who made Van's first bag in 2011, just finished the newest Morgan bag, named after the Charles W. Morgan, the only seaworthy American whaling vessel that survives today. Spencer Niosi, the founder, is the grandson of Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard. Van asked Spencer how they were going to get rich. Spencer said: if you want to get rich, go into finance. Then he took a beat and said: but we've got soul.

Transcript

undefined undefined principle number five security with a camera bag security means two things one securing the equipment inside the bag from breakage my bag has this crash foam embedded within

it and two security from thieves so we're supposed to cross the border and get away from the border but here we are

not 100 ft from The Crossing and Van is changing his fuse again I suspect that if your camera bag looks like a camera

bag it's a target for thieves mine looks like a tool bag doesn't look valuable sort of Blends in and thank God I having

any trouble securing it in all of my travels around the world principle number four undefined undefined

durability I've beaten hell from this bag for the past 13

years her maiden voyage was a dirt bike trip down the Baja Peninsula go go go go

go so it turned to quick sand but we muscled it out she has aged gracefully and broken in Supply smooth

zippers and grip buttons snap almost automatically this bag ages so so well

that I take its durability for granted fundamental three repairability this bag was designed to undefined undefined

be fixable by just about any shoe repair shop in the world for cheap I've repaired some blemishes

Myself by hand principle number two undefined undefined

size the gear I use needs to fit in the bag and the bag must fit under airplane

seats and the number one design principle for my camera bag is that it undefined undefined

is handmade in the USA my bag is manufactured by a company

in Los Angeles called kill Spencer the space in which my bag is manufactured is

beautiful Macio the man who in 2011 made my first bag the bag I've carried for 13 years

now has just finished making the newest Morgan bag after Mauricio finished the first

one I said to myself man this looks just like the Charles W Morgan and what's the Charles W Morgan

of the 2700 American whaling ships the Charles W Morgan is the only seaworthy vessel

that survives today she was restored in the town of Mystic Connecticut where I

worked in restaurants as a teenager Mystic is oldfashioned and its economy

is built on [Music] preservation so I called it the Morgan bag kill Spencer the company who makes my Morgan bag is named for its founder and my friend Spencer niosi now this is

the [Music] [Music] magic beautiful Spencer he started his company from scratch with one sewing machine and he's in his second decade of

manufacturing in the USA interesting fact about Spencer his grandfather was Don Herbert aka Mr

Wizard who had a huge influence on me when I was a

[Music] kid while shooting at kill Spencer's atellier I asked Spencer how we going to get rich and he took a beat and said if you want to get rich go into finance and I

said but what about us and he said we're just stupid and then he took a beat and said but we've got [Music] soul e undefined undefined

Products & Tools Mentioned

• Kill Spencer (CW Morgan Bag) essential
• crash foam uses

People Referenced

Spencer Nikosey (Kill Spencer founder), Mauricio, Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert)