Lowepro bags from Ebay????

[Elliot87]

My Flipside 400 AW arrived today and if I had to bet money I'd say it's a good fake BUT it does still feel like a good quality bag with what looks like good stitching, solid buckles and straps. Mine also came in a plastic bag with Lowepro all over it and Lowepro tags. The main noticeable difference between it and my Lowepro lens case is the logo. I won't post pics of the bag itself as I don't think you'd be able to infer much from pictures but I'll add a couple of the logo, first from my genuine Lowepro bag and the second from this flipside 400.

Genuine Lowepro lens case logo.

New Flipside 400 AW logo from ebay.

As you can see the writing is finer on my new bag, lettering positions are slightly different (most notably the top of the "L" and the stitching on the logo does look worse in the second picture.

To me this suggests it's either a fake or Lowepro have more than one logo for their bags.

Overall I'm happy with the bag and don't think it will let me down. It is a great fit for my D7100 and 200-500mm attached (I thought it might be bigger than what I wanted but it's ideal) and the extra support from its waist straps will help me a lot.
Would I buy another Lowepro bag from ebay? Probably but instead of buying a possible fake for £60 from the UK, I might as well have bought a possible fake direct from China for around £30 and cut out the middle ma.

 

[rocketman122]

I know from the facebook groups of pros wedding photogs I frequent who do order from china and say it might be fake but are VERY happy. seems a solid bag and none had failed. always a few who say "support the importer in our country" but most will reply back "if he didnt charge 3 times the price, then sure" money talks and bs walks. I buy clone and aftermarket products without any worries. I havent bougth a lowepro bag for a long time now. I bought all 6 from adorama. but Ive seen a mini trekker AW that seemingly may be a counterfeit and I can say id fee 100% confident in putting my equipment in there. its padded well. seems like it very well made. I would use the buckles jic the zipper doesnt fail but thats what I do on any of my current bags anyway.

 

[Ironwood]

I received my ebay Flipside 400 today, I went with the Australian seller, rather than saving $30 on one from China, I figured if something went wrong I would rather be dealing with someone relatively local who has a good record, than someone in China.

I read many of the seller feedbacks selling these bags, seems most are happy with them despite being fairly sure they are fake. Only a few negative feedbacks here and there for stitching that had pulled out.

I already have a genuine Lowepro flipside 200, comparing the two bags its hard to tell much difference in quality on the outside. The sides of my 200 seem to be a bit more ridged, the bag holds its full looking shape better, where the sides on the 400 seem a bit softer. Inside, the dividers on the 200 seem to be better quality, the foam packing in the dividers in the 400 are lesser quality and don't offer as much support.

Overall, I am not unhappy with the bag, it cost less than half of one that I could buy locally, time will tell if it lasts the distance like my flipside 200 has.

My D7100 with the Tamron 150-600 will fit in if I take the lens hood off ( or reverse it ), that was my main reason for getting a bigger bag, I wanted one that could take all my gear, without having to carry two smaller bags.

I don't like the waist harness on the 400, I am thinking about cutting it off. With my needs at the moment, I will only be carrying the bag for short distances, the waist straps make it cumbersome.
If I end up needing a bag for hiking, I will buy another one.

 

[Vixen]

I'm pretty sure I bought mine off eBay from an Aussie seller, and paid about half what the shops ask. Unfortunately my eBay purchase history does not go back prior to 2014 so I can't check, but I think I bought it in 2012. It's had tons of use (my main bag) but I am noticing that the zips ocassionally stick and it is starting to lose it's shape a little. Other cheap camera bags I bought off eBay lasted less then 12months before the zips gave in

 

[Elliot87]

I received my ebay Flipside 400 today, I went with the Australian seller, rather than saving $30 on one from China, I figured if something went wrong I would rather be dealing with someone relatively local who has a good record, than someone in China.

I read many of the seller feedbacks selling these bags, seems most are happy with them despite being fairly sure they are fake. Only a few negative feedbacks here and there for stitching that had pulled out.

I already have a genuine Lowepro flipside 200, comparing the two bags its hard to tell much difference in quality on the outside. The sides of my 200 seem to be a bit more ridged, the bag holds its full looking shape better, where the sides on the 400 seem a bit softer. Inside, the dividers on the 200 seem to be better quality, the foam packing in the dividers in the 400 are lesser quality and don't offer as much support.

Overall, I am not unhappy with the bag, it cost less than half of one that I could buy locally, time will tell if it lasts the distance like my flipside 200 has.

My D7100 with the Tamron 150-600 will fit in if I take the lens hood off ( or reverse it ), that was my main reason for getting a bigger bag, I wanted one that could take all my gear, without having to carry two smaller bags.

I don't like the waist harness on the 400, I am thinking about cutting it off. With my needs at the moment, I will only be carrying the bag for short distances, the waist straps make it cumbersome.
If I end up needing a bag for hiking, I will buy another one.

Thanks for the feedback Brad, interesting to hear how it compares to your 200.

It's funny that you don't like the waist straps, as for me they are one of the very best things about this bag. I find with the weight of D7100 and 200-500mm, even over short distances the extra support does make a difference. I do plan to use it for hiking and my previous bag without waist straps wasn't up to the job. I also like that you can access your gear using the waist straps without taking it off. Each to their own though, you know what you need and want from a bag and that might be different from my needs.

 

[rocketman122]

I received my ebay Flipside 400 today, I went with the Australian seller, rather than saving $30 on one from China, I figured if something went wrong I would rather be dealing with someone relatively local who has a good record, than someone in China.

I read many of the seller feedbacks selling these bags, seems most are happy with them despite being fairly sure they are fake. Only a few negative feedbacks here and there for stitching that had pulled out.

I already have a genuine Lowepro flipside 200, comparing the two bags its hard to tell much difference in quality on the outside. The sides of my 200 seem to be a bit more ridged, the bag holds its full looking shape better, where the sides on the 400 seem a bit softer. Inside, the dividers on the 200 seem to be better quality, the foam packing in the dividers in the 400 are lesser quality and don't offer as much support.

Overall, I am not unhappy with the bag, it cost less than half of one that I could buy locally, time will tell if it lasts the distance like my flipside 200 has.

My D7100 with the Tamron 150-600 will fit in if I take the lens hood off ( or reverse it ), that was my main reason for getting a bigger bag, I wanted one that could take all my gear, without having to carry two smaller bags.

I don't like the waist harness on the 400, I am thinking about cutting it off. With my needs at the moment, I will only be carrying the bag for short distances, the waist straps make it cumbersome.
If I end up needing a bag for hiking, I will buy another one.

I like my waist harness on all my bags but i dont use them really that often. A suggestion - flip it around.
Thats how i carry it regularly. The big problem with these bags is they make the straps so long . You look like ur carrying a bag with lasagna pasta all over it. I modified mine and cut and resewednit all
Sorry for the garbage image. Its my pos htc one phone.

Btw for messed up zippers, wd40 and qtips along both edges. Thats why my bag zippers last.

 

[Ironwood]

I like my waist harness on all my bags but i dont use them really that often. A suggestion - flip it around.
Thats how i carry it regularly. The big problem with these bags is they make the straps so long . You look like ur carrying a bag with lasagna pasta all over it. I modified mine and cut and resewednit all
Sorry for the garbage image. Its my pos htc one phone.

Btw for messed up zippers, wd40 and qtips along both edges. Thats why my bag zippers last.

Thanks for the tip on reversing the straps, I will give that a try before I take to it with the scissors.

 

[tea2085]

Out of all the Lowepro bags mentioned, which one would be the least bulky with the ability to handle 2 lens with the camera and attached lens? I have a D3300 with a wide angle lens a small prime lens and a Nikon 55-300mm. I am 70 yo and don't need "bulky". Thanks-Paul

 

[tea2085]

Well, ordered the Lowepro Fastpack BP 250 AW II Travel-Ready Backpack today from Amazon. They beat the price of any chinese vendors and it was 96$. I'll have it Friday and look forward to loading all my lens and most of my other gear into it. This thread did help me decide. Paul

 

[Elliot87]

Well, ordered the Lowepro Fastpack BP 250 AW II Travel-Ready Backpack today from Amazon. They beat the price of any chinese vendors and it was 96$. I'll have it Friday and look forward to loading all my lens and most of my other gear into it. This thread did help me decide. Paul

Sorry I didn't see your earlier question until now, not that I would have been able to offer much advice. I hope your new bag fits the bill!

 

[tea2085]

OK Eliot, I kinda changed my priorities and decided I want to be able to fit a lot of my camera gear in the backpack-just to keep it out of the way and organized. This pack has room for 4 lens including whichever one is on the camera. Now when I go on a shoot, I'll just put the pack in the car and work out of it from there. I just looked at your Flicka photos-great wildlife shots!! Paull

 

[paul04]

What I did with the long straps on my bag, rolled them up, then I put elastic bands on the straps, works a treat and keeps them out of the way.

 

[Elliot87]

OK Eliot, I kinda changed my priorities and decided I want to be able to fit a lot of my camera gear in the backpack-just to keep it out of the way and organized. This pack has room for 4 lens including whichever one is on the camera. Now when I go on a shoot, I'll just put the pack in the car and work out of it from there. I just looked at your Flicka photos-great wildlife shots!! Paull

That's pretty much the way I work things too. Appreciate the compliment on my wildlife shots!

 

[trev864]

I also recently bought a Lowepro Flipside 400 AW bag on ebay for £65

The bag unfortunately was a fake. I have got several other Lopwepro bags and they really are top quality. Even after years of use they still look as god as new.

The bag I ordered had a generally poor finish, with threads hanging off the stitching. In several places the stitching was short of where it should have finished and was of generally poor quality as was some of the padding.

I returned it and ordered a genuine one from Amazon.

What a difference! For another £20 I got the genuine article with the usual top quality finish I expect from Lowepro. My view is don't go for cheap copies, they are not as as good as the original and I bet they won't last half as long..

 

[wide]

I wouldn't take the risk on a counterfeit camera backpack if I plan to use it regularly and need the reliability of holding my expensive gear safely.

 

[wide]

There is a link to an article on this YouTube video that discusses the issues with the cheap counterfeit Lowepro backpacks.