REVIEW: The Wotancraft Commander

finding the perfect camera bag is the holy grail quest for most photographers. many photographers, myself included, always seem to acquire an extensive collection of bags, because no single bag seems to have what is needed for all situations. the commander, may be the closest I’ve come yet to finding the grail.

Wotancraft is a company based out of Taipei, Taiwan and was founded in 2008. I only heard of them recently when scouring the web on another of what had become an all too familiar search for a new camera bag. The craftsmanship in their products is apparent at first glance. Their website is dark and mysterious, highlighting the rich grain leather and buckles used on their bags but leaving any descriptions to a minimum. The Commander was the bag that instantly caught my eye; it is modeled after the World War II era military backpacks and constructed from beautifully worked leather and water resistant canvas. It looked (and still looks) fantastic. I was quickly frustrated however when I went to search for reviews for the Commander, there were only very few floating around the internet. The Commander is an expensive bag retailing at $700 USD and while I have no problem spending that amount on something that is going to do what I need it to do and last longer than a year I was not about to drop that kind of money without some user reviews. Finally I found a great article written on the blog ShotKit (which is a great photography resource for anyone interested in checking it out) that contained an interview with one of the co-founders of Wotancraft as well as two thorough video reviews of their bags, including the elusive Commander. I will link you to that article and those videos here because Mark of ShotKit really does a great job of showing you the insides of the bag and what it can hold: Spotlight On Wotancraft.

As stated above, I have been through many camera bags over the years and each has their pros and cons (some just have a lot of cons really). I’ve had some great bags don’t get me wrong, but none of them have been able to be the ONLY camera bag in my arsenal. For the travel photography that I’ve come to focus on in recent years I’ve found that a camera backpack is the best bag for the job, they tend to hold a bit more gear and are easier/more comfortable to carry when you’re on the road. Shoulder bags are great, I’ve got a great Domke bag that I still use for some local shoots at home, but after an hour or so they really start to kill your shoulder. The problems I’ve had with backpacks is that they are either comfortable and ergonomic OR they have enough capacity to carry what I need, none that I’ve found have had both those qualities. I had a small Canon backpack that I used for several years but it was too compact to be comfortable (felt like a little bowling ball on your back) and when it’s water repellent attributes failed miserably when caught at sea in a storm in Scotland I happily retired it.

Flash forward to the arrival of the Commander. Being the first gear review I am writing for the site I didn’t want to shortchange my new readers by doing a half-assed review so I took my time, gave the Commander a good solid two week field test taking it on two shoots and a trip to New York City. These are the results.

the good

• Capacity. The Commander has a TON of space for cameras, lenses, and other gear. I easily fit my Nikon D750, F100 (yes FILM!) plus three lenses with plenty of room to spare. There are two separate compartments, one in the bottom and one in the top of the bag, to store camera gear. Each is accessible from different sides and zippers so you can customize your packing to how you move and work and make it specific to your style. There are also a lot of smaller pockets for memory cards, film, batteries/chargers, a snack if you’re out all day, etc. There is even a convenient laptop pocket, it is advertised on Wotancraft’s site as being able to fit a 15″ MacBook but my 17″ MacBook fit in it just fine. You can also strap a tripod to the pack if you need to.
• Customizable. As I said with so much space for gear it is very easy to customize this bag to fit the photographer. The two camera compartments can be connected to form one large compartment inside the bag, if you’re shooting with a long telephoto lens for example, it will fit. The top camera compartment has moveable dividers and the whole padded compartment can be removed as well if you don’t need it and just want an open space in the top of the bag for something else.
• Security. One of my favorite aspects of this bag is that it doesn’t look like a camera bag. It isn’t stamped NIKON on the side. It’s subtle and it blends in, it just looks like a really cool backpack (the exception being if you strap the tripod to it, that’s a dead giveaway). This can be very advantageous when you’re traveling because camera bags are excellent targets for pickpockets and thieves in large cities. Even if they do decide they want to try to get inside, there are so many zippers and compartments they really won’t know what to do with themselves.
• Quality. This bag feels durable right out of the box. You can tell that Wotancraft truly takes pride in everything they produce. The leather work is great, the buckles all feel strong and secure, and the canvas is tough. It truly lives up to the military bags that inspired it. I have not yet had to test it’s water repellency, and I rarely travel without a rain cover for my bag after that Scotland incident, but if it lives up to the rest of Wotancraft’s manufacturing standards I imagine I will be impressed when that day comes.
• Comfort. I would probably rate it an 8/10 for comfort. It is taller than my old Canon pack, spacing the bag evenly across your back which is great, and the padding is nice and thick. The shoulder straps are made out of leather with a stuffed felt padding attached to the area that fits over your shoulder, so far it has not been uncomfortable to carry and I’ve been out with it on an all day outdoors shoot in the Shawangunk Mountains and a day in New York City. As with any bag that will probably change with the weight of the bag but so far the Commander seems like it can handle it.

the bad

• Adjustability. Since the shoulder straps are buckles they can be adjusted but it’s something that you have to stop, remove the pack, make the adjustment, and start again. The nice thing about backpacks with nylon straps is that you can tighten or loosen them on the go if you want to alter how your load is carried on your back.
• Lack of a waist strap. The Commander is almost not large enough to need it, but I find that either a waist or chest strap can be great on backpacks for the same reason as the adjustable shoulder straps, they allow you to alter the way the load is dispersed across your back and shoulder muscles. Instead of suffering with a heavy camera bag sitting in the same spot on your back all day you can have the option of adjusting it and giving your back some respite.
• No top handle. This may not seem like a big deal, and I knew it didn’t have one when I bought mine, but I’ve realized in the two weeks I’ve had it that the lack of a top handle is in fact quite inconvenient. The top handle for those who may not know what I’m referring to is loop on the top of backpacks that kids use to hang from hooks in lockers, or you use to pick it up off the floor of the subway or out of an overhead bin on a plane. Wotancraft includes two metal loops on top where it looks like you can easily clip your own strap, and they sell loose straps on their website but none that are short enough to work with the Commander.
• The cost. $700 is a lot to pay for a camera bag and will be prohibitive for a lot of photographers out there who could easily spend that on a new lens. For that reason the Commander may be limited in its marketplace.

the verdict

This is really one of those cases where the good outweighs the bad. Despite the lack of waist/chest straps and a top handle, which are both things that Wotancraft has the option to adjust in future designs, this bag is more than solid. The most difficult part is learning your way around it and learning how to customize it your needs. Once you get there this is the kind of bag that can be like carrying around your own photo assistant on your back. It’s tough and rugged, I didn’t feel nervous about setting it down on mountain rocks, if it tipped over I knew my gear would be ok. The cost is high as I’ve mentioned, but this is the kind of bag that feels like it will last as long as you do out there on the road so if you can afford it this bag deserves your consideration. Wotancraft makes many other designs as well so if you need a different style of bag I urge you to look at what they have to offer. So in conclusion, after a two week test, I can say with certainty that I recommend this bag to any active photographer. Thanks for reading, and safe travels!