Billingham Reviews 10

Look nice but very poor interior organisational design and far too heavy and bulky .

Overall I would recommend Think Tank and their amazing mirrorless mover camera bags over Billingham .

However over time they do have a certain charm so I'm upping to 4 stars from 2

Just received my ancient 550 travel bag back from having it repaired at the factory. Nice, slick experience. Good comms, good turnaround, well-executed repair. The bag is now better than it's been for years, all set to carry my stuff around until I die, which as I am quite old, won't be long now... Funnily enough, I inherited off my dad.

I've bought several Billingham bags over the years including the Hadley Pro, 2020 and One. I've taken them to many remote parts of the world, from Gabon and Sumatra to the Namib and Sahara and many others. So far they're all going strong.

I thought I’d leave a, slightly, longer term review of the Billingham Photo Hadley, and Billingjam in general.

I’ve had a dozen Billinham Camera bags, over the last 35 years, none have ever had a fault or needed repair.
I still own two Photo Harleys, one Black one kaki. One is a 1988 version, one about 1994.
As above, despite being abuse and stuffed full to the brim. With everything from potato’s to DSLRs. There’s not a stitch even stretched, never mind frayed or broken. Even the leather, though absolutely battered, is still supple and without splits or tears.
As I found, they are indeed 100%water proof. (Oops) Both on the inside and the outside. I once had 1l of milk spill as a carried it home. I notice nothing till I opened the bag, to find its contents floating around in milk.

In short. These guys make incredibly good quality and long lasting bags. It’s very possible a teenager, could buy one now, and it would still be fully functional, when they retire.

Mel at Billingham Customer Services has to be the very best! A quick email to Billingham and within a few hours I had a reply and quote to having my Hadley Bag repaired. A hole in the back from too much wear needed repairing, and a worn out strap from constant use needed to be replaced. Within a couple of weeks it was returned to me, job done and a job done with the utmost care and craftsmanship. I can't recommend this company enough.

I recently came by an Airline Stowaway second hand, lovely piece of kit for light travel but the strap was a bit on the short size. I contacted Billingham and Mel put me right on the correct one. I bought it and it was delivered within 2 days. Perfect, can't wait for another holiday. Many thanks for a great product and customer service.
Unrelated, I bought my first Billy in 1984 when I was in the Royal Navy because I had a Canon A1 and all the bits. I was in Mombasa in 1988 and it got stolen from my hotel room. Never saw it again but I did manage to replace it when I eventually got home. Not cheap bags but well worth the outlay. Many thanks.

I’ve owned several Billingham’s camera bags over the past 30 years. Despite fairly heavy use and having travelled around the world several times with one of them, they are still going strong. The only reason that I’ve felt the need to own more than one is to support different configurations of equipment as my needs have changed.
When the need arose to purchase an overnight bag, my first choice was Billingham. I opted for a little more space with their ‘Weekender’ bag. They are expensive but they are British made and as usual the quality is first class. I ordered directly from the Billingham.co.uk and received the bag, very well packaged very quickly.
I look forward to many years ahead with travelling with bag.

Recently purchased a new Billingham camera bag and it is, without doubt, the finest bag I have ever owned, exceptionally well made and plenty of internal padding dividers.
Had to contact them about the delivery (UPS screwed up, not Bellingham’s fault) and the service was first class.
Will use again and highly recommend them and the products they produce.

Disappointed in Billinghams straps and replacement costs and process.

I have had two Billingham bags (Alice and Hadley Small) for around 20 years. The leather straps stopped being effective on both bags in just a few years. I held off replacing the straps as the sticker shock of the postage made it a relative expensive replacement for just a few leather bits.
The Alice is worse as you cannot just replace, you have to send it (more postage!) to be fixed.
Also their website to explain to old bag users which replacement parts to order is confusing. I ordered the wrong straps...

The Alice is the worst as I kept using it. But with failed straps I've been risking my camera falling out.

Cant fill their orders, the closest they can get an order is 2 miles away to total stranger. is a shame there bags are good but shocking take your money and do not deliver