News: Billingham Bags introduce the Mini Eventer

For the TLDR you’re looking for, the new Billingham Mini Eventer is a bit bigger than a Hadley Small Pro and a bit smaller than a Hadley Pro 2020.

For everyone else, say hello to the new Billingham Mini Eventer! I might be stating the obvious but if you’re searching for an idea of the design cues, it looks like an Eventer but smaller. It’s also around £130/US$180 cheaper than its larger sibling and can stow around half the volume of kit (with the padded insert installed).

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Let’s take a quick look at how the bag stacks up against the Hadley Small Pro and Hadley Pro 2020:

	Hadley Small Pro	Mini Eventer	Hadley Pro 2020
Width	330	360	430
Height	210	250	280
Depth	140	160	160
Capacity	3.5L	5L	6L

I use both the Hadley Small Pro and Pro 2020 regularly. In fact, I’m looking at my Pro 2020 as I write this: It’s currently holding a Nikon F6 and Nikon L35AF, which are, funnily enough, their first and last autofocus cameras. I’d not made that connection until just now.

The new Billingham Mini Eventer is designed with 35mm rangefinder-size / mirrorless cameras and mid-sized D/SLRs in mind, and also has a slot for up to an 11″ tablet

Here’s how it stacks up to its larger counterpart. Note: the existence of Mini Eventer implies the existence of a Max Eventer/Eventer Max, listed here for my imagination/humour/conjecture more than anything else.

	Mini Eventer	Eventer	Eventer Max
Width	360	400	430
Height	250	320	320
Depth	160	180	200
Capacity	5L	9L	14L

As to the why of the Mini Eventer, Billingham tell me it was created following customer feedback, specifically around creating a bag that followed the same lines/design as the Eventer but in a smaller form factor. Considering the Hadley Small Pro, Hadley Pro 2020, and Hadley One, this is not a huge surprise.

Let’s take a look at the bag in a bit more detail:

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The bag includes the new fiberglass-reinforced top handle, found on the Hadley Small Pro (it’s really very good). There’s also a durable luggage trolley retainer strap on the back, a dual-pull weatherproof zip on the main compartment and a weatherproof rear zip pocket.

The bag includes a removable padded insert and padded divider set and an SP50 shoulder pad, something I consider to be an essential purchase for all Billinghams.

Like all Billingham bags, the Mini Eventer is available in their three-layer waterproof canvas and a three-layer waterproof FibreNyte material (neither of which require re-proofing). Like the Eventer, top-grain leather panels cover the lower third of the bag on all sides. Billingham are making five colour combinations available at launch (October 26th 2021):

• Khaki Canvas / Tan Leather
• Navy Canvas / Chocolate Leather
• Sage FibreNyte / Chocolate Leather
• Black FibreNyte / Black Leather
• Khaki FibreNyte / Chocolate Leather

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I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy very soon, and as usual with my Billingham bag reviews, you can expect a first impressions review a few weeks in, followed up by a longer-term review closer to about 6 months in. If there are any specific things you’d like me to test, please drop a note in the comments below to we can keep a public record (and so that I won’t forget.

Oh, and before I forget! Billingham are back on as sponsors for this year’s EMULSIVE Santa (year 7!) and have generously offered up a Navy Canvas / Chocolate Leather Mini Eventer as their sponsorship gift. With less than a week to go for registration, I’ll be posting a Santa-related update over the coming days but please don’t wait for me, you can see the latest update and sign up right here.

Billingham Mini Eventer technical specifications

Name	Mini Eventer Camera Bag
Brand	Billingham (M Billingham Holdings Ltd, UK)
External Dimensions (excluding top handle):	Excluding top handle: W360mm (14¼") x D160mm (6¼") x H240mm (9⅞") Including top handle: W330mm (14¼") x D100mm (6⅞") x H210mm (8¼")
Internal Dimensions (Main compartment inside padded insert):	W340mm (13) x D80mm (3⅞") x H210mm (8¼")
Capacity:	Inside padded insert: 5 litres (0.18 feet³) Insert removed: 9 litres (0.32 feet³)
Weight:	1.26 kgs (2.78 lbs)
Pockets:	3 in total - Front Dump Pockets (x2) W140mm (5½") X H160mm (6¼") Capacity 0.75lites (0.03 feet³) Rear Zipped Pocket W290mm (11⅜") x DNominal x H170mm (6⅝") Capacity Nominal
Shoulder Sling Measurements:	Length: can be adjusted between 820mm (32¼) and 1400mm (55⅛) approx. Width: 50mm (1½"). Comes with the SP50 shoulder pads: SP40 or SP15
Colour/material:	Outside	Inside
	Khaki Canvas / Tan Leather	Olive
	Khaki FibreNyte / Chocolate Leather	Olive
	Sage FibreNyte / Chocolate Leather	Olive
	Black FibreNyte / Black Leather	Olive
	Navy Canvas / Chocolate Leather	Chocolate
Included:	1x Mini Eventer Removable Padded Insert. 1x Mini Eventer Divider Set: 2x Small (flap) and 2x Large (vertical) Dividers. 1x Mini Eventer Front Straps. 1x SP50 Shoulder Pad.

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