# Gura Gear is Now Tamrac G-Elite



## Canon Rumors Guy (Nov 15, 2015)

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<p>Gura Gear has made my favourite travel backpack for as long as I can remember, so I’m not sure how I feel about this, I was never a fan of Tamrac’s products. I’ve always appreciated the small and focused product range that Gura Gear provided. The Bataflae bags are also the best made travel packs I’ve ever used and abused.</p>
<p>If you remember, Tamrac went bankrupt and <a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/gura-gear-acquires-tamrac-brands-assets/" target="_blank">Gura Gear acquired the long standing camera bag brand</a> and all of its assets.</p>
<p>The new Tamrac G Elite G26 (26L) and G32 (32L) are <a href="http://www.tamrac.com/collections/gura-gear?mc_cid=fde7b81339&mc_eid=ea0d675098&utm_campaign=fde7b81339-G-ELITE%20Announcement&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Gura%20Gear&utm_term=0_1cdb6a9ea9-fde7b81339-275229457" target="_blank">now available for preorder</a>.</p>
<p><strong>From Tamrac:</strong></p>
<p><em>One Brand. One Vision. One Message.</em></p>
<p>We’ve always had one vision; to carry your photography dreams to the ends of the Earth.  Gura Gear developed a bit of a reputation for camera bags that are durable, beautiful, functional, and capable of traveling anywhere and everywhere.</p>
<p>We aren’t interested in resting on our reputation, so to grow and spread our ideas to a wider audience, we bought Tamrac. A brand with a nearly 40 year heritage and a global network. Now, we’ve taken the best of Gura Gear, injected it into the all new TAMRAC and would like to welcome you to the TAMRAC family.</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<p><strong>The New TAMRAC is built by Gura Gear

</strong>Over the last six months we’ve introduced several new awesome TAMRAC bags built on Gura Gear’s core design philosophies; lightweight, premium materials, PVC free, and quality craftsmanship. The new Anvil, Corona, and Stratus bags embody these ideas. The industry has taken notice too.</p>
<p>“For almost 40 years, Tamrac has been producing bags aimed towards photographers who embraced the great outdoors. Their brand new collection of Anvil backpacks … continues their tradition while making a number of exciting design choices that make this collection their best ever.” – Fstoppers, September 2015</p>
<p>Built on Gura Gear’s DNA, the all new TAMRAC G-ELITE G32 and G26 introduce tougher, lighter fabrics with the world’s strongest fiber, Dyneema®, along with a new front pocket system that can accommodate a laptop, light reflector, jacket or whatever else you need for your photographic journey. G-ELITE is designed to maximize every cubic centimeter of the overhead bin space while being easy to use from the back seat of land rover chasing hyenas, lions, and wild dogs. G-ELITE is the apex of volume efficient, lightweight camera carrying. Take a sneak peek at the G32 and G26. Available in Olive and Charcoal.</p>
<p>Where is Gura Gear going?  The same place it has always gone.  To the ends of the Earth.</p>
<p><strong>More Questions and Answers …</strong></p>
<p><em>Is the Gura Gear brand going away?</em></p>
<p>Yes, we are consolidating the brands as simply, TAMRAC. In the coming days, www.guragear.com will cease to exist and all traffic will be pointed to www.tamrac.com</p>
<p><em>Will my Gura Gear bag still be covered by a warranty?</em></p>
<p>Yes, the same warranty that applied when your bag was purchased will continue to apply.</p>
<p><em>Will there be special offers on Gura Gear branded products?</em></p>
<p>Yes, all current Gura Gear products in stock are now marked down and in our new Outlet as well as available at a discount through participating dealers.</p>
<p><em>If you bought Tamrac, why don’t you consolidate the brands to Gura Gear?</em></p>
<p>Great question. Simple answers. Tamrac has been around for nearly 40 years, has greater brand equity, is easier to remember, spell and say, and we simply like it better.</p>
<p>Have more questions? Chat with us live at <a href="http://www.tamrac.com/"><span class="s2">www.tamrac.com</span></a> or <a href="http://guragear.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4707c2be1fbe4fc633df71224&id=6aa48ca114&e=d515abd867"><span class="s2">email us anytime</span></a></p>
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## sgs8r (Nov 15, 2015)

Hmm. Seems a bit like Ferrari buying Buick, then abandoning the Ferrari name for Buick.


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## Maximilian (Nov 15, 2015)

Canon Rumors said:


> ... I’m not sure how I feel about this, I was never a fan of Tamrac’s products. ...


same here :-\

Hope they leave their fingers away from the "Ferrari" same as "Fiat" did 

_Edit: missread_ :-[


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## LDS (Nov 15, 2015)

Probably they know 'Gura Gear' is little know abroad and it's difficult to pronounce correctly or doesn't sound well in many foreign languages. For branding today, it's important too, especially if you want to go global.


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## Chaitanya (Nov 15, 2015)

LDS said:


> Probably they know 'Gura Gear' is little know abroad and it's difficult to pronounce correctly or doesn't sound well in many foreign languages. For branding today, it's important too, especially if you want to go global.


True, in India atleast people know Tamrac as it was present in market for a long time alongside Lowepro. Gura gear, Fstop gear, Kata are far less known amongst the people here. Also its good to know Tamrac is back in game.


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## Speedsurfer142 (Nov 15, 2015)

I own a Tamrac Expedition 8 for 7 years now, and I am verry happy with it. It's rugged, big and it is nice to carry. I can fitt a lot of gear in it. I have seen other bags and I am happy to use the Tamrac. It may not be a Ferrari and that is a good thing. It is more like a Toyota Landcruser to me and I am fine with that. I don't like to go offroad with a Ferrari.


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## LDS (Nov 15, 2015)

Chaitanya said:


> True, in India atleast people know Tamrac as it was present in market for a long time alongside Lowepro. Gura gear, Fstop gear, Kata are far less known amongst the people here. Also its good to know Tamrac is back in game.



Kata became Manfrotto some time ago. Guess it was part of the same Vitec Group which again choose which brands to use.


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## LDS (Nov 15, 2015)

Maximilian said:


> Hope they leave their fingers away from the "Ferrari" same as "Fiat" did



It was Gura Gear to acquire Tamrac and not viceversa. So it's the same people in charge. The latest bags they released under the Tamrac brand - Anvil, Corona, Stratus, Derechoe - look good. 

I understand it's a risky move to change brand after you got a very good reputation, and the old brand became tarnished, but IMHO they know what they're doing.

For example if I look for Gura Gear on Amazon UK or Amazon Italy, a search for Gura Gear returns nothing but some minor items, something better Germany, only one Kiboko 22L+ in France at almost 700 euro - compared to the $195 it sells on Amazon US!), while a search for Tamrac returns both the new items and a lot of the old ones.


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## rfdesigner (Nov 15, 2015)

LDS said:


> Maximilian said:
> 
> 
> > Hope they leave their fingers away from the "Ferrari" same as "Fiat" did
> ...



agreed

It doesn't matter what the name is.. what matters are the people.

If you've got the Gura Gear top management in charge then the Gura Gear should be safe, and the likihood is the Tamrac gear will become more Gura Gear like than the other way around.


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## Maximilian (Nov 15, 2015)

rfdesigner said:


> LDS said:
> 
> 
> > Maximilian said:
> ...


 :-[ :-[ :-[ shame on me :-[ :-[ :-[

I thought I was able to read. But obviously I am not able to read properly. It was early in the morning but that's no real excuse.

Thanks, guys, for putting me right.


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## Ladislav (Nov 15, 2015)

Wow, those are damn expensive bags. Suddenly Kata/Manfrotto prices looks pretty affordable. 

Anyway, Tamrac has international distribution network and is worldwide well known. Perhaps they could do what many other companies did - keep Gura Gear name for US market and Tamrac for rest of the world but its probably not necessary. Most people who are target customers for these bags will know about Gura Gear -> Tamrac transition.


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## AvTvM (Nov 15, 2015)

Speedsurfer142 said:


> I own a Tamrac Expedition 8 for 7 years now, and I am verry happy with it. It's rugged, big and it is nice to carry. I can fitt a lot of gear in it. I have seen other bags and I am happy to use the Tamrac. It may not be a Ferrari and that is a good thing. It is more like a Toyota Landcruser to me and I am fine with that. I don't like to go offroad with a Ferrari.



hehe, I also view a Tamrac Expedition 8 similar to a Toyota Landcruiser" and a gura gear Bataflae 26L [now Tamrac G-Elite 26 ] more like a Range Rover ... sleeker look for a whole lot more money, but similar performance in the field.


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## photodude (Nov 15, 2015)

I've had a Tamrac Expedition 10 (the big one) for about 7 years. It holds all my gear when I go out into the field especially if I'm hiking for the day and I can even find room for a sandwich and it has two water bottle holders. It also fits under an airline seat if the top compartment is mostly empty. The only complaint I have ever had is the tripod mount across the bottom was worthless and not well thought out. Sadly, its getting long in the tooth and I guess another one or the Evolution will no longer be an option. Nothing against Gura bags, but they are small dainty fashion statements suitable for hipsters on city outings with small ILC outfits.


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## LDS (Nov 15, 2015)

photodude said:


> The only complaint I have ever had is the tripod mount across the bottom was worthless and not well thought out. Sadly, its getting long in the tooth and I guess another one or the Evolution will no longer be an option. Nothing against Gura bags, but they are small dainty fashion statements suitable for hipsters on city outings with small ILC outfits.



Expedition had the tripod holder across the bag front cover (and I don't remember a 10x). If you look at the Anvil, it builds on the Expedition with a more modern (and comfortable) design, and a more standard attachment for add-ons, no longer limited to proprietary ones. Gura Gear gained its reputation for well designed, sturdy bags, so I won't call them hipsters' ones.


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## candc (Nov 15, 2015)

I have some tamrac bags and they have held up well. I bought a bataflae last year. Its the best, most versatile bag I have ever used but I wouldn't have known about it without reading the articles here.

I expect this will be good for them because you will see the bags in camera stores. Everybody seems to have tamrac on hand and its a well known brand. I've never seen a guru gear product in a store and I expect most people have never heard of them.


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## Jack Douglas (Nov 15, 2015)

Wanted to have a peak and all they display is two shots of a closed bag. Pretty poor advertising IMHO.

Jack


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## RGF (Nov 15, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> Wanted to have a peak and all they display is two shots of a closed bag. Pretty poor advertising IMHO.
> 
> Jack



This is a pre introduction. A teaser.

I emailed them and full set of pix are 2 weeks out. Of course after the 15% discount is gone.

I have the Bataflae and it is a great bag. Weakest point is the front pocket / lack of straps to attach a jacket, ... to the bag.


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## photodude (Nov 15, 2015)

LDS said:


> photodude said:
> 
> 
> > The only complaint I have ever had is the tripod mount across the bottom was worthless and not well thought out. Sadly, its getting long in the tooth and I guess another one or the Evolution will no longer be an option. Nothing against Gura bags, but they are small dainty fashion statements suitable for hipsters on city outings with small ILC outfits.
> ...



My mistake. It is an Adventure 10. So long since I got it I had to look up the name.


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## infared (Nov 15, 2015)

sgs8r said:


> Hmm. Seems a bit like Ferrari buying Buick, then abandoning the Ferrari name for Buick.



...but keeping the Ferrari pricing!


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## Phenix205 (Nov 15, 2015)

My first serious camera bag to hold the EOS 1v was a Tamrac bought 13 years ago. It accompanied me on many memorable trips both in metropolitans and mountains. I still use it today. I think Gura Gear made a great decision by changing the name. Tamrac is a more established brand and sounds great.


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## jeffa4444 (Nov 16, 2015)

Camera bags are a highly competitive market and price for many is key in the decision process. Ive always been a Lowepro guy but recently heard even they have been in financial trouble of late. Its a relatively easy part of the photographic market to enter and with most products made in the far east suppliers are easy to come by. 
What I would say is in 40+ years of being in photography not one bag has been ideal and I currently have 4 Lowepro bags and one Brady Bag (they make gun bags in the UK).


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## LDS (Nov 16, 2015)

jeffa4444 said:


> but recently heard even they have been in financial trouble of late. Its a relatively easy part of the photographic market to enter and with most products made in the far east suppliers are easy to come by.



Phones replacing P&S also means less entry level little bags as well. Less DSLRs means less need of larger bags. IMHO some companies like Tamrac itself were caught with a too large catalog (often with models never updated for years, despite often cameras and lenses becoming larger and heavier) while sales were slowing down, and some companies with good ideas and designs (like Gura Gear itself) entered the market and became appealing for many pros and advanced amateurs. Also, on the cheaper end they also get competition from many far east companies and even Amazon itself..

IMHO today you need a streamlined catalog with well thought few lines covering common needsa and use cases - less expensive to build, stock, maintain and improve, less confusing for the customer to buy.


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## ahsanford (Nov 16, 2015)

in other news, Porsche just bought Ford and is surrendering the Porsche name. Porsche will now be known as _Ford Plus_. 

This might make sense for the overseas market, but Gura Gear is a potent/growing American brand and I question abandoning it like this. They are the Apple of camera bags to me -- overpriced to be sure, but people are paying for what they deliver. They make stellar gear and, candidly, watering down the potency of that brand with the 'meh' sexiness of tired/traditional/boring Tamrac makes little sense. 

Why not keep the two brands? Tamrac makes the cheaper gear for Best Buy and Target, and GuraGear continues to sell their Ferraris online. Makes sense to me.

- A


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## mackguyver (Nov 16, 2015)

I think the re-branding makes sense but the "G-Elite" name is terrible. I get it G for Gura and Elite for the level in their line, but G-Elite? It also sounds too much like those G-Tech drives, which I also think is a terrible name, up their with the Pentax *ist D 

I'm sure they'll do well, but considering the obvious creative talent from Gura Gear, you'd think they could have come up with a better name.


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## ahsanford (Nov 16, 2015)

Interesting: try searching for Gura Gear at their website now. It's all gone other than the 'outlet' part of their website.

Now, _their products are still available elsewhere_ (see Amazon or B&H), so it looks like the current products are 'virtually discontinued' from the corporate web side of things. 

Again, this is surprising. Surely they could have just added a throwaway G-Elite cardboard marketing/branding tag to the current Gura Gear bags until they cut over to new products. Not doing that might hurt sales -- prospective Gura Gear buyers probably won't pony up $400 for a bag that isn't on the corp website any more. They might assume a firesale is coming and hold off on pulling the trigger.

- A


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## AvTvM (Nov 16, 2015)

I could not care less what name is put on the label on a photo bag. All i am interested in is performance, functionality and cost. Tamrac or guru guru does not make any difference. Or whether a backpack us called bataflae 26L or elite-g26. So what. I wont buy 700 euro backpacks anyway. No matter what the brand is. I'll rather spend that amountbof money on a potentially life-saving avalanche airbag backpack for my randonee ski tours in the alps.


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## SUNDOG04 (Nov 17, 2015)

I had my heart set on the Guru Uinta which I was going to buy in spring. Unless I am mistaken, this model is being dropped. I believe it is still available and at a reduced price, but I won't get another photo backpack until spring. 

The many, many hours of searching may have to start over. My needs: mesh pockets on both sides, room to store a jacket and maybe some food, camera space for a body and room for about 6+ lenses. I normally carry up to four lenses, but for traveling by air I will fill the extra spaces for with things like a ballhead, battery chargers, etc.

It makes no sense to me to call it a photo backpack and then not have provisions to carry outdoor gear.


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## candc (Nov 17, 2015)

SUNDOG04 said:


> I had my heart set on the Guru Uinta which I was going to buy in spring. Unless I am mistaken, this model is being dropped. I believe it is still available and at a reduced price, but I won't get another photo backpack until spring.
> 
> The many, many hours of searching may have to start over. My needs: mesh pockets on both sides, room to store a jacket and maybe some food, camera space for a body and room for about 6+ lenses. I normally carry up to four lenses, but for traveling by air I will fill the extra spaces for with things like a ballhead, battery chargers, etc.
> 
> It makes no sense to me to call it a photo backpack and then not have provisions to carry outdoor gear.



That does look to be a good pack. If tamrac/guru drops that from the lineup then you might want to take a look at the fstop packs. They are really good as well and made for rugged outdoor use.


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## LDS (Nov 17, 2015)

SUNDOG04 said:


> I had my heart set on the Guru Uinta which I was going to buy in spring. Unless I am mistaken, this model is being dropped. I believe it is still available and at a reduced price, but I won't get another photo backpack until spring.



It looks they're moving Gura Gear products to the new branding - which ones will be moved an which one dropped/replaced, if any, is not know, maybe you should ask them directly.


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## Chaitanya (Nov 18, 2015)

LDS said:


> Chaitanya said:
> 
> 
> > True, in India atleast people know Tamrac as it was present in market for a long time alongside Lowepro. Gura gear, Fstop gear, Kata are far less known amongst the people here. Also its good to know Tamrac is back in game.
> ...


I remember reading that but it seems like Manfrotto, Gura gear also killed all the original products and pricing of the older brands. Just checked the Tamrac website and the pricing on their new bags to say the least is ridiculous. F-Stop gear is looking like a better choice compared to that.


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## jeanluc (Nov 18, 2015)

I have a Bataflae 26l and the Uinta.

The Bataflae is an awesome pack; great build, everything fits well and it easily fits into the overhead bin of any mainline airliner and under all airplane seats, including regional jets, so it goes anywhere you need. I use it when photography is why I am going somewhere and don't want to check any gear.

The Uinta is also great, more of a regular backpack with a place for your photo gear; I use it for trips when I want to bring some, but not most, gear and still have room for regular backpack stuff you need on a family trip with a kid and spouse.

I would recommend these to anyone. The new version of the Bataflae looks even a little better.

B and H still has Uinta available; if anyone is on the fence about it I would strongly recommend just getting it. You won't be sorry.


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## Random Orbits (Nov 18, 2015)

jeanluc said:


> I have a Bataflae 26l and the Uinta.
> 
> The Bataflae is an awesome pack; great build, everything fits well and it easily fits into the overhead bin of any mainline airliner and under all airplane seats, including regional jets, so it goes anywhere you need. I use it when photography is why I am going somewhere and don't want to check any gear.
> 
> ...



I'm thinking about picking up the Uinta. What modules do you use with it?


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## jeanluc (Nov 18, 2015)

The medium and the small; they are actually very roomy. No problem carrying 5d3, 24-70, 16-35 and 70-300L and needed landscape filters etc.


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## Random Orbits (Nov 18, 2015)

jeanluc said:


> The medium and the small; they are actually very roomy. No problem carrying 5d3, 24-70, 16-35 and 70-300L and needed landscape filters etc.



Are those the medium and small compacts? I don't see the medium and small pros anymore...


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