Billingham Hadley Small Pro Navy Chocolate

The Hadley Small Pro is the new bag from the hugely popular Billingham brand - internally exactly the same size as the Hadley Small, but with a few extra features that should make it perfect for many professional and amateur photographers.

The first of these features is a top carry handle. The handle we chose has a leather underside for extra comfort when carrying - especially useful if you want to use the bag as a mini briefcase for extended periods of time after removing the shoulder strap.

The second addition is a document pocket on the back of the bag - it has a waterproof zipper for extra protection during a downpour. Also on the back we have added a luggage cart strap - so you can slip the bag over the handle on a trolley case for easy travel through an airport.

Of course, we made sure to keep the best parts of the original 'Hadley Small'. For impact protection, the bag features the same quilted padding insert as the current 'Hadley Small' model. It is made from dense closed cell foam and covered with fabric. It offers impact protection on all six sides, including the cover. Inside the insert come two removable vertical dividers, and two removable padded flaps for stacking lenses - these dividers attach inside with Velcro®. The insert itself attaches to the bag with a single solid snap - remove the insert and the bag transforms from a camera bag into a compact and stylish bag.

Like all of our camera bags, the exterior is made from a storm-resistant three-layer Stormblock material - two layers of fabric glued together with a middle layer of butyl rubber. Stormblock fabric never needs to be "re-proofing" because the butyl layer is permanently bonded to the core of the fabric. The top flap of the bag is "sculpted" over the opening of the main compartment so that even in the pouring rain should not enter if you closed it.

The front closure straps are designed around the 'Quick Release System'. To open the bag you slide the leather straps over the brass "clogballs" at the top of the strap - with a little practice, you will soon be able to open the bag with one hand. The buckles halfway up the closure straps are only used to adjust the fit of the top flap over the main opening and pockets - you don't need to use them to open the bag. We made these straps slightly narrower compared to the Hadley Pro (and older Hadley Small) to help with the aesthetics of the bag. The two front pockets of the bag have a secondary stud in their upper top corner - open this stud to create extra space or close it to form a practical pen holder.

The Hadley Small Pro is small on the outside but bigger than you'd expect on the inside. For example, it can contain 2 rangefinder cameras (eg Leica M10 and M9 with lenses), a mirrorless camera (CSC) (Fujifilm X-Pro2, Lumix GH5 or Olympus OM-D E-M1) with 2 or 3 small to medium-sized lenses or even a mid-size DSLR without battery socket (eg Canon 5D Mk4 with 24-70mm f2.8 and 24-105mm in the bag) because the bag can tilt slightly upwards to accommodate larger equipment.

For this reason, and because the bag does not look like a camera bag, the Hadley Small Pro is an ideal companion on a city or country trip. Like all of our camera bags, the Hadley Small Pro is made in England.