Crumpler Bags in Hanoi, Vietnam

As many would claim, these are fakes; rest assured, most of them are either over-run or excess stock where the factory making Crumpler Bags are located in Vietnam, but there have been cases where knockoffs are also found here.

I was told by a camera buddy to check out these cool camera bags while visiting Hanoi, so on my last travelling day, I paid a visit to this area. 

Walking along the busy street, I must have seen at least 10 shops selling bags. Not all the shops sell Crumpler Bags here; only about three to four shops would carry them in multiple sizes.

Most others just have one or two designs, and I would avoid these shops and go for the full-range ones. You will also see brands like North Face, LeSportsac (Le Sports Sac), Adidas, Nike and many other famous brands along this street.

Trust me, I tried going to one shop, and the lady gave me a price, so I knocked it down by 5% to the counteroffer, but she declined and said it was the price she opened at. So I gave her the old ‘thank-you-and-walk-away’ move, but she couldn’t be bothered. So much for my bargaining skills.

The polite Vietnamese lady manning the shop, which doubled as a home in the back, was clearly helpful in assisting me while I must have spent a good hour choosing my bag there.

Research on the Internet showed that most of those who posted information claimed that all the bags were knock-offs, so I casually asked this lady about the authenticity of the bags sold.

Her reply – No, they were not fakes but were, in fact, over-runs or smuggled excess stock made for the local sellers.

Yes, the Crumpler Factory is in Vietnam too. Not that she wanted to reveal her little secret on how they obtain stock, but she was convincing enough.

Eventually, after carefully choosing a medium-sized sling-type design, I settled for a dark khaki-coloured bag.

The price? I managed to bring it down from VND 600,000 (US$30) to VND 530,000 (US$27), considering I bought only one bag here.

But I told her I would tell all my friends about her shop when they visited Hanoi. By the way, her shop sells bags as you walk from City View or City Bank in the town centre.

I now regret that I should have bought the Crumpler Knapsack as well. Prices in Malaysia or Singapore are almost three to four times more for these trendy camera bags.

Meaning the top brand bags like Adidas, Jack Wolfskin, Nike and a few others. As for The North Face Bags sold here, I am pretty unsure about them as I never did inquire though I saw several places selling them by the Hoan Kiem Lake.

For example – The original 6 Million Dollar Home Bag in blue and black is lime green on the inside, while the fake one comes in other colours. This applies to hard-core bag lovers.

For those who want to transfer digital images from your camera to DVD, you can try the camera shop next to the KFC in the centre of town where City View is. They are fast and professional.

Tons of bags.

You can also read my other articles about the world-renowned Ipa Nima Bags in Hanoi, which are a hit among women and ladies. 


For coffee lovers, I tried the famous Weasel Coffee in Hanoi, which is a must-try here for anyone who loves coffee and the incredible Vietnamese coffee culture.

For photographers, I also managed to do some night exploration to get some Hanoi Old Quarter at night pictures and pictures of Hanoi Street life picture.