F-Stop (Is this the beginning of the end - I certainly hope not)

ChrisHeathcote

ChrisHeathcote

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As with many others, after many years that search for the elusive bag that fits all our needs still continues, well up until now, or so I thought, when I finally discovered the F-Stop range. For this e like me who are late to the party ad aren't sure what they are, they are a modular backpack system where you have a normal backpack and then put in a separate camera holder, which can be changed dependant on what you are carrying, essentially freeing up the rest of the space for jumpers, snacks etc.

Anyway I finally decided on the Ajna with the Medium Slope & Small Pro ICU's so I contacted Paramo to see if they had any in their stores to try, just to confirm. I had a lovely phone call from them this morning, to advise that unfortunately they are stopping selling F-Stop equipment because of how difficult it is to get hold of, something that I had heard from people who had purchased directly from them. Is this the sign of troubling times ahead, or will they pull themselves together. Come on F-Stop, sort your s*** out.

Anyway the search continues for a rear entry backpack with space to fit a 13" tablet.
 
I really do hate ordering from them but the times I have, it has turned up, you just have to be patient.

If you want rear entry, mindshift do a backlight 26L, lowepro do all the flip side stuff (I saw you have the 15 sport).

Unfortunately there's not a lot of choice, I use a photo hatchback if I go out for the day usually, I don't know if your laptop would fit in the front though. And it's only half padded in the bottom section so you can put nappies or lunch in the top
 
To be honest F Stops supply problems (along with the alledged mismanagement) have been well known for 1-2 years. Paramo always had limited stock and often I went on waiting list for when stock came in. Paramo haven't stocked f stop bags at shows for a while so it was in the cards they would stop stocking f stop at some point. Paramos own stock can be difficult to get hold of too, some items are often out of stock.

You can purchase the f stop website by selecting Europe as the region. Deliveries can take a while to arrive.

I've been speaking to paramo myself by email recently and was told the same. They currently have bags available but no icus. I bought a Sukha and telemaster ICU in December and I've been thinking of changing my tilopa to the lotus but I'm having problems finding a medium ICU in stock as I would need it for a trip away in 4 weeks.

F stop is very good bags and the ICU system is a great idea and very versatile. They are worth the wait. The trouble is you really need two icus to take advantage of their main selling point. If you aren't in a rush order from the f stop website but protect yourself with a credit card or similar.

I don't think this is the beginning of the end for f stop, it's just the main uk stockist has taken a decision to stop stocking due to restocking issues, perhaps it will help give f stop the kick they need to get things sorted. If f stop did go I could see some one buying the brand as there isnt anything else like it on the market. There is nothing wrong with the product, it's a niche product but well thought of by many users.
 
rob-nikon said:
To be honest F Stops supply problems (along with the alledged mismanagement) have been well known for 1-2 years. Paramo always had limited stock and often I went on waiting list for when stock came in. Paramo haven't stocked f stop bags at shows for a while so it was in the cards they would stop stocking f stop at some point. Paramos own stock can be difficult to get hold of too, some items are often out of stock.

You can purchase the f stop website by selecting Europe as the region. Deliveries can take a while to arrive.

I've been speaking to paramo myself by email recently and was told the same. They currently have bags available but no icus. I bought a Sukha and telemaster ICU in December and I've been thinking of changing my tilopa to the lotus but I'm having problems finding a medium ICU in stock as I would need it for a trip away in 4 weeks.

F stop is very good bags and the ICU system is a great idea and very versatile. They are worth the wait. The trouble is you really need two icus to take advantage of their main selling point. If you aren't in a rush order from the f stop website but protect yourself with a credit card or similar.

I don't think this is the beginning of the end for f stop, it's just the main uk stockist has taken a decision to stop stocking due to restocking issues, perhaps it will help give f stop the kick they need to get things sorted. If f stop did go I could see some one buying the brand as there isnt anything else like it on the market. There is nothing wrong with the product, it's a niche product but well thought of by many users.
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Thanks for the info Rob, I agree on the requirement for more than 1 ICU. I think ultimately I would be looking at a medium slope and large pro as a minimum but having a small pro stacked with the medium for flashguns, chargers etc would also be handy
 
I bought mine from Holland,, ordered on a Sunday and it arrived, i think, Tuesday or Wednesday, just had a look on there website and there seem to have plenty of stock, can post the name, if you are interested,, never sure, if it is ok, to post a direct link or not..
 
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Paul M said:
I bought mine from Holland,, ordered on a Sunday and it arrived, i think, Tuesday or Wednesday, just had a look on there website and there seem to have plenty of stock, can post the name, if you are interested,, never sure, if it is ok, to post a direct link or not..
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Can I ask where? If you can PM me if you don't want to post direct on the thread. Posting on the thread should be ok as far as I'm aware.
 
Paul M said:
I bought mine from Holland,, ordered on a Sunday and it arrived, i think, Tuesday or Wednesday, just had a look on there website and there seem to have plenty of stock, can post the name, if you are interested,, never sure, if it is ok, to post a direct link or not..
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Can you PM me also
 
You can get other rear access bags. Mammut Trion Pro 50+7 or the Gregory Targhee 45 both of which have a fully opening rear panel like F-stop bags, though the Gregory is available in different torso lengths. Should be possible to find something to serve the purpose of an ICU too like the Tenba BYOB or Crumpler inserts.
 
Well I'm impressed with cameranu. I've had an email from them today saying it was dispatched at 10am (ordered only last night), UPS tracking says it should be here Tuesday. So far I'm impressed, seems to be better than waiting for f stop to deliver!
 
Have had good experience from Cameranu on a couple of F-Stop orders too. Although for smaller orders I seem to remember their shipping not being great value. Also from memory they add a surcharge for any orders not paid by bank charge (and maybe debit card), which isn't obvious until making the payment.

Also, I may just have been unlucky, but my first order had problems with payment processing. Seems if you order on a weekend you get a message to say your payment won't be processed until the Monday. But I got an email straight away saying my payment was unsuccessful - caused some confusion and a couple of days delay in shipping for some reason. So maybe best to order on a weekday
 
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As cameranu.nl said it would arrived today and it. Definitely would deal with them again, the €25 is annoying but it's nearly the same as F stop's own European website and camera.nu deliver quicker too so not all bad.

Initial thoughts are the guru and medium shallow are perfect for what I wanted them for (small daypack). There is room in the medium shallow ICU for a 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 with either attached to the camera (bonus being the 70-200 tripod foot can stay attached. I cant use a grip but that's not too much of an issue. A 13 inch MacBook Pro can slide in behind the ICU (either inside the water bladder pouch or outside it). You need to use a padded sleeve as there is no padding in the Guru. I'm not sure if there would be room for it with a medium slope ICU or Small pro ICU due to the additional ICU depth. There is more room inside on top of the ICU than I thought there would be. There is plenty of room for a 10 filter pouch, filter holder pouch, power leads and other little bits like food. The front section has a few storage pockets with room for an iPad mini inside a zipped pocket or a larger iPad loose. There is also a front pocket (long central zip) for a small thin jacket. The small pockets on the waist belt will be useful for small bits too. I quite like that the guru can stand upright without leaning up against something. All in all I really like it, it's going to interesting getting out into the field with it.
 
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rob-nikon said:
As cameranu.nl said it would the parcel arrived today. Definitely would deal with them again, the €25 is annoying but it's nearly the same as F stop's own European website and camera.nu deliver quicker too so not all bad.

Initial thoughts are the guru and medium shallow are perfect for what I wanted them for (small daypack). There is room in the medium shallow ICU for a 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 with either attached to the camera (bonus being the 70-200 tripod foot can stay attached. I cant use a grip but that's not too much of an issue. A 13 inch MacBook Pro can slide in behind the ICU (either inside the water bladder pouch or outside it). You need to use a padded sleeve as there is no padding in the Guru. I'm not sure if there would be room for it with a medium slope ICU or Small pro ICU due to the additional ICU depth. There is more room inside on top of the ICU than I thought there would be. There is plenty of room for a 10 filter pouch, filter holder pouch, power leads and other little bits like food. The front section has a few storage pockets with room for an iPad mini inside a zipped pocket or a larger iPad loose. There is also a front pocket (long central zip) for a small thin jacket. The small pockets on the waist belt will be useful for small bits too. I quite like that the guru can stand upright without leaning up against something. All in all I really like it, it's going to interesting getting out into the field with it.
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Great news, I've had an email today with the tracking number. UPS should be delivering mine on Thursday :)
 
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In addition to Rob's update, I too am pleased to announce that my new bag has arrived as promised by Cameranu.nl. Excellent service. As a tip to anyone who is contemplating ordering, use PayPal it's a lot easier than the BT option.
 
Glad, that yourself and Rob, have both got your bags,, enjoy them.
 
I do hope F-Stop get their act together and it's worrying that Paramo are dropping them - though understandable. My wife and I love their kit, it's such a shame to see the company being run in to the ground.
 
I bet you guys are feeling jammy, my 4-6 week wait (5 weeks yesterday) has just been increased to at least 12 weeks without any reason, if they'd said 12 weeks when I ordered it fine but it didn't...
 
When I first ordered my Tilopa BC there was some issues but since I've ordered first the Guru and then some extra ICU's which all have arrived without trouble. The Guru is now my everyday bag for for some years already
 
i looked at ordering from the cameranu.nl site and its about 45 euros more for the same bag delivered?? Then id also have to get a refund from f-stop which takes forever too, i guess i will have to wait and hope this will be my last order with them
 
The Ajna had its first outing last weekend and I have to say I was mightily impressed. It was ideal for a family day out walking. Camera etc in the small icu (still need to sort the dividers properly) still had rom for packed lunches, spare jumpers and drinks, my only niggle is that the molle loops on the belt aren't big enough to fit the tab on my lowepro lens exchange
 
jonoooo125 said:
i looked at ordering from the cameranu.nl site and its about 45 euros more for the same bag delivered?? Then id also have to get a refund from f-stop which takes forever too, i guess i will have to wait and hope this will be my last order with them
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Where are you comparing prices and what of? I compared f stops Euro website and cameranu.nl and there was around 10 euros in the price difference on the guru UL I purchased. There is quite a difference in the paramo uk price and f stop/cameranu.nl price with the sukha and telemaster ICU which was one of the reasons I picked one up before Christmas.

Edit: my order of guru UL, medium shallow ICU and small rain cover came to €255 on cameranu.nl whilst today from f stop European website it would have been €259. I did have to pay an extra €5 for using PayPal (2% charge) so they came out the same. Cameranu.nl delivered within 4 days, f stops European website currently says delivery spring 2017.

Have F stops prices changed since you place your order? I'm guessing it depends what you are ordering on what the price difference is, I did notice the tilopa on cameranu.nl ranged from €239 to €299 depending on the colour you purchase.
 
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rob-nikon said:
Where are you comparing prices and what of? I compared f stops Euro website and cameranu.nl and there was around 10 euros in the price difference on the guru UL I purchased. There is quite a difference in the paramo uk price and f stop/cameranu.nl price with the sukha and telemaster ICU which was one of the reasons I picked one up before Christmas.

Edit: my order of guru UL, medium shallow ICU and small rain cover came to €255 on cameranu.nl whilst today from f stop European website it would have been €259. I did have to pay an extra €5 for using PayPal (2% charge) so they came out the same. Cameranu.nl delivered within 4 days, f stops European website currently says delivery spring 2017.

Have F stops prices changed since you place your order? I'm guessing it depends what you are ordering on what the price difference is, I did notice the tilopa on cameranu.nl ranged from €239 to €299 depending on the colour you purchase.
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F stop site - €284.58 for ajna red bull edition and gatekeepers delivered (and that's overcharged me too, €249.01 ajna, €15 gatekeepers, €17 delivery, €3.57 idiot tax I think)
Cameranu - €304 for just the red bull ajna delivered (albeit very quickly)

If you remove the €15 for gatekeepers, there's over 40 euros difference if I pay by PayPal. Plus, it's more effort than it's worth to get a refund from f stop. It would take longer than the delivery probably, I think it was like 4 weeks last time when I cancelled part of my order to get the rest.

I ordered 5 weeks ago and it hasn't changed price
 
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jonoooo125 said:
F stop site - €284.58 for ajna red bull edition and gatekeepers delivered (and that's overcharged me too, €249.01 ajna, €15 gatekeepers, €17 delivery, €3.57 idiot tax I think)
Cameranu - €304 for just the red bull ajna delivered (albeit very quickly)

If you remove the €15 for gatekeepers, there's over 40 euros difference if I pay by PayPal. Plus, it's more effort than it's worth to get a refund from f stop. It would take longer than the delivery probably, I think it was like 4 weeks last time when I cancelled part of my order to get the rest.

I ordered 5 weeks ago and it hasn't changed price
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I understand now, the Anja Red Bull seems to be the only one one on cameranu.nl that's more than f stops Euro website (€279 plus €25 delivery compared to f stop at €249 plus €17 delivery).

F Stop need to sort out their delivery issues, as much as I like their products no one should be waiting 4+ weeks for delivery, especially if they have already taken payment. That was the main reason I went with Cameranu.nl, I would have gone with paramo if they had stock. I feel they are hoping people with take poor delivery because of their product quality and functionality, sadly over time I can't see many new customers being willing to wait weeks/months for delivery.
 
rob-nikon said:
I understand now, the Anja Red Bull seems to be the only one one on cameranu.nl that's more than f stops Euro website (€279 plus €25 delivery compared to f stop at €249 plus €17 delivery).

F Stop need to sort out their delivery issues, as much as I like their products no one should be waiting 4+ weeks for delivery, especially if they have already taken payment. That was the main reason I went with Cameranu.nl, I would have gone with paramo if they had stock. I feel they are hoping people with take poor delivery because of their product quality and functionality, sadly over time I can't see many new customers being willing to wait weeks/months for delivery.
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Payment was taken within minutes haha, I have ordered from paramo before and cameranu didn't even have the red bull ajna in stock so my only option was f stop, lucky me, it said 4-6 weeks which I was fine with, I had a live chat yesterday and it's slipped to the end of next month, so it will be 12 weeks if I get it then. Faster than the 6 month wait on my previous order though. From what I've read, it is a nice colour though
 
jonoooo125 said:
Payment was taken within minutes haha, I have ordered from paramo before and cameranu didn't even have the red bull ajna in stock so my only option was f stop, lucky me, it said 4-6 weeks which I was fine with, I had a live chat yesterday and it's slipped to the end of next month, so it will be 12 weeks if I get it then. Faster than the 6 month wait on my previous order though. From what I've read, it is a nice colour though
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Waiting potentially 3 months after payment just isn't on (and that comes from a F stop convert). Hope you get it soon.
 
jonoooo125 said:
Payment was taken within minutes haha, I have ordered from paramo before and cameranu didn't even have the red bull ajna in stock so my only option was f stop, lucky me, it said 4-6 weeks which I was fine with, I had a live chat yesterday and it's slipped to the end of next month, so it will be 12 weeks if I get it then. Faster than the 6 month wait on my previous order though. From what I've read, it is a nice colour though
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I'd been lusting after the Red Bull colour for a while but hadn't quite been able to justify buying it as I already have two Loka. My husband then bought it as a gift for me - It's a great colour on screen, and imho even better in-the-flesh than I expected. Hopefully yours will turn up soon.
 
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