Top 5 | Best Sling

Slings are that perfect everyday, anywhere companion. That little bit of extra comfort knowing you have what you need on you for the day. They’re extra portable and move with you throughout your day with ease, keeping gear easily accessible when you need it and out of the way when you don’t. This category encompasses those that hang from our shoulders, hips, or both. Some meet the needs of mountain bikers or runners, while others are at home in the city or even the backcountry. Slings and other hip packs come in a wide range of designs aimed at an equally diverse set of use cases. You’ll see that reflected in our top 5 finalists for Best Sling, but only one can score the category crown. Vote for your top choice below!

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1733 Sidepack 3.5L

Who It Suits

Those seeking a true do-all hip pack or sling should enjoy the utility of the Sidepak 3.5L. While minimalist in size, it’s packed full of bells and whistles, attachment points, and more than a few areas of adjustment that thrive with outdoors enthusiasts and their needs on the trail.

The Lowdown

The 1733 Sidepak 3.5L is the little brother of the hyper-popular Sidepak 7L. Better sized for lighter days on the trail or out on the town. The aesthetic is somewhere between modern streetwear and backcountry chic.

The two main points of ingress are adorned with YKK Aquaguard zippers to keep your gear dry. The front is a simple slip pocket, while the main U-shaped zipper allows a great top-down view into the contents of your pack for excellent accessibility. On the interior, you’ve got one more slip pocket for items like keys or your wallet.

When looking top down, you’ve also got one of the most useful and standout features of the Sidepak; the lashing cord. It’s perfect for a jacket, umbrella, or any other extra gear you’ve got for the day. It’s adjustable and removable if it’s not your thing.

The Sidepak is certainly a bit strappy, especially for its size, so it’s at its best when you’re taking advantage of that and embracing what it brings to the table. On either side are two compression straps which pull the pack into your body, making for a more stable load. Between those two straps are a few columns of webbing to either attach pouches or clip on gear. The waist strap itself has four areas of adjustment, and can be fully removed if needed. Alternatively, the strap tucks in behind the rear of the bag to keep it out of the way when using the Sidepak as a pouch or hand-bag. If necessary, 1733 ships this bag with a stabilizer strap which will be most at home with cyclists.

While we really enjoy the Challenge Ultra variants, the 1733 Sidepak 3.5L comes in a number of materials, in limited drops. Keep an eye on their socials for the best chance at snagging one in the color and material you’re looking for.

Strengths

• – Multiple points of attachment to carry extra gear
• – Water resistant materials and furnishings
• – Easily carries as a hip pack or a sling

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Truce Sling Bag

Who It Suits

Those that like a bit more of a boutique, hand-made feel and experience when it comes to their choice of gear. The Truce Sling Bag allows a high level of customization during the ordering process and we bet you’ve not heard of half of the material selection, so material nerds can geek out. The Sling Bag is water resistant all around and comes with a stabilizer strap, making it ideal for cyclists or those that spend time outdoors, further from home.

The Lowdown

The Sling Bag is a 3.5L minimal yet long sling, and it’s the first sling release from Truce. It’s a bag very much aimed at active pursuits, whether it be on bike or otherwise.

Two weatherproof access points sit at the front and rear of the bag. The rear is a small slip pocket, perfect for a phone. The main zipper is wide and shaped in order to give you easier access and sight directly into the bag. Dual zippers help with the overall length, and adds to the ambidexterity. On the inside, there’s a zippered slip pocket in the lining color of your choice.

The Sling Bag keeps it slick, with no points for attachment, compression, or otherwise. This also means nothing to get caught on and an overall cleaner aesthetic. Speaking of aesthetic, this will highly depend on you, the user, and your choices when purchasing. Many of the available fabrics are going to be new to you, even if you might think you have an idea. If you’re unsure, it’s easy to ask the one-man operation and get a quick, friendly response. This has a lot to do with the fact that many of the available fabrics from Truce are recycled from the sailcloth industry. For this look, we’ve got “Forest Green Dyneema”, which will be unlike the “Dyneema” many are used to in everyday carry goods. This has a heavy PU coating on either side, making for an interesting overall handfeel. You can end up with some really interesting and wild options.

The waist strap is dual-adjustable and intuitive to use. Thanks to the D-ring adorned ends, going from hip pack, to sling, and back is a breeze. And just like the body of the bag, everything is slick and minimal. If you’re into it, Truce also offers a stabilizer strap, which we recommend just due to the nature of how you’ll probably be using this pack.

Strengths

• – Wide, adjustable strap and stabilizer strap for extra security and comfort
• – Water resistant materials and furnishings
• – A wide, weird, wonderful range of materials and options to choose from

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KILLSPENCER Utility Belt Bag 2.0

Who It Suits

Those looking for a more luxe every day option for your essentials. Synthetic materials don’t always cut it, and sometimes you need to break out the premium leather for class and handfeel. With no corner cut, the Killspencer Utillity Belt Bag 2.0 is at home on the street, out to dinner, or LA house party.

The Lowdown

The Killspencer Utility Belt Bag 2.0 is, no doubt, a luxury item. The streetwear vibes mixed with high-end, premium materials and finishings make this a truly solid option for your day out.

There’s often a misnomer that luxury goods are somehow not as “functional” as more typical EDC goods, but that certainly isn’t the case here. The premium full-grain leather, coupled with smooth-as-butter Riri water resistant zippers on the front, and a YKK Aquaguard zipper on the back, means this bag is just as water resistant and hardy as any other sling in the running. 

The interior is lined with a light grey twill, without any interior pocketing, but it’s made up for with the extra exterior pockets. The front slip pocket fits a smaller set of keys or a wallet, and the rear is perfectly designed to keep your phone protected and at the ready. The main compartment can fit your other essentials or even a small point-n-shoot.

The strap comes with a beefy Cobra buckle – one of our favorites – that ties the whole package together. The configuration of rings and triglides for adjustment are extremely clever and let you tighten or loosen the strap with one hand, and easily at that.

Strengths

• – Premium, luxury build and materials
• – Water resistant materials and furnishings
• – Intuitive one hand adjustment

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Veilance Monad Waist Pack

Who It Suits

You’re a minimalist that doesn’t really need much on them – just a pocket dump of keys, wallet, phone at most. You also like to wear or rock things that are just a bit different. You may also like to keep on the move, which is why you don’t need much on you.

The Lowdown

The Veilance Monad is part sling, part hip pack, part running band, and it does all of that well. At first glance, and at first use, it’s an odd beast, but once you “get it”, you really get it.

Like many things in the Arc’teryx Veilance lineup, the Monad is water resistant, bordering waterproof, with taped seams and a waterproof zipper. This isn’t true of the open stretch pockets on either side, but that’s to be expected. The body of the bag looks slim, and it is, but has a well designed gusset around the edges, so that extra granola bar will fit just fine.

The side pockets are one of the things you have to use to understand, and really appreciate. They’re surprisingly deep, and thanks to the stretchy material the pockets stay pretty secure and closed when on the move – as an extra precaution there’s a key loop inside.

The strap is made from a supple elastic material which helps with the aforementioned fitting-of-gear and keeping it secure. It’s very comfortable, and the wings of the Monad help dial it in. There’s a slim, side mounted buckle for easy on-and-off.

Strengths

• – Ultra slim for wearing under clothing
• – Waterproof main compartment
• – Side quick access pockets

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Rofmia Shoulder Bag V3

Who It Suits

You like handcrafted goods, clean lines and minimalism, but sometimes you need to carry just a bit more, or something a little bulkier. Maybe you want the option of taking a small camera or extra lens with you, but don’t want to carry a dedicated camera bag. This is where the Rofmia Shoulder Bag V3 shines.

The Lowdown

The Rofmia Shoulder Bag V3 is a killer combination of high-end technical materials, understated design, and protective stowage. This 3L DCF sling is hyper-flexible and equally serves EDC as well as it does light camera duty.

The waterproof DCF and water resistant YKK aquaguard zippers keep your gear dry – that’s extra important if you’re hauling gear in here. The Shoulder Bag’s stone-inspired body is lightly padded just for this reason and it easily carries a small mirrorless body and two lenses; one attached and one in the interior padded sleeve.

The main compartment is accessed via center-zip on the very top of the bag, and it opens into a lightly padded mesh interior. Two pockets on the front and back store your keys, wallet, and other valuables. The padded interior sleeve can just as easily be used for round items like a small prime lens as it can for flat items like a wallet. It easily pushes out of the way when not in use. The back side has a slip pocket for your phone.

The strap is as simple and clean as the rest of the bag, with nothing dangling. It’s adorned with a Fidlock buckle mounted on the side, which is where we prefer them, to allow easy on and off.

Strengths

• – Wide, padded base makes for great for camera carry
• – Water resistant materials and furnishings.
• – Sleek, minimalistic design

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[VOTING CLOSES APRIL 6TH]