Lowepro Sling Bag Review

We spent a morning in Elk Island National Park on Tuesday, my wife and I on foot while our daughter slid about on cross-country skis. The snow was hard packed on the trail around Tawayik Lake, so walking was easy. As is usual on a weekday winter morning we had the trail to ourselves. With temperatures hovering around freezing and patchy blue skies, it was a pleasure to get out again. We did a bit of photography, but mostly the trip was a chance to be outside again and feel the sun on our faces.

I was also trying out our new Lowepro SlingShot – 300 AW sling bag for its first trial run. I have always found a regular backpack somewhat frustrating, in that you need to take it off and set it down to access your gear–something that is not always possible or efficient. Regular shoulder bags have the habit of sliding off the shoulder just as you are releasing the shutter, and even with an added hip-belt they become clumsy when you need to kneel down for macro work or crouch for stalking. The new sling bags being offered by many manufacturers seem to offer a solution to the problem.

Lowepro Sling-shot 300 AW.

The Lowepro bag I chose is just large enough to hold my basic trail equipment: a Nikon D80 with the 80-400mm VR  lens mounted, Nikon 18-70mm, Tamron 90mm macro, Kenko Pro 1.4x tele-extender, Kenko automatic extension tube set,  Nikon SB-600 flash, Nikon SB-R200 flash, Nikon DR-6 right-angle viewfinder, flash cable, flash diffuser and spare batteries all in the main compartment. The upper compartment holds a shoe-mount level, a lens-pen and my macro-flash bracket and panorama rig, which also doubles as a focusing rail. The remaining front pouch is large enough to hold my basic filter set (77mm B&W slim circular polarizer, 77mm B&W 0 .9 neutral density filter, and a Singh-Ray graduated neutral density with a Cokin P series filter holder and two adapter rings) and a microfibre cleaning cloth.

Comfort was excellent. The bag has a substantial shoulder strap and a hip-belt for extra support. I found that when the camera and large zoom was in hand the use of the hipbelt was not required. When the bag is pulled forward the main compartment can be accessed through the side, however it is a bit awkward to reach all the compartments without first lengthening the shoulder strap. The top compartment is also a bit awkward as it is designed for top access, and it would be far more useful if the zipper opened  at least partially along the bottom. The bag also has 3 slip-lock straps (one on the shoulder strap, 2 on the main bag) that allow the attachment of Lowepro Slip-lock cases – something I am sure I will need soon. Other key features for us are the built-in rain cover that pulls up over the whole bag and the clippable retaining belt that prevents you from completely unzipping the main compartment (and thereby lessening the chance of all your equipment falling out!)  before returning the bag to your back. Although we are happy with the reverse-sewn zippers that provide extra dust protection, we are a bit concerned about the durability as they are much smaller zippers than we are used to.

All in all I am satisfied with the pack so far. Time and many more day hikes will tell if the purchase was worthwhile. If you have any further questions, please add them to the comments or view the website.

(Photo from Lowepro. This is an independent review and I have no other association with the company except as an occasional customer)

~ by Adrian Thysse on 3 April, 2009.