Bellroy Venture 2.5L Sling Review
A small sling is one of the most useful travel accessories one can get. On travel days it serves as a safe place to store your passport, wallet, documents, battery charger and other small essentials. When you get on the plane, you can either keep this round your shoulder or place it in the seat pocket in front of you. This ensures nothing is in your pockets and nothing gets lost. If you’re going for a walk round town, this is also a great way to free up your pockets and reduce the risk of pick pocketing. When in busy areas I always tend to slide this round to the front and can even put my arm over it to be extra safe if I’m somewhere that warrants that. A small sling like this can also double up as a mini camera bag if you have something small like an X100v or a tech pouch inside a bigger bag.
Materials & Design
The main outer material is a 100% recycled water resistant woven fabric. The zip is solid with a water resistant coating to keep rain out. The strap is not the thickest in the world however given you will not carry much weight in this bag, it’s enough. It’s made from a seatbelt like material although much softer to the touch. There is one magnetic buckle on the right side and although it’s easy to unlatch, it’s very secure when on your body. I’ve been caught short in a few rain showers while wearing this bag and it’s kept the water out just fine. Also after 6 months of heavy daily use, there are no signs of wear.
Ergonomics
There is plenty of adjustment for a sling set up however if you want to use it as a bum bag, then the strap is a little too long for me (31” waist). If you set it up properly and don’t carry too much weight, you can forget you’re even wearing it. The biggest issue with the ergonomics is the rear external pocket. Although it’s extremely secure and easy to access (for you), there isn’t much padding between the pocket and your body. If you use it for your phone or passport it’s fine, however should you put something more bulky in there, it might not be very comfortable. Finally the strap also compresses the bag when it’s on your body thus reducing its footprint.
Features & Space
In the front there is one large zip pocket which opens up to two pockets with a divider and a key leash. This is the perfect size for a wallet, keys, coins and lip balm. Inside you will find a hard divider towards the back of the bag that’s designed to house your phone and protect it from anything in the main compartment. There is also a soft fabric pouch towards the top of the bag where you can store sunglasses. Finally there is the rear access pocket as mentioned earlier. The main compartment is spacious and can easily hold the XT5 and an f2 prime with the lens removed. Alternatively it can hold a compact camera like an X100v or Ricoh with ease.
Summary
If you shoot with a Ricoh, X100v or your phone, this is the perfect daily carry bag. It can hold all the essentials you need and keep your pockets empty and your stuff secure. If you travel frequently, this can act as a secure document wallet that you always have on your body. It keeps you safe from pick pockets, keeps your stuff organised and stops you from losing anything important. I would recommend this type of sling to anyone.
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