Small bags worn across the body, for the things that do not fit in a pocket.
A sling sits between a wallet and a backpack: a phone, keys, a wallet and maybe a camera or a small tablet, worn across the chest where it stays in sight. With one strap, one or two zips and very little fabric, it has fewer parts to wear out than any other bag, and the ones here are made from nylon heavy enough to outlast years of daily use.
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At a glance: Slings picks compared, with buy links
A small sling sized for a phone, wallet, keys and earbuds, in heavy nylon with a padded strap that adjusts with one pull. It has a single main compartment and a quick-access front pocket, so there is little to snag or tear.
A litre is enough for a passport, a phone and a cable roll and nothing else, which is the point: it is the bag you wear through an airport rather than the one you pack. Axoflux 210D with YKK Aquaguard zips, which are the parts that normally fail first on a sling.
Weatherproof recycled nylon, a padded interior with a FlexFold divider, and hardware chosen to outlast the fabric around it, backed by Peak Design's lifetime warranty. It comes in 3, 6 and 10 litre sizes on the same design, so the one bag can be bought to fit a phone and wallet or a small camera kit.
A light belt bag that wears across the body or at the waist, for a phone, cards and keys. It is the simplest bag here: one zip, one strap and a slim shell.
A larger sling built for travel days, with room for a small tablet, a passport and a water bottle as well as the everyday basics. It wears close to the body, where it is harder to pick and easier to keep in front of you in a crowd.
Osprey repairs any bag it has ever made, free, for as long as the bag exists, and that guarantee applies to a sixty-five dollar pouch exactly as it does to a four-hundred dollar pack. A zipped main compartment, a bottle pocket and a strap that adjusts one- handed.
An urban sling with slash-resistant panels and strap, and zips that lock closed. It is built for cities where bags get grabbed, and the anti-theft parts are the same steel mesh and hardware that make it outlast ordinary nylon slings.
A small cross-body bag with one main zip, a front pocket and a webbing strap, which leaves very little to break. Osprey's All Mighty Guarantee covers it the way it covers their full-size packs: they repair any damage or defect, whenever it was bought, and replace it if a repair is not possible.
Cross-body sling sized for a phone, wallet, keys and a snack
Simple build: one main zip, one front pocket, adjustable strap
Osprey All Mighty Guarantee, repair or replace for life
A small hip pack in tough coated nylon that wears as a sling or at the waist, with a front zip pocket and an internal organiser. The fabric is the same weather-resistant material Cotopaxi uses on its travel packs.
A 9-litre sling with a water-resistant shell, magnetic buckles and enough room for a small camera or a day of essentials. Bellroy backs it with a three-year warranty.
A small sling sized for a phone, wallet, keys and earbuds, in heavy nylon with a padded strap that adjusts with one pull. It has a single main compartment and a quick-access front pocket, so there is little to snag or tear.
A litre is enough for a passport, a phone and a cable roll and nothing else, which is the point: it is the bag you wear through an airport rather than the one you pack. Axoflux 210D with YKK Aquaguard zips, which are the parts that normally fail first on a sling.
Weatherproof recycled nylon, a padded interior with a FlexFold divider, and hardware chosen to outlast the fabric around it, backed by Peak Design's lifetime warranty. It comes in 3, 6 and 10 litre sizes on the same design, so the one bag can be bought to fit a phone and wallet or a small camera kit.
A light belt bag that wears across the body or at the waist, for a phone, cards and keys. It is the simplest bag here: one zip, one strap and a slim shell.
A larger sling built for travel days, with room for a small tablet, a passport and a water bottle as well as the everyday basics. It wears close to the body, where it is harder to pick and easier to keep in front of you in a crowd.
Osprey repairs any bag it has ever made, free, for as long as the bag exists, and that guarantee applies to a sixty-five dollar pouch exactly as it does to a four-hundred dollar pack. A zipped main compartment, a bottle pocket and a strap that adjusts one- handed.
An urban sling with slash-resistant panels and strap, and zips that lock closed. It is built for cities where bags get grabbed, and the anti-theft parts are the same steel mesh and hardware that make it outlast ordinary nylon slings.
A small cross-body bag with one main zip, a front pocket and a webbing strap, which leaves very little to break. Osprey's All Mighty Guarantee covers it the way it covers their full-size packs: they repair any damage or defect, whenever it was bought, and replace it if a repair is not possible.
Cross-body sling sized for a phone, wallet, keys and a snack
Simple build: one main zip, one front pocket, adjustable strap
Osprey All Mighty Guarantee, repair or replace for life
A small hip pack in tough coated nylon that wears as a sling or at the waist, with a front zip pocket and an internal organiser. The fabric is the same weather-resistant material Cotopaxi uses on its travel packs.
A 9-litre sling with a water-resistant shell, magnetic buckles and enough room for a small camera or a day of essentials. Bellroy backs it with a three-year warranty.
9 litre capacity
Water-resistant shell
Bellroy three-year warranty
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Product photograph, AerTop pick
Product photograph, ALPAKA
Product photograph, Peak Design
Product photograph, Bellroy
Product photograph, Aer
Product photograph, Osprey
Product photograph, Pacsafe
Product photograph, Osprey
Product photograph, Cotopaxi
Product photograph, Bellroy