I’ve been struggling to find a sling which is the right shape, size, and look for me to be able to use without it looking — well — weird. Someone on my Discord pointed out this brand for the pouches — but the Rover Sling Pack caught my eye. They are made in a wide variety of colors, and are really competitively priced.
It’s been my go to, and really only, sling since it arrived. It’s fantastic.
Capacity and Materials
This is a pretty straight forward sling: 9” x 6” x 3” rectangle. It’s made from 1000D Cordura exterior, with a 420D liner. It’s roughly 2L in capacity, which is a sweet spot for me. The design is pretty simple: front pocket with little volume, and large main pocket with some small open top pockets in it.
Almost everything on the site can be customized to some extent, for this one I opted out of velcro to keep the vibes more street focused. The entire sling is very well made, and feels very durable. 1000D works well on these small packs because it keeps it from slipping around your back too easily.
The webbing feels nice, not too abrasive. However my single complaint on the bag is the buckle: it should be offset, yes, but more than that is the rattle when it is not under tension. So wearing it is fine, but carry the sling and you will hear the buckle rattling about. That probably sounds trivial, but it is very noticeable.
In Use
It’s small enough that you can use it as an organizer pouch in a larger bag when you travel to consolidate things — which I have done several times. But it’s large enough that I can carry sunglasses, first aid, and my Ricoh in the sling.
I’ve worn this all over, taken it traveling, and just carried it about generally — of all the slings I have tested this is the only one where I am not self-conscious about it giving off weird-small-bag-tactical-vibes, while also not feeling like an oddly sized small shoulder bag. It really holds more than I thought it would, while looking compact enough to not warrant worries as I move in and out of shops.
The only practical thing I have found while using this is that the interior pockets are not great. They are too narrow at the base, and things push up and out of them instead of nestling down and in them. I’d love for this to have a single wall of loop velcro, and an interior zippered pocket. If it had those two things, you could really get some great organization in the pouch.
As it is, this is a really easy to use bag, while staying small and out of the way. It stays packed and ready to go in my house.
Overall
These are made in Puerto Rico, and arrive fairly quickly. At $55 it’s practically a bargain compared to the other slings I have tested, and certainly keeps up with all the more expensive offerings in use. It’s nothing flashy, but it can be made to the exact colors you want, and it’s a fantastic size.
I’m a big fan.