I love bike and camera bags. Being organized, keeping my gear safe, and finding a suitable style is a journey I hope never to end. I also feel like I am holding bags to a different standard than most tech reviewers. I’m a mom of 3, a professional content creator, and I live by bike. I don’t just throw my bag into the passenger seat; my bags must be highly functional to keep up with my busy life, travel, and needs. I’ve been known to wear a camera bag for 8+ hours with 35 lbs of camera gear and moving from taking photos to biking or hiking for 3 hours.
Last fall, Peak Design launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new line of Outdoor bags. From the product videos, the bags seemed to check many boxes for a premium bag. I’ve spent the last three months testing the Outdoor 25L Backpack, 7L Sling, and 3L Sling. I’ve tried them in various setups, from dedicated camera transport for hikes and cycling, to family life, bike commuting, and travel to NYC and Mexico. The Peak Design Outdoor Sling 7L has become my go-to minimalist everyday carry bag for life and camera carrying. Let’s dig into this review to help you decide if it is for you!
Disclaimer: Most of these were purchased from Kickstarter, with a demo from Peak Design to compare.
This sling can be used as a general bag to a camera bag with an additional camera cube. It is also comfortable to wear as a hip pack. This has become my go-to everyday carry (EDC) for mom life and a small camera bag.
Peak Design as a Company
Peak Design makes premium bags, and that isn’t for everyone. In a time of fast fashion, Temu, and cutting corners, I am always looking for brands making the right choices for sustainable products that will last. Especially if it may be carrying my $10k worth of camera gear or if I need to survive a backpacking trip across Europe with my 3 kids.
Company highlights that I appreciate:
- Lifetime Warranty
- Great Customer Service
- Good people – This sounds strange, but every person I have met from Peak Design out at events is career-focused and super nice. It’s easy to hire cheap labor to cover events, be out on the road, or cover the Customer Service line, but that isn’t Peak Design.
- Sustainability / Fair Trade minded – This manufacturing ethos costs money. I would rather have 1 bag that lasts a lifetime and wasn’t made with fast fashion. This isn’t for everyone, but it matters to me.
Design and Build Quality
The bag material is “Ultralight Terra Shell™ 210D ripstop exterior fabric is weatherproof, 100% recycled, and Bluesign approved.” For me, it comes across as an outdoor bag. I picked the Cloud white color, but it is available in Black and Eclipse (merlot). It is water-repellant, and they do not make a rain cover, so keep that in mind if you truly are going out into the deep wilderness. I would make sure my rain jacket has enough room to cover it.
Shoulder, Hip, and Stabilizer Straps
The shoulder strap can be used as a sling, or I use it as a hip pack. It is very comfortable loaded with my Sony A7IV camera with a 24-104 lens. The sling mode has a cross-body stabilizer strap, which I find essential for biking. It’s not my favorite stabilizer strap because of how it sits so high on my chest, but it isn’t uncomfortable. There is enough padding on the back panel to give it cushion, but flex around your body if you aren’t using the camera insert. You can flip the shoulder strap if you prefer to wear the bag on your right shoulder like I do.
Zipper Pulls
This is such a strange subheading to discuss, but I’ve never been in love with zipper pulls before these. They are coated and eye-catching but add to the bag’s design aesthetic. They feel durable, and I really appreciate that there are two, so you aren’t penalized if you flip the bag to your other shoulder.
Features and Functionality of the Bag
This bag really has found a sweet spot in my opinion of slings that can do everyday and camera well due to the camera insert that can be added. I want to break down the bag into different buckets: Everyday Bag vs Camera Bag.
Using the Peak Design Outdoor Sling 7L for Everyday Life
This bag has genuinely become my everyday bag, except when I need to carry my laptop, heavy camera gear, or only my keys and wallet. I use it for diapers and snacks in my daily mom life; it was my carry-on for trips, holding the passports and snacks close to my hip or across my chest. I day-tripped to NYC with a ton of winter gear that I shoved into the bag when indoors. I bike with it daily on my back instead of throwing it in my pannier because its so slim I can just hop on and off the bike.
The lower bungees double as a tripod or for carrying my jacket, which can be packed down. I appreciate the internal mesh pockets with a zippered section. My two complaints about using it for “daily life” are that the phone pocket on the back doesn’t have a zipper, so I don’t use it, and that there isn’t a good place to connect a biking safety blinky light to the front.
Using the Peak Design Outdoor Sling 7L with a Camera or Tech
To convert the Sling 7L into a camera bag, you need the Camera Cube V2 in XS. Fold the lid under and slide the cube in. Typically, I am using it with my Sony A7IV and 24-104 lens, which fits perfectly without any dividers. Some days, I add in the dividers to carry various action camera gear. For minimum carry, it works fine. I can’t have a very large setup, but it forces me to be thoughtful.
When traveling, I put the camera cube in my backpack and use the Sling for items like passports, snacks, etc. When I arrive at the hotel, I move the cube into my Sling and use it as my EDC bag.
Outdoor Sling 7L Pros and Cons
Pros
- Modular
- Comfortable as a hip and sling bag
- Various colors that should appeal to various consumers
- Competitive pricing to other camera slings when you add in the Camera Cube cost
Cons
- It isn’t easy to find local to try outside of a few major cities
- The camera insert is limiting / small compared to other 7-9L camera slings (I’m actually ok with this, so my shoulder doesn’t take the brunt of extra weight!)
Outdoor Sling 7L Competitors
The pricing is solid compared to others in this category. As I review more camera-focused slings, I’ll add to this article for comparisons.
Comparing the Outdoor Sling 7L to the Peak Design Everyday 6L Sling
The Peak Design Everyday 6L ($129) is a dedicated camera bag without a removable insert. You are buying this to organize camera or tech gear on the go. The Outdoor Sling is much more modular and has an adventure aesthetic. Both are great bags; it really comes down to what you need. I prefer the aesthetic of the Outdoor Sling, and it fits me better when I wear it as a hip bag, not just a sling. I only need to carry camera gear 20% of the time, so removing the camera cube allows me to use the bag as an EDC.
Conclusion
I have additional reviews coming for the other Peak Design bags, but suffice it to say that this was my favorite of the bunch and has become my go-to EDC. I wish they could push the limits a bit more on the camera cube’s available volume, but I won’t complain much, as it saves my shoulder and back from lugging too much weight on a sling. It also helps me decide quickly when to take a dedicated camera bag vs. a walkaround/bike setup.
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