Bellroy’s Venture Camera Sling 10-litre is a great camera sling, but it’s not without shortcomings
Bellroy Venture Camera Sling 10L review
Summary
Overall, I quite like the Bellroy Venture Camera Sling 10L, particularly its quality construction, but it’s hard to say most users would feel like they’re getting the full 10 litres.
Like a lot of dads, especially those with an unhealthy obsession with gadgets and photography, I own a few too many bags. Well, here’s another: the Bellroy Venture Camera Sling 10L Photo Bag.
I already owned a Peak Design Everyday Sling 6L before I picked up this Bellroy bag, but because I also had a small Bellroy Lite Sling, I couldn’t resist giving this one a try.
I’m pleased to say that Bellroy’s great reputation for quality production remains strong here, with a water-resistant, ripstop recycled nylon exterior, detachable strap and ‘self-compressing gussets’ to pull the bulk of the bag closer to your body.
As a (supposed…) 10-litre carry-all, there’s a large interior with padded dividers, a zipped interior pocket for batteries and memory cards, a large front pocket for your various accessories and everyday carry, and a padded exterior for protection and comfort.
FEATURES
| Self-compressing gussets to keep the bag slim | Can be worn front or back |
| Shingleback double-ended zipper for ‘ultra-wide opening’ | Detachable tripod carry straps with integrated anchor loops |
| Adjustable padded dividers (not removable) | Water-resistant zippers |
| Front zip pocket, with key clip and lens cap storage | Durable, water-resistant ripstop fabric |
| Soft-lined mesh zip pocket with storage for 3 batteries | Leather-free construction |
| Internal stretch slip pockets at each end | 3-year warranty |
| Fully padded body | Made from Baida Ripstop |
| Detachable, ambidextrous padded shoulder strap | Internal Apple AirTag slip pocket |
| Quick Slide buckle for one handed strap adjustment | External Dimensions: 22 x 12 x 36 cm |
The exterior in particular feels tough and hard-wearing, although the nylon does collect scuffs and marks easily.
The white patches you can see on my well-used bag is salt from a long and sweaty hike on a hot day, but thankfully it wipes clean nicely.
The interior dividers are permanently stitched to the walls of the bag, rather than being fixed in place with velcro, but they have the advantage of elastic sides so that they can be pushed around to make more room in any of the three divisions as needed.
However, this design means they’re not closed at the bottom, so you’ll need to be careful to not use the main interior space to store tiny items that could slip beneath the dividers.
Small elastic pockets at either end of the bag interior offer extra space for smaller items – if your camera and lenses will allow it.
The Bellroy Venture Camera Sling 10L Photo Bag comfortably swallows my large Sony A7 camera and long 35-150mm lens
The bag comfortably swallows my large Sony A7 camera and long 35-150mm lens, but there’s not much room for other items with this combination in place. I find I can just barely fit my small Ricoh GRIIIx camera in one of the pockets, but then I have little room for anything else. Bellroy’s photos show the spaces occupied by a camera body and two lenses, each in their own slot, but you won’t fit a longer lens in this orientation.
The bag is extremely and uncommonly light at just 500g, which is very welcome because my camera and lens blows that out to 5kg.
Thankfully, the wide strap includes a nicely proportioned shoulder pad, while the integrated padding in the rear of the bag ensures comfort against the body. The strap also has a ‘Quick Slide’ buckle that makes it fairly easy to adjust the length of the strap one-handed, if you suddenly need to loosen or tighten it on the go.
VERDICT
Overall, I quite like the Bellroy Venture Camera Sling 10L, particularly its quality construction – which, at the asking price, counts for a lot.
Sadly, it’s hard to feel that the claimed 10 litres of space is truly there, and it’s a bag you’ll quickly fill if you tend to carry extras like filters, additional batteries and/or a power bank, a cleaning kit, and so on. The individual pockets are large, but filling any of them eats into the others.
Practise some restraint, though – switching out my long lens for a compact option would make an obvious difference – and you should be happy with this one.
Mike Stevens
Founder
Mike is a designer and journalist with nearly 20 years’ experience in automotive and consumer technology, editing and leading titles like The Motor Report, CarAdvice, Drive, and WhichCar. He is the co-founder of The Motor Report, and the founder of DadBase.
He’s also a photographer, gadgethead and erstwhile cyclist, and the proud ADHD dad to two ADHD kiddos.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Mike relocated to Berlin in 2024 with his wife and kids for travel and culture adventures.
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