Peak Design’s Everyday Sling comes in 10- and 5-litre capacities and is designed to hold your most essential camera kit or drone. For this review I tested the Peak Design Everyday Sling 5L option with my everyday kit: the Nikon Z6, 24-70mm f/4, 35mm f/1.8, DJI Osmo Pocket, plus the Pocket Expansion Kit, and a Huawei P20 Pro.
Taking the Everyday Sling on a family holiday, it was important that I had all of my essentials there to cover me for any scenario, but I also didn’t want to be lumbered down with a large backpack. Particularly in stifling Orlando heat! There’s also the temptation with a backpack to cram more kit in than you’ll actually need.
I wanted to stick to the basics, and on paper the Peak Design Everyday Sling looked like the right bag for the job.
Features
The Peak Design Everyday Sling is designed for small DSLR or mirrorless kits or drones like the DJI Spark or Mavic and their accessories. You can modify the interior of the sling to accommodate your particular kit using the Everyday Sling’s Flexfold dividers.
These are Velcro dividers that attach to the sides of the bag’s interior. They utilise perforations in several places that allow you to use them as a standard divider or a cubby hole or even a shelf for your camera.
Another interesting feature about the Everyday Sling is that you can adapt how you wear it for different activities. You can wear it around your chest like a standard sling, or you can adjust the strap’s length and tuck it into a cleverly concealed pocket on the back of the bag and wear it as a bum bag. This was handy when going cycling, for instance. I could wrap the Everyday Sling around my waist, turn it facing backwards and away I went.
There are also two built-in stretch pockets on either side of the sling’s interior where you can store things like chargers, extra batteries and other accessories.
Peak Design also manages to fit a small tablet sleeve into the interior design, which can accommodate a device measuring up to 9.8 x 6.8 x 24 inches. And on the front of the Everyday Sling is a quick access pocket for things like your phone.
Another clever feature is the Capture Clip – which you can buy separately – that attaches to the Everyday Sling and enables you to mount your camera directly to the bag.
Build Quality
The Peak Design Everyday Sling’s build quality is some of the best I’ve ever seen in a camera bag. From its premium materials to its wealth of functionality, the Everyday Sling looks and feels every penny’s worth its price tag.
The bag’s interior is made of soft material that nuzzles your gear. The material in the stretch pockets and organiser pouch, while thin, is very tough and soft. The walls are thick and secure. Everything stays put. I had no concerns at all about my gear while testing the Everyday Sling 5L.
The outside of the Everyday Sling is made of a weatherproof fabric with a tight seal over the zippers to prevent any ingress of water. The zippers themselves have convenient pulls attached, making them easy to open in a hurry. You can also loop them together to prevent thieves being able to quickly unzip the bag and take your kit.
The strap is thin, but robust, like a seatbelt. The buckles are made of metal, and where the strap attaches to the bag are metal wheels that allow you to adjust its angle against your body.
I wore the Everyday Sling 5L everyday for about a week on a recent trip to Disney World, and I hardly noticed it was there. The padded shoulder strap was comfortable all day long, and because the bag is small enough I could take my kit everywhere and vlog as we went on rides. The kids loved this. I did too!
Performance
Setting up the Everyday Sling, I used one FlexFold divider as a cubby for my Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 lens, and the other was a shelf that raised my Nikon Z6 up high enough to let me insert the camera with my 35mm f/1.8 attached.
In the interior pocket on the flap I kept my Osmo Pocket and accessories, with spare memory cards and cables in the organiser pouches. In the Everyday Sling’s quick access pouch on the front of the bag, I kept my Huawei P20 Pro.
This really was an ideal setup for me, but I could have even packed more gear if I wanted.
The FlexFold dividers are what initially won me over with the Everyday Sling 5L. Their dual functionality gives me a lot of options not only for what I want to take, but how I want to use it. With the FlexFold dividers I could quickly access my 24-70mm, for instance, and change lenses without having to stop.
I also find the sling’s versatility in how you wear it incredibly useful. I could wear it as a bum bag on a bike ride and then swap it round across my chest for a walk.
I also liked how quickly I could access my gear and put it securely away again. So many bags – even slings I’ve tested – you have to stop and take the bag off or swivel it round your body, but Peak Design has made a highly functional bag that adapts to your activities and pace.
I also found myself sneaking non-photo items into the bag as our days progressed: suncream stored in the FlexFold divider that was serving as a bench for my Z6; my wife’s phone in the outside pocket. Even my son’s Fuji XP130 found its way in the Everyday Sling for me to carry.
Now, if you’ve seen the Seinfeld episode where Jerry is persuaded to get a ‘European carry-all’, all you male photographers reading this might find – depending on how you wear the sling – it looks a little too much like a man purse. But those are your own self-confidence issues, man.
I have no complaints about the Everyday Sling 5L following my tests. It’s perfect for everyday photography. I wore it in the rain. It tumbled once off the sofa. Never once did I fear for my gear (OK, maybe a little after the tumble), and it was well-protected.
Verdict
What really strikes me about the Everyday Sling is the fine attention to detail, from functionality to design. The Everyday Sling isn’t just a beautiful bag – it’s also one of the most flexible, functional bags I’ve used.
Cleverly placed (and spaced) pockets and sleeves allow you to pack a considerable amount of gear in the Everyday Sling 5L but not feel like you’re overloaded.
The Peak Design Everyday Sling 5L is hands-down the best small bag I’ve ever used.
It’s not the bag you’d want for professional shoots – and no sling bag is – but for your everyday photography, those who prefer to travel light will love the design, build quality and comfort the Peak Design Everyday Sling affords.
It comes at a hefty price, of course, but in my opinion it’s totally worth it. Photographers are perpetually in search of the perfect bag. I think Peak Design may have created it.