Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co. Review

Camera Sling bags generally are rather simple products, but that doesn’t mean they cannot be visually beautiful pieces with a healthy level of functionality.

Without a doubt, that is where Clever Supply Co. seems to have directed its attention.

I’ve gone through plenty of sling and messenger bags in my time as a photographer, and I am becoming fussier and fussier each time I see a new one.

Clever Supply Co. has not disappointed me with the aesthetics of their Camera Sling.

It’s designed and crafted elegantly with a tasteful mixture of smooth brown leather and heavy-duty waxed canvas.

How about the functionality? Well, let’s explore that throughout this article (Hint: It’s mostly quite positive).

Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co. | Specs

 

Capacity: 6L
Dimensions: 31.75 x 21.59 x 10.16 cm (12.5″ x 8.5″ x 4″)
Weight: 0.68kg (1.5lbs)
Tablet Carry: up to 11″ Tablet in sleeve
Includes: 2x Dividers (with SD Card pockets)

• Water Resistant Waxed Canvas
• Full-grain leather base and accents
• YKK coated weather resistant zippers
• Brass Hardware
• EVA foam for structure and protection
• SD Card Pockets on Internal Dividers (up to 8 SD Cards)
• Padded and adjustable Shoulder Strap
• 3 Interior Pockets/Pouches
• 1 wide external Pocket
• 3 large and comfortable grab handles
• Internal tablet sleeve with hook to secure
• Wide opening lid

Build & Appearance

Successfully marrying classic and modern design elements with considered functionality, the Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co. is an elegant solution to the everyday needs of most photographers and commuters.

Beautiful full-grain leather not only adorns the base of the Camera Sling but also provides stylish design accents throughout.

The body is crafted from durable waxed canvas and the YKK Coated Zippers help complete the water-resistant function.

Available in two distinct colour ways; a discrete black and a statement-forming tan. The Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co. will pair with your style and is as fitting at a wedding shoot as it is on a train to the office.

Easily appointed as your go-to camera bag, but also an excellent everyday sling bag for days you don’t require a camera.

It doesn’t really matter the use – it’s fit for any purpose. Featuring heavy-duty materials, tough stitching, and high-quality hardware, the Camera Sling is built tough while looking fantastic.

The coated YKK Zippers run right around the top edge of the Camera Sling and halfway down the face. This gives you a large opening for access to your gear.

Not only does the coating add to the water resistance, but they’re heavy duty and won’t split open if you overstack your bag.

I dare say I wasn’t quite sure about the tan at first (as usually, I opt for black bags), but I really appreciate how it looks and feels!

Exterior Features

Being a Camera Sling, you cannot expect it to be littered with features. Features can potentially overcomplicate, weigh down, or add unnecessary bulk to already limited package sizes.

Fortunately, the Clever Supply Co. didn’t go overboard, but they did include some nice and well-considered features to the Camera Sling!

You’ll find 3 healthy sized grab handles made of a padded smooth material (similar to what you’ll find on the Peak Design and McKinnon bags). 2 of them are on the short sides, and one full length along the back/body side of the Camera Sling.

This consideration makes for convenient and easy handling of the bag throughout whatever situation you may find yourself in.

The back panel features a stylish “onion stitching” design over the top of a nice layer of padding, while the leather wing tabs hold the adjustable swivel shoulder strap.

For added comfort, you’ll find a thinly padded sleeve along the shoulder strap for added grip and comfort. It’s designed with a tasteful level of thickness; ie, not too thick so it doesn’t bend well, but not too thin for it to do nothing.

On the face of the Camera Sling is a slim front pocket for stowing quick access items such as your phone or charger. It’s rather slim, so bulkier items need to be placed within the main compartment.

The leather along the base adds a stylish and soft touch but a strong level of protection. It’s not only a design element but functional as well. In addition to that, both the waxed canvas and leather will patina over time, creating further character and telling a story through its use.

For longer or bulkier items like tripods or most large water bottles, you’ll need to source a different solution to carry them (further on that later). To put it another way, you won’t find cargo straps, bottle pockets, or external pouches on the Camera Sling.

Interior Features

Opening up the wide lid exposes the main compartment and comes with two thick padded dividers, which cleverly contain small leather SD Card pouches. Saving you the need to pack a separate SD card wallet or lose them within other pockets and pouches.

Although I dare say the dividers could probably be a little thinner in design, they do look great with the pattern and leather details!

Running full width along the bodyside of the main compartment is the tablet pocket. Large enough to fit an 11″ tablet or notepad and held in place securely by a stylish hook.

Clever Supply Co. has also included a full-width internal pocket within the lid itself. Made from a see-through soft, stretchy material that expands to support your items inside.

The pocket has a stretchy pouch and two straps, which are good for cable management or slimmer items like USB sticks.

Additionally, the tall design of the Camera Sling allows you to heavily stack it out without impeding on the general camera area, which is a nice little bonus with that design.

Within the main compartments are two tall, stretchy side pockets on the short sides for securing further loose items. Useful for mini tripods, cables, batteries, or other items you don’t want moving around the bag.

Storage Capacity

The tall and slender internal compartment is deep enough for small to medium cameras and foldable drone systems.

My Sony a7 III with Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 attached fits without issue while still having enough space for another lens or additional accessories to be included.

Lens filters or other slender items will fit within the front pocket on the outside of the bag, and other accessories can be placed nicely in the internal pocket.

To my surprise, the Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co. also fit my Canon 5D Mark III. In the past, I often found that smaller slings tend to feel restrictive when it came to that camera.

If I decide to use it as a small work bag during the week, I can fit my small Dell XPS 13 Laptop within the main compartment, along with a mouse and charger cables.

For the context of size, these are the dimensions of my laptop: 8.95 x 304.16 x 200.25 mm (0.35″ x 11.97″ x 7.88″).

To help you get an idea of what you can fit within the Camera Sling, I’ve put together four examples. I haven’t bothered listing all the small bits and pieces that also fit within the bag, such as small cables and daily essentials (ie, snacks!).

Mirrorless camera set up:

• Sony a7 III with Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8
• GODOX Camera Flash (or another lens)
• 2 spare batteries
• Hand sanitiser (these trying times)
• USB battery charger with charger cable
• Various other small bits and pieces…

Full Frame camera set up:

• Canon 5D Mark III
• Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
• Canon 600EX RT Speedlite (or another lens)
• 3 Spare batteries
• Various other small bits and pieces…

Foldable drone set up:

• DJI Mini 3 Pro
• DJI RC Controller
• 2 spare batteries within the charging hub
• 30w wall plug
• Spare propellers
• USB battery charger with charger cable
• Various other small bits and pieces…

Daily commuting set up:

• 13″ Dell XPS 13 Laptop
• Laptop Charger cables
• Travel mouse
• A5 notebook
• Face mask
• Various other small bits and pieces…

Ease of Use/Comfort

The short of it is the Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co. is a pretty comfortable and simple bag to use day in and day out.

It’s built with more than sufficient padding (fortunately not over the top) and has a lid that is not only secured by tough, water-resistant zips but has been designed to open wide (and stay open) for easy access to your gear.

You may find the YKK Coated Zippers and their nice pulls to feel a bit tough at first, but that coating adds to the water resistance for which the bag has been designed. YKK set the standards when it comes to zippers, so I will always appreciate and trust in that.

It’s a tall and slender build that is not unnecessarily bulky from being filled with excessive padding but is still large enough to hold a good deal of equipment.

Additionally, being firm and balanced in structure, the Camera Sling stays upright against your body when opening, preventing spillage of your precious gear.

Lastly, being supplied with 3 grab handles allows for maneuvering, stowing, or hand carrying the bag in whichever way is needed at any one time.

Alternatives

Presently similarly priced (ie, Early Bird on Kickstarter), the nearest alternative I would suggest will have to be the Peak Design Everyday Sling 6L.

It’s actually cheaper when comparing retail prices, and has great functionality and high-quality materials, but is much more minimalistic in aesthetics. 

Coming in at the same capacity and similar in overall design and features, the Peak Design Everyday Sling is certainly a crowd favourite. The difference I would imagine may come down to the physical sizing and shape of the bag.

The 6L Camera Sling is a consistent rectangle shape, where as the Everyday Sling 6L is wider on the top than the bottom.

I also want to mention that although it’s advertised as a 6L capacity bag, the way in which it is designed makes it feel like it could be comparable to a slightly larger capacity sling.

So allow me also to suggest another alternative, the Nomatic X Peter McKinnon Camera Sling (8L) – my present go-to camera sling.

Dropping in the same items into the Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co., I have found that they both can hold pretty much the same amount of gear. This baffles me, as the Camera Sling has 6L of capacity, and the McKinnon Camera Sling is 8L.

I know I don’t have multitudes of different size lenses, but for me personally, they both seem to handle my gear in the same way.

Value for Money

The expected price will be around the US$250 mark – I’ll update this review when the retail pricing becomes available.

For what can easily be considered a boutique low-volume beautiful camera bag, one that has been crafted with passion from fantastic materials, it is pretty decent value.

Admittedly, it does come across as being on the higher end of the pricing scale when it comes to comparatively styled camera slings on the market. Still, I find it also tends to be a factor with low-run productions with high-quality fine materials happen.

FAQ

Is it only good for camera gear?

Clever Supply Co. may have set out to design a camera bag, but I feel they’ve developed a fantastic “any use” bag.

Large enough to hold my everyday items for a trip into the office or for carrying my things on day-to-day errands.

It doesn’t look like a typical camera bag, so I don’t feel it looks out of place when I carry it around town running errands or meeting friends for lunch.

How will the materials change over time?

The waxed canvas and leather used in the crafting of the Camera Sling will, over time, patina with age and use.

What this means is that the materials change in style and visual texture through usage and exposure to varying conditions. Creating a unique rustic and vintage look that tells a story of your time together.

What if my laptop or tablet is larger than 11 inches?

While the built-in tablet pouch may only fit an 11″ device, if you are required to carry something a little larger, you may have to resort to utilising the main compartment.

However, in doing so, you’ll have to understand that a camera may not be able to fit as well or would be sharing the space with your device with no protection between. The main compartment will hold a device up to 30cm (12″) wide.

How much vertical space do I have for tall items?

Technically the internal height of the main compartment is 21cm (8.5″). However, due to the shape of the lid, the actual usable space may be just shy of 20cm (8″).

For instance, a typical cylindrical shaped lens that is 20cm (8″) long may not fit vertically at the top side, but a drink bottle just may. This is because the top of a drink bottle usually tapers into a smaller diameter.

What if I like having a water bottle with me?

Clever Supply Co. did not include any dedicated bottle pockets or external sleeves for storing similar shaped or sized items. However, depending on how you set up the inside, you may still be able to carry a water bottle.

You’ll either have to lay it across the top of your equipment horizontally (up to 30cm/12″ long), or a maximum of 20cm (8″) in height with a maximum 8-10cm (3-4″) in diameter.

Camera Sling by Clever Supply Co. Review | Conclusion

Clever Supply Co. has ticked many boxes of mine when it comes to what I like in a sling; style, functionality, quality, capacity, and weight. While it may be expensive, that more often tends to be the case with low-volume boutique products.

The Camera Sling is a wonderful combination of form and function while providing the confidence of lightweight, reliability, durability, and adverse weather protection for your gear.

It looks the part and doesn’t necessarily scream, “I’m a camera bag!”. The slender design is not weighed down by gimmicky design or unnecessary padding, and that also means it isn’t sticking out too far from your body either.

I look forward to what future creations Clever Supply Co. develop following the success of their first-ever camera bag release! Especially if this is how great their bags are from the beginning.

…but please put bottle 2 pockets on the outside of any larger bags!