Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling Review - Best Travel Sling?
I’ve always carried a decent sized camera backpack with me when I travel, but, on my last few long-haul flights, I’ve become frustrated with the lack of leg room I have when I shove it under the seat in front of me. With the growing popularity of sling bags, though, I started to wonder if I could fit my travel camera kit into a smaller bag and make more room for my poor legs on these flights.
With this in mind, I immediately started to search for the best travel slings online, and found a number of options from popular brands like Nomatic and Peak Design, but none of them looked quite large enough to hold everything I needed (I like to take photos and videos when I travel, so my kit is a decent size. More on that below).
After a good amount of searching, I stumbled on Wandrd, and their Rogue 3L, 6L and 9L slings. Their overall rugged aesthetic and outdoor adventure-inspired gear immediately drew me to the brand. The slings looked as if they were just begging to go out on an epic photo journey. And the 9L option looked unbelievably spacious for a sling. So, after checking out the dimensions and making sure the 9L sling wasn’t as bulky as my current camera backpack, I ordered the Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling in black before our recent trip to Mallorca in Spain - and let’s just say I had all of the leg room I needed for the 7+ hour flight.
So, after throwing the Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling straight into a long haul travel adventure, is it worth the money or upgrade from your current bag? Let’s find out.
Features
The Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling comes equipped with a large 9L storage space along with two soft dividers to hold fairly large cameras and lenses (and anything else you want to store safely on your travels). The large inside section also includes a zippered pocket on the top panel, which is perfect for storing charging cables and other miscellaneous camera accessories, as well as a sleeve / tech organizer behind the 9L camera pocket, which can house camera filters, extra batteries, etc.
The front of the bag includes a slim zippered pocket that I have found mainly useful for carrying small items that you need quick access to: headphones, pens, a small notebook, a lens wipe, etc. This pocket also has a “key garage” along with a clip to keep them secure. I found this especially convenient when travelling, as I know exactly where my car keys are going to be once I return home!
There’s also a roll down section on the bottom of the bag that can hold either a tripod or a water bottle. This section is quite generous, and could even hold my 1L Yeti Rambler bottle! Once you place a bottle or tripod in it, you simply connect the attached clips to the bag to keep your item secure, and then you’re on your way.
If you want to carry a tripod and a water bottle, the front of the bag (where the slim zippered pocket is) has two adjustable straps where you attach a small tripod (like the Peak Design Travel Tripod).
Additionally, there are two zippers at the back of the bag: one at the top and one at the bottom. When you open the bottom zipper, the back pocket can basically extend downwards a few inches. The idea here is that, when you open the top zipper, you can slide up to a 16” laptop into the back of the sling, which Wandrd says is a game changer in the sling world. I’m not one to carry a laptop with me when I’m on the go with my camera, but, since this is just a decent size pocket, I use this space to hold items I want to keep close to me and secure, as this section of the sling rests directly against your back.
Oh, did I mention all of the built-in handles? This bag has multiple sturdy handles, which doesn’t seem like the most exciting feature, but, when you’re trying to pull your sling from your back to your front so you can pull out your camera, they are super convenient and provide a lot of accessibility help.
All in all, for a fairly small sling bag, the Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling comes fully equipped with a ton of features to help you carry a good amount of camera gear around wherever you travel.
Build Quality
The camera’s exterior is built of an extremely durable nylon coated material - and you can certainly feel the quality as soon as you hold the bag. It feels like it was built to survive, and protect your camera gear, even in the harshest conditions. The sling is also equipped with weather resistant YKK zippers, which further help keep your camera gear protected. Inside the bag, the padding is fairly soft, and the dividers are thick enough to ensure your gear won’t get smashed around as you’re trekking through the Amazon Rainforest or riding horses in a field.
This bag is built to last, and I’d say, like most Wandrd products, it’s built for carrying your camera equipment on the most demanding adventures.
Set Up & Capacity
Due to the sling’s generous 9L cavity, along with the two included soft dividers, the Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling offers ample storage space for fairly comprehensive camera kits. You won’t be able to take your entire kit with you (which, if you’re travelling, isn’t really necessary for most trips), but you can bring quite a bit more gear than you’d expect. The 9L cavity can easily hold a full frame mirrorless camera with a decent size camera lens attached, plus two other large prime or zoom lenses (a very large telephoto lens, like a 70-200, likely wouldn’t fit in the bag along with a camera).
If you don’t need three lenses with you at all times, you can easily swap one for another camera body, a GoPro or even a drone / controller. Having the ability to carry both a camera, a few lenses and a drone all in one relatively smaller camera sling is a gamer changer (at least for me), as I typically require both my mirrorless and drone when I travel.
In addition, the storage space behind the main 9L compartment holds both my PolarPro Variable ND Filter and my PolarPro Circular Polarizer, along with two charging adaptors and an extra battery. The interior zipper pocket also holds my slim travel air blower, and various charging cables. I then use the front pocket for things I need quickly while travelling: headphones, a pen, etc.
Below, I have outlined my current Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling set up to give you an idea of what this thing can hold:
Sony a7iii + Sony 24-105mm Lens
Tamron 17-28mm Lens
DJI Mini 2 Drone + Controller
PolarPro Circular Polarizer
PolarPro Variable ND Filter
Various cables & charging adaptors
A small travel air blower
Not bad for a travel set up right? This bag allows me to carry the essentials I need for a good travel camera kit - and then some. If you want to pack a bit lighter on your travels, but also don’t want to compromise your camera kit, the Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling could be for you.
Travel Practicality
I found the Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling very practical for travelling. As mentioned above, I am able to fit in a fairly comprehensive camera kit into the bag, while also maintaining a fairly small footprint in my overall luggage.
Due to the bag’s dimensions (8.5 x 13.5 x 7), the sling easily slides underneath an airplane seat, allowing you to easily carry your precious camera gear with you at all times during flights.
If carrying a sling over one shoulder on the airplane isn’t your thing, you can easily slide the bag’s top handle over your carry-on luggage bag’s handle. This works similar to the way a backpack’s luggage strap works, except in mini form.
Potential Cons
As stated above, the main con of carrying a sling bag is, well, carrying a sling bag. Especially a 9L one. Yes, this bag holds a sizeable kit, however that does make the bag weigh a decent amount when full. Placing the bag on your carry-on luggage does alleviate this problem while travelling through airports, but, if you’re planning on some long hikes with this bag, keep the potential overall weight in mind.
Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling - Verdict
For $159 USD ($219 CAD), the Wandrd Rogue 9L Sling provides a rugged, highly durable and spacious travel sling that will protect your gear on the plane, in the snow, near the ocean and all the way into the desert. Sure, there may be other slings out there that are a bit cheaper, but, when you’re trying to protect your precious camera gear while travelling, the few extra dollars for a high quality sling like this one are worth it. Plus, these bags will hold all the camera gear you need (and more) for an epic trip anywhere in the world.