Away Featherlight Duo Crossbody Review

Crossbody bags come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from small slings that were fanny packs in a past life to large messenger bags to traditional purses, which is the closest category to the Away Featherlight Duo Crossbody. This 3.2L bag has a very purse-like shape, with a removable strap and a bit of organization, but not too much. We’ve been carrying it everywhere daily for a few weeks to see how it stacks up to the plethora of slings we’ve had our hands on. Let’s check it out.

External Components

Like the other Away Featherlight products we’ve tested, the Duo Crossbody is made with polyester twill. We’ve got it in Jet Black, but you can get it in a few other colors (Camel Brown, Blush Pink, and Cherry Red) at the time of this review. No matter which you choose, the polyester liner matches the twill exterior, and on the Black colorway, that’s quite dark. We’re guessing it will be easy to see what’s inside the lighter Blush Pink and Camel Brown colorways, but if you’re a fan of more subdued colors like black, you may want to bring along a tiny flashlight too. On the other hand, it’s not a huge bag, so it’s really not that difficult to rifle through what’s inside to find what you need.

The subtle branding is in the same color as your chosen colorway, so you really have to look for the small branding patch on the side if you want to find it. We like that it’s not screaming the brand in large letters or bold colors, but even if you do like that vibe, you won’t find it here.

You will find YKK zippers, which all work well. The only one we have an issue with is the tiny one on the right side edge of the back panel. It’s supposed to be somewhat hidden, so it has a very small pull, but it can be difficult to grab, even with bare hands. It can be pretty impossible to grasp wearing gloves.

The bag has metal hardware in the form of D-rings and swivel clips at the top of the bag and the ends of the strap. We haven’t found any branding on them, but they work well.

There’s not really a harness system to talk about on this streamlined bag; it has a long crossbody strap with a double layer of material, without extra padding or adjustment. There’s no back panel padding, either—just the polyester twill and polyester lining, which still provides a decent amount of structure for the bag.

Fit Notes

Don’t take our complaint about the lack of strap adjustment as a comment on comfort. The strap is wide enough to be comfortable on your shoulder; it’s just very long. We like to sling this style of bag over one shoulder, but it feels too long for that. Of course, as the name implies, you’re obviously meant to wear it crossbody or to take it off entirely and hook the top corners together to carry it as a clutch, but we would have liked some sort of middle ground between the two extremes.

We do like the bag’s aesthetics, though. The polyester isn’t too shiny, and the crossbody has a classic look and style that blends nearly everywhere, from the ice cream shop to a wedding, especially if you go for a more classical colorway like black or brown instead of the brighter red or pink (unless you are wearing Cherry Red or Blush Pink, in which case, get your coordination on!).

Inside The Crossbody

There are a few hidden places to tuck gear on this bag, starting with a really small pocket on the strap. It opens with a tiny zipper and is about the right size for lip balm. We say “about” because that’s what Away suggests putting there, but we sometimes had issues getting our traditionally-sized lip balm in and out of the pocket. We didn’t use it much, but it’s there if you want it, and it’s far enough down on the strap that it doesn’t rub your body while you carry the bag.

The other exterior pocket opens vertically along the right side of the back panel. Since it’s concealed, it’s a good spot to secure items like your passport or extra cash while traveling. However, it’s large enough that we stuck hand sanitizer, hand lotion, and a packable shopping tote inside to keep them within easy reach. It’s rather large and protrudes into the main compartment, but that section doesn’t have much organization, so this pocket helps you stay somewhat organized in an otherwise open area. As much as we’ve moaned about the tiny zipper, we liked the organization, so we dealt with it.

Now, onto the main compartment, which opens across the top of the bag with an Away-branded zipper pull that’s much easier to grab. It’s mostly open space to fill, except for a zippered pocket against the back panel. It’s the perfect spot for a wallet, but you can use it to lock down whatever you don’t want to dig for in the main compartment, be it earbuds, a pill container, or a dongle. There’s a lighter-colored Away patch on the face of this pocket that highlights it, making it easier to see in the otherwise color-on-color design.

The flexible materials and lack of extra internal organization give you plenty of space inside the main compartment for everything else. We regularly carry a phone, sunglasses, a tiny pouch full of toiletries, and a pen, and there’s room inside for a few more items if you want. On the whole, it’s a great little travel companion that you’ll probably want to keep using at home, too—as long as you don’t mind the extra-long strap.