Bellroy Classic Sling 3L Review

The Bellroy Classic Sling is shaping up to be one of the brand’s more well-rounded designs. Calling it simple doesn’t feel quite right despite aptly fitting the sling’s description. Its strap only has one point of adjustment, there’s only one external pocket, and the interior isn’t so overly sequestered that the pockets are fighting each other for space. Again, it’s a simple and modest approach to design, yet thoughtful enough to show the brand’s cumulative experience with slings.

Then again, it’s still a sling with its share of flaws. The silky-smooth strap, for example, is prone to kinking, while the back pocket feels a bit too small for most of the items we want to put inside it. Do two flaws outweigh the stuff Bellroy did right, though? Let’s find out.

External Components

The main material is Canva Weave, Bellroy’s 100% recycled polyester fabric made from water bottles. It’s not the most robust-feeling fabric out there, especially when you compare it to heavier ones sporting four-digit deniers. However, for a sling tailored to be stylish and functional, Canva Weave still feels reassuringly strong, so long as you’re not in the habit of running through thorny bushes when you’re strolling around the city. Yes, it’s on the softer side, but that also makes it nice to touch and certainly emphasizes the sling’s classy styling.

As usual for Bellroy, you get a variety of colorway options. At the time of writing, you can choose from Black, Olive, Tahini, and Butterscotch, with that last one being what we’re sampling in this review. It’s yellow in most pictures but is actually lighter in person, like mango-flavored ice cream. Other nice touches are leather accents, silky-smooth straps, and not-too-shiny zippers. Everything just looks thoughtfully considered and not too over the top for something trying to be chic and aesthetic.

The main compartment’s OOK zippers are somewhat notable, if only because we’re used to seeing Bellroy use YKK zippers. To be fair, OOK zippers have worked fine whenever we’ve tested bags equipped with them; they’re just not as established as YKK. Fortunately, no issues have surfaced after two weeks of testing, whether jamming or outright breaking. Only time will tell if the zippers will hold up, and we’ll keep a close eye on them, especially since shiny zippers like these tend to lose their shimmer in the long run.

True to its “classic” moniker, this sling has a relatively basic strap setup. It has a single-point closed-loop adjustment, meaning there’s no slack dangling around to worry about. Having only one means of adjustment can feel limiting. However, if we’re being real, you were never considering something called “Classic Sling” if you were looking for one that can be tuned for a tight fit.

At the Classic Sling’s sides are loops similar in appearance to the main strap. Though they may look purely stylistic, they also function as a passive means of compressing the sling. See, once you’re wearing the sling, and there’s tension on the strap, these loops cinch the sides, thus compressing the entire bag. We’ve seen Bellroy employ this setup in many of their slings, and it is effective.

That said, the drawback is that it doesn’t maintain that compression once the strap is no longer under tension, for example, when you put the sling down. This passive self-compression is also highly dependent on the sling’s weight, which is counterintuitive to Bellroy’s claim that it helps keep the sling’s profile slim when it’s empty. Without much weight, there’s nothing to put tension on the strap, and, in turn, compression isn’t effectively applied.

Fit Notes

In its 3-liter size variant, the Classic Sling feels right at home as an everyday sling. It’s neither too big to be cumbersome to lug around nor so small that it feels lacking in space. It’s also easy to move around, whether you want the sling in front or on your back. Part of the reason is how slick the seatbelt-like strap is, and another reason is the lack of any bulky hardware that could snag when you’re moving the sling around.

The lack of a quick-release buckle does mean you’ll have to loosen the strap first and then tighten it if you want a more snug fit. The problem is, whenever we do this, the strap tends to kink at the end, and it’s a hassle having to untangle it each time. We could blame the strap’s silky-smooth texture or the fact that there’s too much wiggle room around the hardware. Either way, the issue occurs, though it’s still not a deal-breaker in our book; just a minor annoyance.

Inside The Sling

At the back of the Classic Sling is a back pocket. Phones and passports are two of the most frequent items we stow in back pockets like these. However, fitting a cased iPhone 15 or a no-case iPhone 15 Pro Max takes some wiggling. Meanwhile, a passport is too tall to fit, whether standing up or on its side. In case you’re wondering, wallets are a hit or miss, too. Minimalist wallets should fit just fine, but we wouldn’t count on bulky leather bifolds to fit at all.

You can open the main compartment with two zippers. However, instead of the typical dual-zipper setup where the opening is in between, these zippers each have their respective openings on their far sides. Effectively, you have openings on either end, each with its own zipper. So, what’s the benefit over the more typical setup? Well, two zippers having to zip together to close could be more susceptible to leaving a gap, which could pry open if you don’t close the zippers tightly enough. Other than that, though, we honestly feel there’s minimal difference, so Bellroy could’ve gone with either design, in our opinion.

Inside, Bellroy’s created a relatively simple layout, with a divider pocket at the back, a huge middle area for most of your gear, and a frontside zippered mesh pocket. The last one is designed for a pair of sunglasses, but we mostly used it for tiny accessories since our pair has its own pouch. Meanwhile, the divider pocket is where we eventually settled our smartphone. The pocket’s padding at the front and incidental padding from the adjacent back pocket give it a lot of protection, so it’s an ideal spot for storing sensitive items. Moreover, we’re digging the pocket’s reinforced brim since it prevents it from collapsing or spilling over whenever we’re packing it.

Also worth noting is the brand tag that doubles as a tiny pocket for a smart tracker. Having a dedicated spot that’s not immediately obvious to would-be thieves is convenient. An Apple AirTag fits, but with little wiggle room left over, so bigger ones like a Chipolo ONE Spot might struggle. Your mileage may vary.

The built-in key leash is technically anchored at the back, but you can place it wherever you want since it is relatively long and even has some stretch. The carabiner-style clip is nice, too, since it’s made from aluminum. We’re really digging it since, speaking from experience, Bellroy bags of the past have had some lesser-quality key leashes, ones that feel ribbon-like and plasticky.

Last but not least, the open area is quite spacious and even has a surprisingly flat floor. Both make for an ideal packing experience, especially if you’re like us and carry a lot of rectangular-shaped items. Specifically, we have a power bank, AirPods, a passport wallet, and a sunglasses pouch. There’s just about enough leftover room for the set of keys we’ve attached to the key leash. But, more to the point, everything fits side by side and next to each other almost perfectly. If it were snowing, there’s even enough overhead room for a pair of winter gloves.