Pakt Stash Packable Sling 4L Review

The Pakt Stash Packable Sling 4L has a sleek look and packs away easily, but we’re curious how effective it is for carrying gear around the city while traveling or running errands. Let’s dive in and find out!

External Components

The primary pack material is recycled nylon, which is lightweight and has a nice-feeling texture. It almost feels broken in, but not in a bad way. It’s comfortable, like a 1990s Starter jacket you’ve had for years.

At the time of writing, there are four colorways to choose from. They’re descriptive, so we’ll give them plain names in parentheses. There are Sumac (orange), Mojave (brown), Cypress (green), and Black (black) options, all of which we think look sleek. Of the bunch, Sumac sticks out to us most, and we love the simplicity of the Black colorway.

The zippers are from YKK, and they work as you’d expect. If you aren’t familiar with them, YKK zippers are some of the best in the business, and these live up to that title. The pulls are simple but effective, with a paracord-like material and heat-shrink plastic on the ends. They’re easy to hold and not loud, adding to this sling’s chill vibe.

The plastic hardware on this sling is from Nifco, a brand we don’t have much experience with. That said, the buckle and adjustor have held up well and feel durable.

On top of the sling, there’s a minimalistic handle. It isn’t very comfortable to hang onto for extended periods, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s so thin that it’ll dig in a little after a while; however, this is a sling, and we don’t expect the handles to be comfortable. It stays out of the way until you need it, which we dig.

Fit Notes

The back panel has the same nylon fabric we mentioned earlier—no additional padding or aeration. That might sound bad, but for a packable sling, we can’t complain much. So long as you pack your bag intelligently, it’ll work fine. Whatever you stow in the back of the main compartment will become the shell for the back panel, so keep that in mind when packing.

The strap lacks padding or aeration, though, as referenced, this makes it easier for the bag to pack up. The strap is quite broad, which assists in spreading the weight out, which we dig. The strap is attached, so you can’t remove it or change it out for another one, which may deter users who prefer to use something with more padding.

The buckle attaches near the edge of the strap, so you can’t move it. This doesn’t sound ideal, but its placement ensures that your backpack won’t push up on it if you’re wearing the sling on your front and the pack on your back.

Inside The Sling

The front pocket is a solid size but lacks organization. There’s one small loop inside, which you can attach something to in transit if you’d like, but that’s not its main purpose. Flat items do well here—think your phone, wallet, sunglasses, and similar-sized items.

There’s no organization, though that small loop we just mentioned is here because this is where the sling packs into. It’s pretty easy to do, especially if you ensure you don’t do the strap part of the bag last. It isn’t tiny once you’ve packed it away, but it’s small enough to fit into your daypack, travel backpack, or even another sling bag if you’re traveling with a friend or partner. Once stowed, the small loop becomes a hook you can hang onto things.

The main compartment isn’t usable with the pack compressed, so we’d better open it up again before discussing what you can fit inside. There’s a liner pocket on the back wall of the main compartment with a small magnet topper. This keeps items inside, though with enough force, it’ll pop open. We haven’t had any issues with this. Your phone, a small tablet, or a passport works well here.

The front side has a large mesh pocket with a key leash inside. We dig this pocket because it’s the only place to lock small gear down inside the sling, so you can stow dongles and other little stuff here.

The rest of the sling is open real estate; you can fit many things here. We could stow a cased Nintendo Switch here (barely), a large pair of over-ear headphones, or exactly three large potatoes from the local farmers market. We wanted four, but the last one wouldn’t fit, so we had to have a few fewer hand-cut French fries than we wanted to. If you go with small potatoes, you’ll probably have an easier time.

Overall, we’re happy with the materials and the amount of gear we can stow inside the Pakt Stash Packable Sling 4L. The design isn’t doing anything revolutionary, but everything it attempts, it does pretty well. For around $60 at the time of this review, it isn’t a half-bad travel companion. Toss it in your bag and head to the airport!