Manfrotto NX Sling Review - The cat's out of the bag

When you’re an amateur photo and video buff like me, there’s nothing like doing a photo tour every now and then. Doesn’t sound too difficult now, does it? Just grab your camera and go. But what when you need a stable camera platform, for example for long exposure shots, panoramas or videos? You need a tripod, of course. So you take that along as well, there’s carrying cases for these things anyway. Want to review and edit your photos on the go as well? Okay, so the laptop it is as well, with the associated cables of course. Then there’s the rest you need or want with you as well, phone, headphones, a couple of spare batteries, etc., and before you know it, you’ve got three bags hanging over your shoulder, your pockets will be full to bursting point, and you’ll be too busy not hitting anybody to spot interesting shots.

The solution sounds simple, get one bag to accommodate all of your hardware at once. Once again, it sounds easy enough, just look up a bag on Amazon and go for it… and try not to drop dead when you see the prices. Seriously, some of the prices are just unreal, and quite frankly unjustifiable. A camera bag is nothing more than a well made laptop bag with different compartment layout, so it seems to me that some manufacturers are using the fact that their clientele for camera bags is usually more affluent for a bit of rip-off action on the side. That’s not to say that there isn’t a market for specialised bags that deserve this price tag, however the prices for most camera bags are over the top.

Manfrotto NX Sling fully equipped for a photo tour, including my trusty Amazon tripod.

Luckily, many manufacturers also have “budget” options available, and its one of those I went for, the NX Sling by Italian manufacturer Manfrotto. As a sling bag, it is a bit of a chimera between an over the shoulder bag and a backpack, and it offers more than enough storage for a camera and one or two lenses, accessories, batteries, etc., as well as for a 13-inch notebook, your garden variety smartphone and a few everyday items that you’ll invariably have with you. Plus, you can stick a tripod on the outside as well. It looks damn nice as well, not as boxy as some of the other solutions out there on the market. I got mine from a local camera shop in downtown Cork for quite an acceptable price.

The bag without the tripod in a more everyday kind of layout, seen from the left. I like the carrying handle.

And seen from the right, with the empty tripod holder.

Yeah yeah, cut out the overly long intrduction. How is it? Of course I had to try it out immediately after I got it. The bag feels rock solid, it certainly wasn’t designed or manufactured on a budget. It took me a while to figure out what goes where, however, so you shouldn’t buy this if you have a flight to catch in three hours and just need a bag to stuff everything into. I was only able to score the grey version of the bag, however, navy blue and burgundy red versions are available from online retailers as well. The bag basically sports two major compartments, a small one on the outside that can hold everyday documents you may need, like cell phones, keys, passports, tickets, or presidential pardons. Most of the “business” happens in the main compartment, though.

The front compartment should really only be used for things like passports or other documents. There's next to no padding there.

Both the front and the main compartment....

Here you see the inside in full tour configuration. Camera, MacBook in protective sleeve, noise cancelling headphones (mini review of those coming up!), and the pockets stuffed with spare batteries, and memory cards, as well as other accessories.

This compartment is pretty spacious, and also sports several smaller pockets, most of which can be closed with zippers. The camera itself is stored in a special box-shaped protective case inside the main compartment. This case can be removed, so you can pack the camera safely, and only insert the packed case into the bag. This box is also subdivided by a removable and foldable divider. In my case, I have my Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR bridge camera in one half and cables, remote shutter, etc. in the other, with the divider folded over them. If full-blown DSLRs are more your thing, that compartment should be able to take at least 1 standard lens, though that is outside of my field of expertise. This case can also be zipped shut, so your camera gets extra protection if you have a lot of loose stuff flying around in your bag.

Top-down view of the camera case, with my camera inside...

... and without camera. You can clearly see the divider.

While this is currently the home for all my cables, you could just as well store an extra lens in there. Good thing: you can pack it all outside the main bag.

Not that there is any excuse for loose stuff flying around in this bag. There are two generously sized pockets in the main compartment, one covered by netting, and another that is more suited for holding private stuff. There’s also a netting holder for the PIXI range of mini tripods by Manfrotto, but since this bag the only Manfrotto product I currently own, I use it to hold a lenspen. The biggest pocket however is designed to hold a notebook of up to 13 inches. Of course that means that my 11 inch MacBook Air fits perfectly, even in its protective sleeve. In fact, even 13 inch notebooks should fit in there in a sleeve, as the compartment itself is pretty spacious.

The rear pocket is more than big enough for my MacBook Air. The bag is designed to take 13-inch notebooks in that rear pocket.

View of the main compartment, with the two side pockets for accessories, as well as the holder for mini tripods or, in this case, a lenspen.

There’s not much to say about the outside. On the right side of the bag, there’s a holder for a tripod on the right hand side, which can take my Amazon Basics tripod without much trouble. The only issue is that it juts out above the top of the bag, but as there’s a separate strap to secure a tripod, that is not too much of an issue. The back panel is pretty rigid and padded, and, to be blunt, feels quite comfortable on your back. There’s also a smart sleeve back there to secure the NX Sling on a trolley, for example as cabin luggage. I’d recommend checking in any tripod, though. The carrying handle on the left side is a nice touch and reinforces my suspicion that this bag was designed to serve in a secondary role as laptop bag.

The back panel is rigid, but well padded. That thin strap hear the middle is the smart sleeve for strapping this bag to a trolley. Slipping on this bag takes a bit of getting used to, I have to admit.

And just because I like the view so much, here again the shot of the bag in full tour config. 

So how does this bag fare in real life? To test that out, I went on a short photo tour to Fitzgerald Park today, with all my equipment, tripod, MacBook, and all. That tour turned out to be much shorter than I expected, but that’s to be expected, given the weather here in Ireland. I am not the smallest person, and even with the straps at their widest setting, the bag fit pretty snugly. In addition to the main strap, theres a second smaller one to help keep the bag straight, neither of them felt particularly uncomfortable, and as I said, the padded back felt quite comfortable. As getting to Fitzgerald Park from my place requires a ten minute cycle ride (or more if you have the luck of the draw I had today and get every certified idiot in Ireland in front of you on the road!), I quickly found out that the bag did not restrict me in the least. With a tripod attached, the bag will not fit into the handlebar basket on the Coke Zero Bikes here in Cork, but that is at most a minor inconvenience.

I was surprised at how stable the bag is when you put it down. I don’t know if that’s due to the rigid back or due to the fact that the camera case is usually at the bottom of the back when it’s packed, but it was certainly good to see. Getting the camera pretty much just means pulling the bag forward and to the left, the shape of the main strap means that you have the zipper right in front of you, so that you just need to unzip, reach in, and you’ve got the camera in hand. Works pretty well from my experience. 

All things considered, this bag gives quite a lot of bang for your buck, and will finally enable me to take my entire “office” on tour and work on my blog, and my new Vlog currently in pre-production on the road. The real test will come later this month, when I head to Crosshaven for the 1916 centenary celebrations at Camden Fort Meagher, and later this year at the Ocean to City Race and the Venture Cup, but from my experience so far, I can definitely say that this investment was worth it, and I can only recommend it to other amateur photographers out there. It might not be suited for professionals who always carry five or six lenses, a full lighting rig, and an external flash gun, though.