The XD Design Bobby Sling, £49.95 from Amazon in May 2021, is a cross body sling with a permanently attached large strap.
https://www.xd-design.com/tw-en/bobby-sling
It has zips on the long side. Although it can be slung cross body over either shoulder only from the left side can it be swung to the front from the right for access. Cross body over the right shoulder it is on your chest.
32.5 x 9 x 21 cm. 4 litres yet holds far more than the 5.5 litre Alpaka Go sling Pro. The outside dimensions indicate 6.14 litres but the bag is inside a semi-rigid frame and all internal compartments are well padded. The main compartment easily fits the 2.25 litre cork shoulder bag or the empty Alpaka Go Sling Pro. There is a bright orange detachable key loop inside.
The RFID back pocket for passport, wallet or flat items has no lock. A mobile phone could be carried here but there is no padding against your back.
The buckle on the strap rattles. There is no quick grab handle and the wide well
padded strap gets in the way when getting in or out of a car. Whilst perfect for
over the shoulder it does not sit well on a desk or table. If the strap could be
removed it would make a perfect mini brief case or clutch. If a tiny amount more
height I could fit in my 12" laptop. I have the 3 way Bobby Bizz backpack for
that.
The appeal is that it looks like a mini Bobby backpack, particularly the Bobby
Bizz. It is not. I would like the strap to be removable and fitted either end
for left and right handed use. It is large enough that packed out at 3598 grams
and 4146 grams with the battery pack to want to swap carry positions.
Fitted inside is a mobile phone (Sony XA1), earphones (Sony XBA-H1), wallet, coin holder, multi-tools, hand sanitizer, Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet in case with Dell keyboard and Microsoft 360 Bluetooth mouse, Sony Nex 7 with 30 mm macro lens and the 18-200 mm power zoom.
Stuffed out with camera, lenses, tablet, mobile phone and wallet there is no room to include a water bottle. The anti-theft features and clean outline also means no external straps or pockets for a water bottle.
It holds everything the Alpaka Sling Pro can and also the solar battery pack.
The main pocket with the lockable dual zipper opens
three-quarter way on each side.
The inside back pocket is soft and holds a 9" tablet with a Velcro strap. Next
to it are three pockets fro earphones, wallet, etc. On the other side are two
mesh pockets (two-thirds and one-third) and a zip up pocket for small items or
more security. The padded strap has a zipper pocket for credit card or transport
pass and a loop to hold glasses or attach a carabineer.
There is an external USB socket with a permanently fixed USB cable inside to
attach your own battery pack. On the Bobby Bizz the cable pass through is to the
rear external pocket which I found useful. The option to do the same with the
Bobby Sling would be nice, The XD Design branded socket appears to have the USB
clipped to it as seen in the Alpaka Go Sling Pro. If so it can be removed, but
not reinserted.
Reviews
Last updated 23rd May 2021