National Geographic Explorer DSLR Sling Camera Bag

An affordable, sling-style camera bag that is good for carrying your camera equipment on short hikes in the mountains or anywhere.

I love to bring my camera (and associated gear) with me when I go on short hikes. I used to carry my camera bag in my hand (or over my shoulder) and it was getting awkward and heavy for me. I wanted a hands-free (or a backpack-style bag) to carry my equipment with me and make my hikes more enjoyable.

I discovered the National Geographic bag and I was very interested. It is VERY affordable compared to other bags of its kind and worth a try.

At first, I wasn't sure how to orient the bag on my body, but with practice I got used to it.  This bag is a sling-type bag and has a unique design which rotates front to back for easy access to camera equipment.  In other words, it can be worn in front of your body or on the back (like a backpack). 

I recommend carrying the bag in front of your body for quicker access to your camera. However, if you plan on hiking for awhile and accessing your equipment at a later destination, I recommend orienting (or rotating) the bag to your back. The strap is adjustable for a custom fit, and that is nice. 

The cross-body strap is padded and is fairly comfortable. I found that the bag (as a whole) felt a bit unstable. I had to have the strap a bit looser to be able to take advantage of the 180° access feature.  As a result of this, the pack's load seemed distributed unevenly, when I was carrying it (even though it wasn't). 

The capacity of the bag is great! There was plenty of room for my camera, extra lenses, cleaning cloths, instruction manuals... The only complaint that I have about the interior, is the strong Velcro. It was a bit difficult, initially, to adjust the compartments to suit my equipment. However, once I got it adjusted, the inner cushions weren't going anywhere, and my equipment was secure. 

The bag is well-constructed and thickly padded.  It is a bag packed with many features including: memory card pouch, glasses holder, rain-proof bag to cover the entire bag (to protect your gear), a bonus micro fibre cloth, and tripod straps.

I have used this bag for one summer and it show no signs of wear.  I have used it while hiking in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada.  It is a great bag and I will use it again next summer. 

This bag is available for purchase on the Costco.ca website (or in store, where I found it).