As a daily commuter, the backpack is the most important companion. It never complains about being stuffed with all the essential things and trying very hard to make itself comfortable as much as possible. We all hope it will be with us for the longest time it can be, so choosing the right one is very crucial. Among all those great backpack brands, Bellroy, a well-known Australian bag maker is my favorite so far, they not only choose environmentally friendly materials for their products, but also pay a huge amount of attention to the design and detail.
This time, we have the Venture Backpack 22L and Venture Sling 10L in our studio, these two bags have helped me with my everyday carry and our outdoor video creation a lot, therefore we just can’t recommend them enough. With this said, let’s check out some of the awesome features.
Bellroy Venture Backpack 22L
First, let’s take a look at this Venture Backpack. It is a thoughtfully designed multi-purpose bag that you can either use on a day-to-day basis or go on a short-term trip outside the city. The material used and the pockets created are exclusively for these two purposes, and I am amazed by how convenient it is to put things in and take them out. So let’s dive into the details.
Aesthetic
This is a classic knapsack-style backpack. The one we have here is mainly what they call “Ranger Green” colorway, the color of the front is more toned down, while the green is brighter at the sides. Ranger green is widely used in some clothing, but the green at the sides adds a more delightful feel to the overall aesthetics. There are also gray blue and brown used in some other parts, they are so harmonized in the overall design of the bag.
Nonetheless, instead of making every pocket visible to the eyes, it did a great job hiding them in some reachable places. And since there are no pockets sticking out, it maintained a sleek look most of the time, unless you put bulky things like a giant water bottle or a cat into the side pockets, maybe?
Material
I don’t think the backpack’s material has to be so-called high-end, that’s just for marketing purposes. They can be more subtle and functional, and Bellroy is known for such act. So the Venture Backpack’s outer shell is made of the ECOPAK™ BY CHALLENGE SAILCLOTH, it does have a more rigid feel to it. Compared with the material of the side pockets, which is CANVA RIPSTOP, the outer shell is harder and more resistant to wear and tear. This is a good thing because you might be taking the metro or bus every day, and then the bottom and the outer parts are the components that will take most of the hit and scratch. In the city where I live, I take the metro from time to time, and the bag will need to go through a security check machine. This backpack definitely withstands that kind of situation. The material of the side pockets as I have mentioned, is CANVA RIPSTOP. It is softer than ECOPAK™ BY CHALLENGE SAILCLOTH, and it has more give. So imagine you put a water bottle or umbrella into the backpack – it will be able to hold it in while still maintaining a better look.
As for the zippers and hardware used, they are uniquely crafted and have a more premium feel overall. The zippers are all YKKs, the ones outside are water resistant, and the zipper heads are rope style rather than metal, which enables quick access to using them and also adds some adventurous feel to it.
One thing I’d like to mention is that, there were times that the backpack was exposed to light rain. After the raindrop got onto the outer shell, it left a long slim mark, not quite visible to the eyes, so I wouldn’t mind too much about it.
Construction
There are 10 pockets in total if you count some interlayers in. Every pocket is designed in a very thoughtful way, take the side pockets for instance, the zippers are very long, so if you want to fit a very big bottle or a mid-size umbrella in, these can totally do that. Plus the material used in the side pockets is stretchy, the size of the material is also very forgiving, so overall the side pockets are very functional.
The spirit of a knapsack-style backpack is the hood on the top, the Venture backpack cleverly made it not only very good-looking, but also created a pocket in it. This is very useful for daily commuters to easily reach out for the keys, ID cards and stuff. The lock used here is a classic Bellroy Venture backpack one, working with four knots, it helps with maintaining a slim body and also storing more items.
Slide the two zippers down, and the whole backpack reveals itself as a whole, the drop-down enables you to either take some stuff out as a daily routine, or if you need to go on a trip and more things have to be put into it. The pockets attached to the top are made of a mesh material, so some small items like an extra phone, or instant coffee are perfect for this pocket. Another two side pockets are also created this way, slightly deeper for some rounded but long items, for these two pockets I have put my vitamin pills and some normal stuff, and they go together very well.
Now you might be wondering how big is the laptop compartment. Well, I have a 13-inch MacBook Air with a protective case, making it like a 15-inch item, it fits pretty snugly and nicely in it. And the padding at the bottom is very hard and thick, so there shouldn’t be any trouble having the laptop in it without any case.
Overall, I think the arrangement of the pockets is reasonable and has a nice depth to every one of them, so no matter what you want to put into the backpack, it has no problem holding them in place.
Comfort
A good backpack must accommodate people with different shapes and needs, and a lot of that comes from the shoulder straps and the back support.
The shoulder straps are fairly well padded, and the material inside is not overly soft, so it maintains a good balance of pressure control and longevity. The padding is not filled all across the straps, there is still some room left at the top, so it embraces people with either thick shoulders or wider back. The cross-chest buckle is magnetic, and there is a special design here so you can move the strap up and down to find the best position for yourself. I am fairly fit, my shoulders are not that thick, so the straps will not be pushed far apart, therefore I can always have them in the perfect position.
Here comes the best part of the comfort source, the back support padding. As you can see, the material used in this part is thick, with a line sewed at the top 2/3 of the whole piece, so it contributes a lot to the support on both sides of the back. Moreover, the padding gets thicker and has an ergonomic curve at the lumbar, this must be the top design in a backpack. So when I have the backpack on me, it always stays well on my upper body, and there is still room for the air to go through, to prevent sweat from staying there for a long time.
After 4 weeks with the Venture Backpack 22L, it is genuinely a great bag for daily commuters. I can easily put things I need into it, while still keeping the sleek aesthetic. Every compartment is well-designed and padded, never need to worry about keeping things in position. So if you need to pick up a backpack for everyday use, this is the perfect one.
Venture Sling 10L Camera Edition
As a tech media crew, we do a lot of outdoor video shooting, so we need to pack at least one camera, one lens, a camera stand, and some accessories. Rather than taking a big bag, a sling with good padding and a reasonable compartment design would be a better choice. So we also get the Venture Sling 10L Camera Edition for this review, after several times shooting with it, it gets the job done pretty well.
Material
By just looking at this sling, there are no noticeable differences from others, but there are still some features that make it unique.
The main material used in the bag is BAIDA RIPSTOP I believe, it has a certain rigid pattern, and it feels durable, if this makes sense. The bag is well padded, and the foam in the side piece is slightly thinner, whereas the other piece is thicker and wrapped around the bottom to the other side, this way the camera gears are perfectly protected however you want to carry this sling. Aesthetic-wise, the curvature separates it from other slings.
The main zippers are also YKK waterproof type, there are two for the bigger compartment, so it is very convenient for you to open it whether the bag is on your left or right shoulder. And the straps are designed to go with that purpose, the buckles are connected with straps across the bag at each side, rather than hooked to the bag directly, which enables you to change the position, whenever you feel tired carrying the bag on one shoulder. Inside the bag, the materials are the same as the backpack, either recycled nylon or mesh fabric to serve different purposes.
Construction
This bag is not a typical bag that you carry around, it’s a camera edition sling, and a lot of the design is created by that concept.
There are two unique parts on the strap. The first one is the quick-slide buckle, it is such an advanced component that every sling should have, I mean this sling wants to make reaching things in the bag very easy, so this buckle works with the very smooth nylon to make it happen. The second is the padded shoulder supporter, if you would be carrying things like a camera, chances are it will be heavier than some other daily stuff, so this padding is very useful for taking the burden off a little bit.
Outside the bag there are four lash strap connectors, these components make carrying the tripods or camera stand a lot easier, the main benefits are that they free your hands and the space within the bag, such a clever design.
The inner compartment explains why it’s called Camera Edition. There are two dividers here, they can sit in between to provide spaces for the camera and the lens. Or if you prefer to have the camera with the lens on, then the divider can be folded and tucked down to the bottom so there is good space also. There are side pockets on both sides, good for storing some squared accessories like ND filters. Meanwhile, there are three small pockets inside for SD cards, etc.
The smaller pocket at the outer side is good for holding some random stuff in, and if you don’t need to use the lash straps, this pocket is also the place they should be in, so they don’t scratch the camera and lens at the other pocket.
Experience
Our team usually packs one camera and one lens in the sling, along with some accessories. The 10L sling is a very balanced choice in terms of capacity and usability. Oftentimes, our photographer needs to adjust the position of the bag when changing the location of the shooting or moving from one posture to another, the quick-slide buckle helps a lot. The inner compartment design is really great to store all the gears and keep them unharmed.
To sum up the experience with the Venture Sling 10L, it’s a fantastic addition for people who need to take a camera around every day. You may argue that there are 6L and 9L in Bellroy’s collection and they are also functional and sleek, but the trade-offs are that they don’t have the capacity, thick padding, the quick-slide buckle, all these are essential for carrying cameras. So we would highly recommend it to professional photographers or if you are a daily commuter who also takes a camera with you sometimes.
