Moment Rugged Camera Sling Review
Check out this real-world review of the Moment Rugged Camera Sling – a hard-wearing and spacious camera carry option available in two sizes.
Moment are a popular choice for videographers, photographers, and content creators from all around the world. They’re known for producing high-quality gear and accessories for cameras, smartphones, drones, and everything in between.
Not only that, but they have a catalogue of products from over 40 other well-known brands (including actual cameras and drones too) just in case there’s something else that you need.
Super-organised, tough and comfortable sling that's great for on the go.
So it doesn’t surprise me at all that they’d venture out and continue to expand their own range of products to now include camera bags and slings.
Introducing the Rugged Camera Sling, available in either 6L or 10L (or both if you’re indecisive like me!)
It’s made from NorthPak which is an extremely durable, lightweight, waterproof and environmentally friendly (100% recycled) marine grade material.
Moment Rugged Camera Sling Specs
- Rigid and lightweight build
- Very comfortable with great weight distribution
- Large opening provides easy access to everything
- Easy to maximise full carry capacity
- External tripod carry capability
- No external bottle pockets
- Feels a bit bulky when wearing by your side
External Size: 37 x 21 x 14cm (14.5 x 8.25 x 5.5”)
Weight: 0.79kg (1.74lbs)
Tablet Carry: iPad Pro 11”
Shoulder Pad Dimensions: 7.6cm (3”) wide and 37.6cm (14.8”) long
Shoulder Strap Dimensions: 132cm (52”) length adjustable to 40.6cm (16”)
External Size: 33 x 19 x 11.5cm (13 x 7.5 x 4.5”)
Weight: 0.62kg (1.37lbs)
Tablet Carry: iPad Pro 11”
Shoulder Pad Dimensions: 6.3 cm (2.5”) width, 37.6 cm (14.8”) length
Shoulder Strap Dimensions: 132cm (52”) length adjustable to 40.6cm (16”)
– Made from 100% recycled polyester sailcloth
– Water resistant YKK zippers
– Heavy duty webbing
– Shockproof padding
– Bi-directional shoulder strap (for swapping between left/right handed use)
– Padded dividers
– Tripod carry
– Tablet pouch (up to iPad Pro 11”)
1x Shoulder Strap
1x Stabilizer Strap
2x Padded Dividers
The Rugged Camera Sling is Moment’s first foray into the world of camera bags, but not its first rodeo when it comes to storage and carry solutions.
It’s a stylish, durable, and lightweight sling bag made from NorthPak, which is the world’s first durable and waterproof pack fabric that’s been made from 100% recycled polyester fibre and film.
The material is produced by North Sails which is a world leader and producer of laminated sailcloth. If it’s worthy of use on sailboats battling the high seas, then it’s more than enough to protect your gear from the elements.
From the streets to the mountains, the Rugged Camera Sling is easy to secure against your person while you make that daring trip to a cafe or traversing the wild backcountry.
NorthPak contains no harmful PU, TPU, PVC, DWR or other coatings, inside or out. The manufacturing process also produces up to 50% less CO2 emissions than other popular materials.
Build & Appearance
The 6L Rugged Camera Sling is a decent size and great for single systems or daily carry.
The Rugged Camera Sling is stylish, practical, waterproof and definitely built to last whatever you plan to put it through.
As previously mentioned it’s been built from material called NorthPak, which is made with 100% recycled polyester fibre and film and is not only waterproof but features a marine-grade level of durability.
It also features heavy-duty webbing along with shockproof padding for more protection during those extra-uncertain times. Which should mean that it’s more than capable of withstanding the sheer mistreatment you have in store for it!
It’s been designed from the ground up to be comfortable and convenient for everyday use.
The Rugged Sling features a rigid and sturdy body structure that greatly contributes to your ability to maximise the carry capacity, as well as benefiting everyday usability.
It’s a very tough looking bag which not only seamlessly caters to whichever purpose you see fit, but it’ll do so while enduring any combination of weather that’ll be joining you on the day.
The larger 10L Rugged Camera Sling is great for larger gear, multiple systems, or for bulkier daily carry.
The Moment Rugged will suit some everyday errands, such as a trip to the grocery store or a “working from home day” down at the beach.
The 6L is sufficient enough for a light everyday carry, whereas the 10L will fit your gym clothing and a towel rolled up underneath.
(If you need something in between, check out the 9L Wandrd Roam Sling Bag which I reviewed recently.)
But it’s suitability for the more purposeful photographic adventures or work-related tasks that you’re embarking on is most certainly appreciated.
It will comfortably hold your camera gear with a tripod strapped underneath and the build quality definitely exudes confidence in making sure everything is nice and secure.
Exterior Features
The Rugged Camera Sling features a substantial and heavily padded strap and comes with a small stability strap for lots of added extra support.
One of the first things you’ll most likely notice on the Rugged Camera Sling is the decent-sized articulated shoulder strap and the giant buckle attached to it. This shoulder strap is like no other sling bag strap that I have encountered before, it looks like a beast!
The large buckle has a magnet to easily find the right closing point and the whole strap can be swapped around to either side for both left-handed and right-handed shooters.
The Sling’s strap crosses your body really well and pulls the bag tight and secure to your back. Combined with the body-side soft padded wingback panel, it’s a super-comfortable wear day after day.
Clip up the included stability strap and this bag is not going anywhere other than wherever you are. The combination of all of this provides great weight distribution and it feels great to wear!
Now when I’m running for the bus I don’t need to keep a hold of the bag to stop it swinging around… Just kidding, I don’t catch buses.
The bottom cargo straps on the Rugged Camera Sling are great for attaching a tripod or for attaching bulky items.
The YKK water-resistant zippers feature easy-to-find pulls and slide smoothly across the entire body of the bag, opening it up nice and wide for quick and easy access to your gear.
The wide opening lid provides you with plenty of room to remove, add, and rearrange without the fussiness of tight claustrophobic spaces that many other sling bags give you.
On the base of the Rugged Camera Sling are two detachable and adjustable cargo straps for securing extra or bulky gear to the base of the bag. Whether you’re hitching up a tripod or securing a towel or smelly gym shoes, the choice is yours and the adjustment options are there for you.
Although I have to say, not having outside pouches for a water bottle or other items is a bit of a downer for my daily carry.
Having the addition of a light stretchable mesh pocket on either side would be a great benefit as they can be utilised for a number of things! The space is there, can we add them on V2 please, Moment?
Interior Features
The Rugged Camera Sling has a rather simplistic and purposeful interior with a convenient large cavernous space.
I wouldn’t say there’s a lot happening inside this bag. It has a functional, deep, cavernous interior for a sling bag and features a distinct combination of grey and red adorning the soft lining.
Packaged inside the Moment Rugged is a pair of bright red modular padded dividers. These come with a centrefold point to help curve or shape them around lenses or other items as you may need.
You’ll find a zipper pocket which contains multiple smaller pouches for holding those pesky disappearing SD cards, batteries, and other smaller items that manage to make their way into the black hole that often is a camera bag.
Built into the back of the Rugged Camera Sling‘s main compartment is a padded tablet pouch which will fit a tablet as large as an iPad Pro 11”. Anything slightly larger you’ll have a bit of trouble fitting.
My 12.3″ Surface Pro doesn’t fit into the tablet pouch and protrudes out the top of the bag.
The inner pouches on the Rugged Camera Sling are smaller on the 6L than the 10L, but still fit your usual items nicely.
The front pocket seems tight but will happily hold your keys, battery pack, phone, lens caps, lens filters, and an array of other slim and slender items.
There’s a convenient little key clip to attach your car keys to so you don’t misplace them in the field, as I’ve nearly done before!
Storage Capacity
It was tight, but I managed to jam my Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 in with my DJI Mavic Pro!
It’s incredibly simple to maximise the entire interior carry capacity of both the 6L and 10L Rugged Camera Slings due to their rigid and boxy shape. Moment made no sacrifices or compromises to the storage capacity by incorporating a slew of random design features.
They purposefully designed this bag to be more functional in that way. Because of that, I’ve been able to fit a decent amount of gear into either sized bag, and I never have trouble accessing any of it.
The 6L Rugged is a great bag for a small amount of gear, such as your DJI Mavic Pro kit with charger, or Sony a7 III with a pair of decent-sized lenses.
Pictured below I have included two separate systems, beginning with a foldable drone system:
- DJI Mavic Pro drone
- DJI Mavic Pro controller
- 2x DJI Mavic Pro batteries
- DJI Mavic Pro battery charger
- Polar Pro Lens Filters
- A tripod (why? why not!)
- Plus numerous other items and accessories
Followed by a mirrorless camera setup:
- Sony a7 III
- Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8
- Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE
- HOYA Filters
- A tripod
- Plus numerous other items and accessories
The 6L Rugged Camera Sling is great as a dedicated bag for a mirrorless system or a foldable drone kit.
The 10L Rugged is just over 1.5 times the capacity of the 6L, and therefore conveniently fits pretty much both of the systems above. I just couldn’t fit a second lens or the drone’s battery charger into the bag.
Or if you’re a full-frame user you’ll easily fit:
- Canon 5D Mark III
- Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
- An extra lens
- An external flash
- A tripod
- A torch and a range of other assorted gear and accessories.
The 10L Rugged Camera Sling fits in a big day’s worth of gear! Plenty of accessories and even combining two systems such as a mirrorless camera and foldable drone kit.
Ease of Use/Comfort
The Rugged Camera Sling opens up nice and wide while also keeping perfectly steady by your side.
The Moment Rugged Camera Sling sits firmly and stable alongside your body providing you with the added confidence of not spilling all the contents along the street while appreciating the gleaming grey and red interior.
As I mentioned earlier in the article, the combination of the bag’s large adjustable shoulder strap, the body side padding on the rear, and the stabilising strap makes for a very comfortable bag to wear.
The weight distribution is spread across your whole torso which definitely helps on a long day, and it’s very easy to swing it around to access your items through the large main compartment lid.
The wingback wraps comfortably around your body while providing a big amount of padded comfort.
The Rugged Camera Sling sits very securely against your back, but I wouldn’t say its strong suit is as a side sling carry as it does feel a bit bulky sticking out of your side (regardless if its the 6L or 10L size). It definitely suits being worn across your back!
It’s a bag that’s ready for those tough and busy days where you don’t have the time to fuss about anything.
Value for Money
If you’re after a slim and slender bag, these may not be for you. But if you want huge and convenient storage capacity with a comfortable and stable wear, the Rugged Camera Sling has you covered.
Whether you’re after a smaller daily carry or simple photography carry solution, or looking for a more elaborate combination of devices, the Moment Rugged Camera Sling will suit your needs well for a very decent price.
I wouldn’t go and say that they’re expensive bags, but they are also not the cheapest. Coming in just under US$100 and US$150 respectively (even less now at their pre-release sale price – do check here to get the latest update on pricing) they’re very decent sling bags for the money.
There are a wide array of sling bag options out there, all promising a variety of different unique combinations of materials, sizes, and features. But I have to say that these bags certainly serve their purpose well.
If you’re after a lightweight and durable bag that’s comfortable and secures nice and tight to your body, while also giving you very quick and easy access to all of the gear you’re carrying without any fuss, then the Rugged Camera Slings are for you!
But if you need something to carry your gear but with a slimmer profile, size, and shape, then perhaps you may need to look at other options to suit those needs.
Moment do have a variety of bags on their website for you to choose from at fair and competitive prices.
Moment Rugged Camera Sling Review | Conclusion
The Rugged Camera Slings definitely serve their intended purposes very well!
Moment have done a great job on their first camera bag, although from what I hear they have done great work with their other types of smaller bags and storage solutions too.
Their camera and phone accessories are second to none as well, so all of this doesn’t surprise me at all.
The Rugged Camera Sling is definitely more function over form and therefore would be a great work-horse or travel companion if you required as such. Since I tend to try to get various types of usage out of my bags I have to say that missing a bottle holder does bother me!
But applying each bag to each purpose, these are a fantastic pair. Whatever size you choose, being able to maximise the carry capacity is a huge plus.
As for the “rugged” nature of the bag… My city, Sydney, is receiving more adverse weather since we’re coming into winter, but I have great confidence that whatever the sky throws at me, this sling isn’t going to let me down.
I might catch a cold, or get blown away, but my gear will definitely be fine!
Super-organised, tough and comfortable sling that's great for on the go.
Tommy Williams is a travel photographer from Sydney, Australia. He is pretty chill, and admits he really needs to get around to updating his website more often.
