I recently tested out the K&F Concept Camera Crossover Sling Bag. I'm a big fan of the K&F brand so I was excited to try this product out. I thank K&F Concept again for this collaboration. If you are interested in getting the product for yourself after reading this:
Click HERE to go to K&F Concept's Amazon page
Get a 5% discount with the code: ESBags05
Who are K&F Concept?
K&F Concept, a brand founded in 2012, has been committed to designing, innovating, and manufacturing photography accessories. In the pursuit of product excellence, K&F Concept has obtained more than 150 patents and various international product awards. K&F Concept has been a popular buy in 56 countries and regions and is involved in different markets in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Their official website is being upgraded, so you can browse www.kentfaith.com - the website of K&F Concept authorised shopping mall - for reference. Kentfaith is a comprehensive shopping mall of all kinds of video and audio products, which is popular with users all over the world. All K&F Concept products are available at Kent Faith.
Why is a camera bag important?
A camera bag is important for several reasons, especially if you own and use expensive camera equipment. Here are some key reasons why a camera bag is important:
Protection: A camera bag is designed to protect your camera and accessories from physical damage, dust, moisture, and other environmental elements. It usually has padded compartments and dividers to keep your gear safe and secure during transportation and storage.
Security: Many camera bags come with locking options or zipper pulls that can be secured with a lock. This adds an extra layer of security, preventing unauthorised access to your expensive equipment.
Portability: Camera bags are designed with comfortable straps and handles, making it easier to carry your gear around. Some bags even come with padded shoulder straps or backpack-style configurations, which distribute the weight more evenly and reduce the strain on your body. My first camera bag was a nightmare for long hikes as the straps would kill your shoulders on those longer hikes.
Customisation and Organisation: Camera bags often allow you to reconfigure the internal dividers to suit your specific gear and preferences. This customisation ensures that your camera and accessories fit snugly, reducing the risk of damage during transit. These various compartments and pockets, make it easier to organise and store your camera body, lenses, memory cards, filters, batteries, and other accessories. This helps you keep your gear in order and readily accessible.
Accessibility: Camera bags are designed for quick and easy access to your gear. You can quickly grab the camera or lens you need without fumbling through a general-purpose bag. Accessibility also helps you capture those moments that you may only have a second to capture.
Weather resistance: Some camera bags are designed to be weather-resistant or come with rain covers, which help protect your equipment from rain, snow, or other adverse weather conditions. I have been caught out in the rain with a cheap camera bag and it resulted in the rain destroying my camera so it's best to consider a bag that is going to give you the best weather resistance protection.
Packaging
I have been really impressed with how much K&F have cut down on their plastic in the packaging. The only bits of packaging that came with the bag was plastic wrap that was over the bag in the box.
Design
The bag is made of 420D nylon material, which is known for its strength, water resistance and light weight. You can feel the quality when you touch the bag. The zips feel great in your hands and they don´t feel like they will break on you. I was also impressed with the heavy duty stitching all around the bag. This is vital to ensure that your gear gets the adequate protection. The zips allow two configurations, side opening or full opening. There is a safety buckle which prevents your camera from falling out accidently.
Inside the bag, it contains EVA padded partitions which help product your camera gear from all shocks and bumps. I found the partitions to be sturdy but I feel they could be a bit thicker.
The shoulder strap is padded and the back part of the bag has a ventilated elastic back to help ensure you don´t get the dreaded sweaty back! It can be adjusted from 20.8 to 40 inches (53 - 102cm). The sling design allows for quick access and allows multiple configuration. The tripod holder on the side can also be used as a water bottle . On the quick access side flap there is a hidden pocket to SD cards, batteries and other small items.
Capacity
The dimensions of the bag are: 16 x 8 x 6 inches (40 x 20 x 15 cm) which is approximately 10 litres. The main compartment of the bag can contain up to 1 camera and 2 lenses, some spare batteries and a tripod on the side. For me what worked really well was packing my camera body with lens attached, an additional lens, a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone with two spare batteries and a spare camera battery. I found that my main gear fit really well, I was not lacking space.
The top part compartment of the bag can used to store personal items such as wallets, clothing and additional camera accessories. Personally, I found it great for storing my filters and drone remote control. Obviously, there isn´t a laptop compartment due to the size.
Durability and Weather Resistance
As mentioned previously, the bag is made of a 420D nylon material that helps to keep all your camera gear dry. We got caught in a few storms in Andalucia whilst testing the backpack and found the waterproofing to withstand a battering. The bag, unfortunately, doesn't come with a rain cover but I found that the bag withstood all the rain I threw at it without one.
Comfort and Ergonomics
The shoulder straps feel great on your arms and don't cause shoulder or back pain. I used the additional side safety strap to wrap that around myself whilst hiking and it felt great. Even with a full water bottle on the side, the back still felt comfortable. Some people will prefer to wear the bag over their chest for easy access but I preferred to have the bag on my bag. You can even have the bag just over one shoulder if you so desire.
The straps are fully adjustable so you can customise the strap to your specific needs. The bag gets a A+ for comfort and ergonomics.
Conclusion
In conclusion the K&F Concept Camera Sling back a great camera backpack for every day use when you want to pack light and don't need your entire camera bag. The only downsides are the EVA foam padding which could be thicker and maybe including a rain cover but for the price of the bag, it's hard for this backpack to be beaten.
The link again:
Click HERE to go to K&F Concept's Amazon page