Home John

Peak Design Everyday Sling 5L bag review

The bags we use to carry our daily gear are chosen based on a variety of criteria. Large messenger bags work great when you have a lot of bulky items, smaller bags are better when all you need to carry is a wallet and a phone. And then there are medium sized bags like the Peak Design Everyday Sling bag which we’re going to talk about today.

What is it?

The Everyday Sling 5L bag from Peak Design is a small bag that can be worn over the shoulder or as a waist bag (aka fanny pack) and has been designed to be used as a camera bag, small drone bag, or general purpose bag.

Design and features

The Sling bag is available in two sizes, the 10L version and a 5L version like the one that was sent to me. Both versions of the bag are made of weatherproof 400D nylon canvas and are available in black or ash. I was sent the ash version of the Sling bag which matches the Peak Design Everyday Messenger bag and Everyday Tote bag that I’ve also reviewed.

This bag doesn’t have a flap, but a zippered top that provides access to the interior. On the front of the bag is a horizontal zipper which secures the quick-access front pocket. This pocket is roomy enough to hold a large phone like my Pixel 2 XL.

For security, the zipper pull for the main compartment can be locked into the zipper pull for the quick-access pocket.

Here’s a view of the back of the Sling bag which as you can see, does not have any pockets.

The top of the bag has a padded grab handle with a leather accent.

The adjustable shoulder strap can be flipped for left or right shoulder carry and the extra length of the strap can be hidden in a slot on the back of the bag.

The strap has a quick adjuster loop that makes it easy to loosen and tighten the strap while you’re wearing the bag, and the g-hook provides a way to quickly switch the bag from shoulder to waist carry.

I prefer to wear bags crossbody style, but I was surprised by how comfortable the Sling is to wear around the waist. I can imagine wearing it this way while hiking.

The exterior of the Sling also has a dedicated attachment point for Peak Design’s Capture Clip system which is designed to attach cameras to the outside of the bag for quick access.

The Sling reminds me of a clamshell. The main compartment doesn’t have a flap to secure it, but a zipper which allows the front part of the bag to hinge forward.

Peak Design bags all have FlexFold dividers which are a really cool way to organize your gear inside the bag. Inside the Sling are two FlexFold origami dividers that can be repositioned, folded or even removed to configure the interior of the bag exactly how you want it.

The interior of the bag is an open compartment with a small stretch pocket on the side and a padded open topped pocket along the back that is large enough to hold a tablet with dimensions no larger than 9.4 x 7.3 x 0.6 inch (24 cm x 18.5 cm x 1.5 cm).  The top of the tablet pocket has a magnetic closure.

If we flip the Sling bag around, we can see the other side of the bag where there’s a zippered pocket.

Inside the pocket are 4 small pockets that can hold memory cards or other small items.

The Sling 5L is designed to hold small drones like the DJI Mavic or DJI Spark, and small mirrorless or DSLR cameras.

I don’t own a DJI drone and I no longer have a dedicated DSLR camera, but do have a collection of EDC gear that goes with me to and from work each day. Here’s my latest selection minus an A5 notebook, and my Pixel 2 XL which I used to take this photo.

And here we see all my items stowed neatly in the Peak Design Everyday Sling 5L bag. The bag was able to hold the majority of my essentials, but I did have to compromise and remove one of the individual notebooks from my X47 leather notebook binder instead of carrying the whole thing. I was able to put the thin A5 notebook in the tablet pocket inside the Sling.

Another compromise I made was not being able to put my lunch in the Sling since there was absolutely no room left to hold even a small container of food.

Bonus points for the fact that the Sling 5L sits upright on a flat surface without falling over.

Positives

  • Multiple ways to carry
  • Customizable FlexFold organization dividers
  • Small but can hold a lot of gear

Negatives

  • 5L version can feel cramped if you like to carry a lot of gear

Final thoughts

Since reviewing the Peak Design Everyday Messenger bag, I’ve become a fan of their bags. The bags are well made, expertly designed for customization, and stylish. The Everyday Sling 5L is a great little bag for people who don’t carry a lot of gear with them each day or want a dedicated bag for a small mirrorless camera kit or drone kit. This is another winner for Peak Design and I’m happy to recommend it.

Price: $99.95
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Peak Design.

Agate guitar picks resonate in a way plastic cannot

These agate guitar picks are handmade in Pennsylvania by Seth Maranuk, a jewelry designer and craftsman.  When he randomly found a tumbled stone chip that was shaped like a guitar pick, he began working to develop a “carefully shaped pick with just the right contour that allows for precision picking”.  These agate picks 1.2″ long X 1″ wide, and they “resonate in your hand in a way a plastic pick cannot, giving you a closer, smoother, and more integrated experience”.  Agate guitar picks are made by hand from natural materials, so no two are alike;  they are exclusively available for $20.00 at UncommonGoods.  They would be a great gift for the musician in your life.

ZAGG Slim Book Apple 10.5-inch iPad Pro keyboard case review

Have you seen Apple’s latest iPad Pro commercial with the teenage girl bouncing around town with her iPad getting much accomplished, finally asking “what’s a computer???” Apple is trying to convince the world that the iPad Pro can be their everything computing device, competing with the likes of the Surface Pro, Chromebooks, and the MacBook itself. Well, to make this even close to reality the iPad needs a keyboard as a cohort in crime. ZAGG has recently introduced their Slim Book for the Apple 10.5-inch iPad Pro to fill this niche/need, let’s see if it’s up for the task.

The ZAGG Slim Book is a well made, two-piece solution for adding productivity and protection to the 10.5″ iPad Pro. The back panel encases your iPad Pro in rigid plastic, securely protecting your tablet as any case should. The front cover or base of the Slim Book is a well engineered keyboard that magnetically attaches to the iPad Pro/case. Surprisingly the Slim Book does not use the iPad Pro’s smart connector for connectivity. The keyboard communicates with the iPad via Bluetooth. But ZAGG has done a good job making this a non-issue.

Even though the keyboard case more than doubles the weight and adds a good amount of bulk to the sleek & slim iPad Pro, overall the duo work really well together. The Slim Book transforms the iPad Pro into a great touch screen, media consuming, lap-friendly computing device. Instead of minimalistic, flimsy functionality (other keyboards add), the Slim Books adds excellent no-compromise usability and features to the iPad Pro.

Not only does the Slim Book look good but its sturdy overmold engineering absorbs impact and withstands drops up to one meter. The case has a ToughBook vibe with tear-proof, tight weave fabric inlayed in the plastic of the outer casing giving it a professional look and feel. The fabric also gives much better grippability.

A green LED flashes when you press the power button, confirming the keyboard is on. Pairing the iPad Pro to the ZAGG keyboard is as easy as you would expect, simply hold either of the bluetooth buttons until the LED starts flashing blue. From there, all you need to do is pair them within iPad’s bluetooth settings. The process was seamless.

The Slim Book allows for multi-device pairing, enabling two separate devices to be paired simultaneously with toggling back and forth between them at the touch of a button.

The Slim Book’s adjustable hinge cradles the iPad Pro/case combo, providing a secure, solid connection. Along with a magnetic connection between the iPad case and keyboard, there are also two hard points on either end of the interior of the hinge rail for added stability. The connection between the two is extremely solid and takes a good amount of force to separate them.

The Slim Book’s hinge allows for a wide variety of viewing angles. I LOVE how lap-friendly the Slim Book is, transforming using the iPad Pro into a true laptop-like experience. Unlike a wobbly kickstand solution, the hinge hold the tablet solidly in place making for an excellent viewing and typing experience.

Keyboard cover attaches on the left side of the iPad.

The top of the hard case has a push-thru for the power button and cutouts for mic and audio plug. Though you’ll notice the complete lack of speaker holes on the sides. The back of the case has a triangular cutout for the camera and flash.

The right side of the case has a built-in holder for Apple Pencil and push-thrus for the volume buttons.

The Apple Pencil safely and securely clicks into the plastic hard points when you’re not using it.

The base of the case has a small cutout allowing access to the iPad’s lighting port and once again no cutouts or holes for the speakers. Instead of being powered by the iPad’s smart connector, the bluetooth keyboard charges via a built-in microUSB port. This engineering choice allows the two to communicate when not connected.

According to ZAGG, the keyboard’s long-lasting rechargeable battery lets you type up to two years between charges. Which seems like a bit of a stretch but after weeks of use the keyboard still tells me it’s fully charged. You definitely don’t need to charge it nightly.

The iPad case has four forward facing slots, two on the top and two on the bottom for the speaker sound to escape. The slots work well enough at forcing the iPad’s sound forward.

A backlight function button toggles through 4 brightness settings (off, low, medium, and high) and another through seven color choices.

Instead of today’s low profile, short-click chiclets (12″ MacBook on the right), the Slim Book’s keys are very old school, standing comparatively high and have a good amount of movement. The keys move easily with decent key travel making typing fast with a good feel.  The key size is a bit smaller than the typical modern day keyboard but more than usable.

The keyboard gives you a multitude of function buttons allowing for better and more convenient management of the iPad (as compared to digging into the Control Center or settings). These functions help the keyboard/iPad combo feel more MacBook-like. Though initially I’d regularly start to dive into the iPad Pro’s touchscreen controls and have to remind myself the function keys were there.

Here is a comparison shot of the iPad Pro with Apple keyboard, 12″ MacBook, and ZAGG Slim Book. I would guesstimate the Slim Book triples the volume of Apple’s flagship tablet.

The ZAGG Slim Book and 10.5″ iPad Pro weigh in at a hefty 2.5+ pounds…somewhere between a 12″ MacBook and 13″ MacBook Pro. Crazy I know. But I guess it comes down to what you need and/or prefer when it comes to usability and functionality.

Positives

  • Well made from quality materials
  • Excellent design/engineering
  • Provides good protection
  • Adds much functionality
  • Uses Bluetooth connectivity
  • Excellent laptop-like experience

Negatives

  • Adds bulk and weight
  • Uses Bluetooth connectivity

Final thoughts

I like many things about the ZAGG Slim Book and as I said, it surprised me. This well done keyboard/case combination really does transform the iPad Pro into a more serious computing device. The only thing it’s missing is a trackpad but that’s on Apple. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s no MacBook Pro. But for a majority of folks who already have a 10.5″ iPad Pro and want functionality on the fly, the ZAGG Slim Book could be their answer or at least their serious consideration 😉 .

Price: $119.99
Where to buy: ZAGG and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by ZAGG. Please visit their site for more info.

Connect a large tablet to your laptop as a second screen with the Mountie+

A couple of years ago, Julie told us about the Mountie clip from Ten One Design that connects a phone or tablet to your laptop screen for use as a second monitor.  Ten One Design now offers the Mountie+, which is bigger and sturdier and designed for use with larger-format tablets.  The Mountie+ clip works with all tablets 5.0mm to 9.0mm thick, and it will work with all laptops and with tablets as big as the 12.9″ iPad Pro.  Mountie+ has two grip units with a 2.6X increase in front grip surface area and gripping strength compared to the original Mountie with its single grip unit.  There’s a charging cord pass through that keeps the cord hidden behind the laptop’s screen.  The Mountie+ is $34.95, or you can get a set with a Mountie+ and an original Mountie for $49.95 at Ten One Design and Amazon.

The year in review – Favorite gadgets of the Gadgeteer team for 2017 (part 2)

Last week we posted The year in review – Favorite gadgets of the Gadgeteer team for 2017 (part 1) and now we’re back with part 2 where another group of Gadgeteer writers share their favorite gadgets and gizmos from the past year. Here we go with part two of the Gadgeteer’s favorite gadgets lists of 2017.

Larry Geisz

SHOTBOX

Even though I did not review this product, it’s my first choice for favorite product of 2017 because the SHOTBOX stood out to me. Reviewed by Julie in November, the SHOTBOX made such an impression on me that I immediately ordered one from Amazon to use for my reviews. Although I have only had it a short period of time I do love it and plan on getting many years of use out of it. You can buy the SHOTBOX for $164.00 from Amazon.

Solo Altitude backpack

I reviewed the Solo Altitude backpack back in April before I left on a two month trip to Europe. The backpack held up great, the size allowed me to use it as my personal item when carrying it on to an airplane, it slid nicely under the seat in front of me. The Solo Altitude backpack has plenty of room for a laptop computer and a tablet device. It has held up well so far. You can buy one for $55.99 from Amazon.

Survival Hax Tactical Credit Card Tool

Although I owned another credit card survival tool at the time of my Survival Hax Tactical Credit Card Tool, I found this one to be a nice compliment to it. I have the Survival Hax Tactical Credit Card Tool in my “bug out” kit it fits nicely into my tool wallet. You can buy one for $14.99 from Amazon.

Dave Rees

Apple iPhone X

Like Julie, I have waffled between iOS and Android for years. Though unlike her and the Pixel 2 XL, I have landed on the iOS side of the coin with Apple’s latest and greatest, the iPhone X. I love everything about the X: the screen, form factor, build quality, wireless charging, Face ID, etc… The big debate for 2018 will be whether or not to upgrade when Apple releases the X+. But for now, the iPhone X is definitely my daily driver with few if any tempting me back to Android. You can buy one starting from $999 from Apple.

Jabra Elite Sport earbuds

The Jabra Elite Sports are my go-to workout and travel earbuds. Their totally wireless design, excellent fit, and great sound quality make for a hassle-/cord-free listening experience. They are backed by a 3-year sweatproof warranty and so far they are surviving my epic fitness regime. The Elite Sport Earbuds are currently on sale for $180 from Jabra and Amazon.

 

Shinola + Zieba New York MS3 Manhattan Special Pocket Knife

 The Shinola MS3 pocket knife is without a doubt my favorite pocketknife and non-electronic review item this year. I carry it with me everywhere I go. It fits perfectly in the coin pocket of most of my pants. Its form factor and material/build quality are perfect for the urban jungle. The MS3 Manhattan Special pocket knife is available from Shinola for $295.

I have to add a few honorable mentions: Aerix DaVinci Drone, 10.5” iPad Pro w/Apple keyboard, and the Apple Watch Series 3 w/LTE. 2017 was definitely a good year in consumer electronics and for me inching me closer to tech-Zen.

Andy Jacobs

By far, these are my favorite Bluetooth Wireless earbuds that I’ve reviewed thus far here at The Gadgeteer.  They are very small and lightweight, have a cool and useful magnetic charging case, and best of all, they stay in my ears (even while working out) better than any other wireless earbuds that I’ve tried yet.  Good sound as well.  As of this writing, I am still using them every day as my workout earbuds. You can buy them for $49.99 from Amazon.
This pen was fun to review and is just plain fun to use.  Its weighting and texture make it feel just about perfect in my hand, and its ink capsule is smooth on every type of paper that I’ve yet to try it on.  Plus, it looks simple, minimalist and cool, just like all of Baron Fit’s products.  Baron Fig did this one right.  You can buy one for $55.00 from baronfig.com
This headlamp is tough as nails.  Period.  I’ve used it in multiple overnight GORUCK Tough Challenge Endurance events and it aluminum case weathers everything like a champ—cold, rain, drops and collisions.  Plus, its graduated intensity adjustment allows me to dial in the exact brightness level that I need for any given situation.  The only thing keeping this headlamp from perfection is that it is missing a red light mode, but even without this, it’s still my go-to headlamp.

Kathleen Chapman

I’ve used the Jaybird X3 earbuds just about every day for over a period of about nine months now. I love the fact that these Bluetooth headphones will play for about eight hours on one charge and they sound awesome when listening to any music genre because you can save your favorite sound profiles directly to the earbuds (one profile at a time). They are near and dear to my heart because of that feature alone. You can purchase the Jaybird X3s on Amazon for $79.99.
Like the Jaybird X3s, I’ve used the Col. Littleton No. 18 Leather Hunt bag just about every day for about a year now. I love the craftsmanship and the quality of the leather and materials – it has held up beautifully over the last year and I expect it to do so for many years to come. You can purchase the Col. Littleton No. 18 Leather Hunt Bag from Colonel Littleton or Amazon for $395.00.
The Antop AT-400BV Indoor/Outdoor antenna has transformed our cord cutting experience. When we used various flat HDTV indoor antennas, they would invariably fail to clearly tune in some of our favorite channels. We used this antenna to replace those and since then we have enjoyed beautiful, clear reception for all of our favorite channels on three TVs. You can purchase the AT-400BV Indoor/Outdoor Antenna from Amazon for $143.00.
The Pad & Quill Roll Top Leather backpack is a wonderful, well-made leather backpack and is backed by a 25-year warranty. It is compact and yet carries what I need during a day. And it’s just plain attractive. Period. You can purchase the Pad & Quill Roll Top Leather Backpack from Pad & Quill for $319.00.

Bill Henderson

 

Audeze iSINE 10 planar magnetic in-ear headphones

There are many reasons why I like these earphones, but the biggest reason is the sound—both inside and outside my head. The iSine 10 earphones are open-backed, meaning that the music sounds like it’s in front of you rather than at your ears. Plus, the audio quality is incredible. If you can get past the Spiderman-looking design, you will fall in love with these earphones. You can buy them for $399.00 from Amazon.

Anki Cozmo robot

This small, but attitudinally challenged robot will win your heart. Cozmo is funny, smart, mischievous, and will provide hours of fun. He can be used to help teach coding to kids through his free SDK (software development kit) and built-in coding abilities. He comes with built-in facial recognition and can even recognize a family pet to annoy if directed. You can buy one for $124.99 from Amazon.

Master & Dynamic MW50 wireless headphone

Master & Dynamic has never made a bad headphone but the wireless MW50 is a rarity that is as beautiful as it sounds. It’s not as big or impressive as it’s more expensive wireless sibling—the MW60, but it manages to sound better. How’d that happen? You can buy a pair for $449.00 from Master & Dynamic.

Waterfield Designs Maverick Laptop Messenger Bag

The Waterfield Maverick bag is tough and roomy and is made to take abuse for years and look better for it. How many bags can do all that? You can buy one for $289.00 or $319.00 from Waterfield Design.

V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless headphone

This wireless headphone manages to hit every sweet spot with comfort, great wireless sound, unusual design and incredible build quality. Add a generous warranty, customization and a strong carrying case and you easily have one of the best headphones of 2017. You can buy a pair for $293.29 from Amazon.

Audioengine HD3 wireless speaker 

Audioengine offered the HD3 speaker months after their larger and more expensive HD6, but this small—in size only—speaker may be the perfect desktop speaker available today. It sounds much bigger than its size, comes with built-in Bluetooth and its timeless retro styling looks great on any desk. You can buy a pair of these speakers for $399.00 from Amazon.

Now it’s your turn!

What are your favorite products of 2017 and why? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Also check out The year in review – Favorite gadgets of the Gadgeteer team for 2017 (part 1)