I’ve always been a guy to use specific gear for specific purposes. Everything was meant for certain situations. But that was never more prevalent than when I started working remote and taking on the title of ‘Digital Nomad’. There are so many times when I find myself needing to pack for an overnight trip to San Francisco or on a four-day trip to New York. And that requires two very different methods of packing.
Over the years I’ve ditched so many bags that I thought would work for me, but they all fell short in some way that was enough to keep me scrolling the web for the next bag. That was until I discovered what the team over at Aer was doing with their active, travel and work collections!
At first glance, the Sling Bag 2 seems a little less aesthetically pleasing as their other offerings, but it quickly grows on you and the attention to detail is impeccable. The durability of the 1680D Cordura® ballistic nylon feels like it can take a beating, and if filled with sand, could keep water off your property (Which I don’t recommend). The zippers are the proven heavy-duty YKK zippers with a great rubber seal to keep even dense moisture from reaching the inside of the bag.
The absolute best thing about Aer’s ‘Active line’ is the external shoe compartment that can fit up to a respectable men’s size 13. This pocket is critical for me so I can fly in my comfy shoes and still pack a decent pair of shoes to pair with jeans during my meetings and dinners out. Even though this is a smaller sling, I still found the internal compartment plenty big enough for a toiletry bag, a change of clothes and some media equipment. There is an exterior quick access pocket that doesn’t have much depth to it, but is perfect for a book, some papers and miscellaneous pocket essentials like your boarding pass and passport.
The internal laptop sleeve is only big enough for me to fit my Macbook Air inside, so larger laptops may have to be packed with the rest of your bulky items inside. What I liked about the Sling Bag was the central ‘anchor’ strap, which allows the wearer to throw the bag over the left or right shoulder. This may seem commonsensical, but I’ve had a few other sling bags that make you wear the bag on either shoulder. The strap is incredibly nice and is the same material as a seatbelt with the same thickness as well. They could have added a bit of padding here, but that could just be me being slightly petty. 
Aer has done an impeccable job and stands as the example for what right looks like when it comes to making travel bags. I’m not ashamed to say that they have a life long customer and I can’t wait to see what they’re up to next. Now go buy a plane ticket and see some places!
