Sling bags and their increase in popularity
In the fast-paced world of modern men’s fashion, sling bags have emerged as a rising star, and it’s not hard to see why. These stylish companions offer a multitude of advantages, making them the go-to choice for today’s discerning individuals, even for men.
Sling bags are synonymous with hands-free ease, providing men with a practical solution that allows them to keep their hands unburdened while effortlessly accessing their essentials and carrying their business essentials with them. Whether you’re traversing new terrain, embarking on an adventurous hike, or commuting through a bustling city, sling bags ensure you’re always ready for action.
Sling bags step in with their sleek and streamlined silhouette, offering a lighter, more stylish option for carrying your daily necessities. With their compact design, these bags not only enhance your overall appearance but also ensure you move through life unencumbered. They also offer an added layer of security. Worn across the body, they will keep you away from the vulnerability of traditional backpacks or purses that can be easily snatched. With flap closures and strategically placed interior pockets, your valuables remain tucked away securely.
In this post, we’ll be looking at a high-end-quality bag called City Pack from a brand named Grams28 that produces sling bags, bags, and tech covers, mostly from high-quality leather.
Meet the 154 City Pack from Grams 28
The 154 City Pack Sling Bag is the perfect compact bag for your daily essentials. Also, it can be used by travelers as a day bag where they can keep their tech gear and go vlogging on the streets of any city. We found it very useful when wearing it as a complement to our trolley or big backpack on our digital nomad travels.
This sling bag is crafted from full-grain Italian leather and measures 27 x 21 x 7 cm. It offers an ideal 5L capacity, just right for carrying your must-haves without excess bulk.
The 154 City Pack features a front zip pocket for securing small valuables like keys, cards, and cash. The main compartment opens wide for easy access to your phone, sunglasses, power bank, and other everyday items. An open-back slot allows you to slide the bag over the handle of your luggage for easy carrying. Two things that we really love about this bag are, first and foremost, the quality of the leather and, secondly, the sturdiness of the strap ring which adds to the overall great package.
The strap feels solid, and it’s pretty comfortable for the shoulders. As you may be aware, there is no cushion on it, so wearing it for a long time might start to hurt. The strap is an adjustable strap for crossbody carrying. Wear it long for a lower profile or shorten it up for a higher back carry.
Made from environmentally certified leather, the City Pack Sling Bag is an elevated everyday bag that looks great while minimizing its impact. With its versatile design and premium details like full-grain Italian leather, it transitions seamlessly from the trail to the town.
We found it ideal for a one-day city trip, when you need your tech gear, a bottle of water, and some other things to get work done. We like to see this as a compact and stylish mini-work bag that can carry essentials for work like a pen and paper, a small tablet, a camera, a phone, and a portable charger.
Style and Aesthetics
The bag feels high quality from the very beginning, with a strong leather exterior and ferm zippers that slide smoothly.
It looks elegant, and we’d rather wear some smart clothing than sporty outfits
Currently, it’s only available in black, but you’ll soon notice that because of the high-quality leather, you can wear it with almost any elegant outfit.Â
Men who are considering this bag can wear it with an elegant blazer, even with a full suit. The bag will look fantastic when worn with a white shirt as well.
Photo courtesy of Grams28
Functionality and Practicality
We found the Grams28 “man bag” extremely useful to organize small things like gadgets, chargers, and other travel tiny bits.Â
Any item is easy to grab because the bag is compact and at hand all the time, and the zippers slide nicely. The bag has two zipped pockets on the inside and outside of the bag for easy reach. You could store important documents like passports, boarding passes, or keys when traveling in the pocket facing your body as you wear it.
Inside the bag, you will find two big compartments, separated by a fine cream-colored material. The quality of the stitching holding the pockets is good.
The two main compartments can hold anything from an iPad (not a 13″ MacBook, though, so be careful) to a bottle of water or small package. It will fit well a 11” iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard if you want to be productive on the road, a compact camera, and a mini tripod if you want to vlog. Another useful item for a guy to fit in the bag is a notepad, if you are a bit more old-school and want to put creative thoughts down.
One of the bigger compartments splits in two by opening up a zipper that reveals three small pockets where you can store things like charging cables, headphones, or an air tag. I find this feature really cool.I prefer to store my wireless headphones there most of the times.Â
The other part of the compartment has 2 bigger pockets where you could hold for example, your phone and a battery bank.Â
Quality and Durability
Overall, we find the bag as high quality, which justifies the retail price of $299. The exterior of the bag is made with only the best quality, full-grain Italian leather, the bag is built with environmentally-conscious leather tanning procedures by Gruppo Mastrotto, which is carbon neutral; and their leather is certified biobased by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Another element of the bag that indicates high quality is the metal strap loop, which, in combination with the strong leather strap, makes the bag very sturdy and can hold a decent weight. (Obviously, you don’t want to overcharge it.)
We found the zipper and leather zipper ends strong, and after using the bag for 3 months they still open with ease and haven’t broke so that’s a big plus.
User Experience and Reviews
It comes to no surprise that the bag has really good reviews on both trust pilot and on its own website from previous buyers. People have spotted the same qualities that we did, the materials and built quality as well as its usefulness for a busy professional who travels a lot.
Our experience and rating - Price and Value
A premium "man" bag that's worth the money
We believe the bag offers a great value for money, even compared with other bags. We loved the high-quality leather, smart compartments and mini pockets inside as well as the stylish look. We couldn't find to many CONs over this bag. It would have been nice to have space for a small laptop, however a tablet with keyboard can be fitted in there. Another thing we would have loved to see on this bag is a slightly more. solid shoulder padding. At the moment, there is a leather one which is pretty thin. However this is not at all a deal breaker.
Final words
In summary, sling bags have become the preferred everyday carry companion for modern men. Their functional prowess, comfort, and sleek style make them an essential addition to any wardrobe.Â
As the market continues to expand, offering a plethora of materials and features, the appeal of sling bags only continues to grow. The 154 City Pack from Grams is definitely a good choice for any urban, professional man who wants to live in style and needs a great accessory to conduct his business on the go.
The value for money the bag offers is excellent and we do find it as a useful man’s accessory in a lot of situations. You won’t be dissapointed by this travel companion.
Editor’s Note: We have recieved the bag from Grams28 for an honest review. We haven’t received any financial incentive to write a positive review hence all the opinions here are as objective as possible.Â