It’s light, it’s spacious, and it can carry a lot of things. If you can have only one bag for everyday use and shooting on the go, this might be worth considering.
Sling bags are probably the underappreciated kind of camera bags. They aren’t made to carry as much gear but allow us to be more comfortable shooting while on the move. Because they put an unbalanced load on the user’s back, it's important for the kind of sling bags we use to be efficient with weight yet still be able to hold all the gear we need while moving about. This sling-type bag from PGYTECH offers a lightweight option that can hold more gear than you’d expect.
The PGYTECH OneGo Solo V2
The One Go Solo V2 is a padded shell with an almost leather-like, water-resistant polyester finish. It comes in black and moss green and is available in 4 L, 6 L, and 10 L variants. The water-resistant polyester covers all sides of the bag, including the reinforced zippers that prevent water from seeping into the openings.
The 10-liter version measures 17.7 x 9.8 x 6.3 inches (450 x 250 x 160 mm) and weighs just 730 grams, which is considerably light for a 10-liter pack. The OneGo Solo V2 has three compartments: a large main compartment in the middle, a small front pocket, and a considerably large rear pocket for tablets and small laptops.
The front pocket is opened using a zipper, which reveals a single compartment that can hold usual personal items and small accessories like a passport, wallet, phone, keys, etc. The rear pocket can hold up to a 12.9" iPad Pro or a 13- to 14-inch laptop, depending on the width.
To access the main compartment, a zipper that spans the height on both sides and the entire length of the bag allows for a wide-angle opening that reveals the camera compartment and all sub-compartments inside. The camera compartment comes with movable and removable dividers and can hold up to two camera bodies and three lenses (with two lenses attached), or a single camera body with an attached 70-200mm f/2.8, potentially with a bit of room for a smaller lens.
Right behind the camera compartment is a long but shallow mesh pocket that is partially closed by a magnetic latch in the middle. This pocket can be used for small- to medium-sized items as well as long objects that are relatively thin, like a folded-up camera strap.
In front of the camera compartment are two mesh pockets that divide the front surface in half for additional small accessories and tools. On the inner side of the front flap, just adjacent to the said pockets, is another pair of similarly sized pockets that sit in front of another zippered pocket with four battery-sized dividers that are perfect for holding (you guessed it right) camera batteries. In between the front flap and the camera compartment is another potential space for relatively thin items; however, all these depend on how full all the other pockets are.
Right behind the rear pocket is a long handle that can be used to carry the bag or secure it on the handle of luggage. The handle spans the length of the bag and ends right where the attachment points for the shoulder strap are. The strap comes with an easily adjustable buckle with a tab that can be pulled up or down to adjust the length and is placed on either side of the comfortable shoulder pad.
On the left rear corner of the bag is a hidden, collapsed water bottle pouch that can be pulled out and secured using a built-in hook to one of the side loops of the bag. This can be used to hold a beverage bottle or cup, along with any other similarly sized object. Personally, I’ve been able to use this hidden pocket to hold a power bank connected to my phone or even a rolled-up windbreaker while walking around when traveling.
User Experience
I initially purchased the PGYTECH OneGo Solo V2 as a relatively light walk-around bag when traveling. For such uses, I would bring a full frame camera with a standard zoom plus possibly an extra wide angle lens. On my recent trip to Seoul, I had a Sony a7R V with a 24-105mm f/4 G, along with either a Sony 20mm f/1.8 G or a Laowa 12-24mm f/5.6 zoom-shift lens with me. With the 10-liter sling, this had extra room for a battery case and a set of filters inside the main compartment. I’d either have an 11-inch iPad Pro or a notebook in the rear compartment, and all these fit without being too squeezed in. Technically, I could fit another lens, possibly even the 70-200mm f/4 G OSS Macro inside, but with that kind of load, I would switch to a backpack instead.
The PGYTECH OneGo Solo V2 10L version simply provided more space than I needed without being too bulky or heavy, especially on long days of walking around a city. It was also appreciable how my gear was protected from the light to moderate rain we experienced while traveling, and because of the material that makes up this bag, there were absolutely no concerns about the bag’s durability in unfavorable environments.
It was an unexpected bonus that even as a 10-liter pack, this bag is a very useful everyday-carry bag, whether or not your day involves photography. Since the dividers can be moved around, it’s very easy to fit personal items and even a change of clothes inside the main compartment. The rear pocket can carry my iPad or even a slim laptop (that I’m still aiming to acquire), which makes it very useful for bringing work around wherever I go. The abundance of small pockets and compartments makes it nice for anyone who prefers to have everything organized, whether they are small photography accessories or everyday items altogether.
Considering the price and how it compares to other camera sling bags in the market, the PGYTECH OneGo Solo V2 provides a wide range of options and uses for photographers and even non-photographers who prefer a sleek but spacious carrying solution on-the-go.
What I Liked:
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Spacious compartments for camera gear and accessories
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Lightweight and does not add to the weight of the camera gear
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Large pocket for tablets/laptops
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Multiple sub-pockets for small accessories
What Can Be Improved:
- More color options
- Possibly a quick-close magnetic latch for the main access
Ever since I bought my first camera Bag in 2008 and I have been juggling around on almost all the popular brands, and this bag is my favourite.