Aer Travel Sling 2 Review

Aer is a brand that should be familiar to most within this community. As purveyors of tech-focused, mostly black, aesthetically minimal packs they’ve been making a name for themselves since 2014. Their focus on simplicity, utility, and durability has garnered a largely positive reputation in the years since. And with each generation of products, they aim to make meaningful updates based on real-world usage and feedback. 

We’re here today to take a look at the Aer Travel Sling 2, which is a pretty thorough design update from the original. Though travel is in the name of this bag, don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s only suitable for that role. I’ve been putting it to daily use over the past few months as my work bag (in addition to travel applications) and I’m ready to share my thoughts.  

Let’s dig in. 

Design

Looks

Aesthetically speaking, Aer’s products predominantly feature a minimal, tech-forward look which suits all genders. Though, in my opinion, I would say they are slightly masculine in their appearance. The Travel Sling 2 is currently available in two different colorways, Black and Heather Gray. There is no wrong choice between the two as they both suit the overall silhouette of the bag very well.

I also am a big fan of the updated patterning of this version over the original Travel Sling, which was overall a more boxy design. This almost feels like a scaled-up version of the Day Sling, and the bag feels well-proportioned overall. Aer’s typical neutral gray interior liner works well enough to give you a clear view of the bag’s contents. But I must say, I love the bright orange liner they use on their X-Pac editions and I think it would really suit this bag’s overall look and feel. 

Construction

Quality of construction is, for me, one of the most important aspects when it comes to making a purchase decision with a bag. Aer has been continuously improving their construction (not that they were ever “bad”) with each generation of products they release. The Travel Sling 2 arrived with absolutely zero construction flaws upon initial inspection. And in the subsequent months of daily use I’ve put the bag through, nothing has changed. Though I haven’t yet flown with the bag, it has been on road trips, in and out of cars, and used as a daily carry for work. I’m not intentionally “rough” on bags or equipment. But I’m also not afraid to use them and the Travel Sling 2 has exhibited no signs of construction failure. This leaves me feeling fairly confident that this will continue to be the case in a longer-term scenario. 

Materials & Hardware

Aer uses quality materials on their bags and the entire exterior of the sling is constructed of 1680D Ballistic Nylon. The smooth texture of Ballistic Nylon (versus a more coarse weave like Cordura 500D and 1000D) makes it easy to clean if you do happen to get it dirty. It also means that dust and fur aren’t going to easily stick to the exterior. Thank goodness, because my Australian Shepherds’ fur is deeply embedded into just about everything I own. The interior is lined with a light gray colored pack-cloth material, similar to most of their other products. 

This makes the interior visible so none of your contents will hide in dark crevices never to be seen again. No part of the interior lining is abrasive either so everything is well protected, especially the laptop sleeve which has a soft-touch lining on the back wall of the bag. It’s worth noting that this will fit up to a 16″ MacBook Pro, but it is a bit snug. Anything smaller than that will fit easily. 

For me personally, zippers can make or break the user experience of a bag. Fortunately, I love the huge and delightfully smooth YKK #10RC zipper for the main compartment, which makes access to that primary space a breeze. The front pocket also features a YKK #10RC but this one is an AquaGuard zip so there is a little more resistance to open that compartment, though certainly not enough to cause usability issues.

The small valuables pocket features a YKK #5RC zipper with a locking pull. I found it easy to open one-handed, which is always appreciated. Additionally, the shoulder strap is nicely padded and features a sturdy Duraflex plastic buckle for quick release; though I seldom unclip messenger-style bags, preferring to just slide them on overhead. Overall I appreciate the quality of materials that Aer has chosen to work with. Despite the relatively affordable $115 price point, the bag still feels like a premium product. 

Features

A tech sling wouldn’t be very good if it didn’t carry your tech securely, right? Fortunately, this updated design that Aer has produced is an excellent travel companion for hauling your laptop, tablet, headphones, and all of the other tech bits we typically want to carry with us. I find that it makes a great dedicated bag for this purpose. The Travel Sling 2 is capable of carrying a 16″ MacBook Pro as I mentioned earlier and has a simple but secure Velcro strap closure to keep your device secured in place while you’re mobile. I found the pocketing to be sufficient without being overly prescriptive either. If you’re a pouch organizer, however, I suggest you stick to flat pouches as they’re going to accommodate the space a bit better.

I really liked that the exterior pocket has its own volume and expands outwards rather than inwards. This allows you to still use it comfortably even if the main compartment is fairly loaded. This is great if you want to keep a few quick-access items handy without having to dig around inside the main compartment (though to be fair, this isn’t a large bag so it’s not difficult to find things).

The additional small exterior pocket is a great place to drop things like your phone, or passport, and tickets while traveling. However, there is no organization so there’s no way to separate your things in there; it’s just a quick drop spot. But in my opinion, pockets like that are still incredibly useful to have on a bag like this.

Lastly, the Aer Travel Sling 2 features two external lash straps, which is a carry-over feature from the original design. I imagine it would be useful if one was carrying something like an umbrella or a tightly rolled jacket, but I personally found little use for them; they felt a bit vestigial to me and I would have preferred if they were removable. They do mostly stay out of the way, which is appreciated. But for a company so focused on clean and minimalist designs, this one small detail felt a bit out of character.

Performance

When reviewing a bag, I generally prefer to spend at least a month or two (ideally longer) with it to get a real idea of what it’s like to live with and to see if any potential issues arise from daily use. Fortunately, the Travel Sling 2 is built from quality materials and hasn’t shown any signs of failure for me. But this is a great moment to praise Aer for offering a lifetime warranty on their products. If you do have an issue during the practical lifetime of the bag, Aer will be there to support you. I like that.

Comfort

This is a sling bag designed to carry your tech. Naturally, our devices often wind up being some of the heaviest things we carry. That’s important to keep in mind with something meant to only be carried on one shoulder. The shoulder strap itself is reasonably well padded but if the bag is fully loaded I would have preferred that the wider portion of the strap be extended further to distribute the weight a little better over my shoulder. That’s not to say it’s uncomfortable. But I found that when the bag was loaded with all of my tech for work, the weight was noticeable. And it was especially noticeable if the bag was overloaded.

I also need to mention that the strap is non-removable and non-reversible. Meaning if you want to wear it cross-body as designed, it can only be worn slung over your left shoulder. This doesn’t personally bother me as it’s how I typically would wear such a bag. But for those of you who prefer (or need) to wear a bag over your right shoulder, this is not going to be the option for you. 

The Travel Sling 2 is naturally meant to be a cross-body sling, but you can also carry it by its handle. Fortunately, the top handle is quite comfortable in the hand as it’s a doubled-up webbing which makes it feel plush. So while it can’t really be carried “briefcase-style” with the shoulder strap, it does at least carry nicely when you need to use the handle.

Weatherability

The Aer Travel Sling 2 is made of a very sturdy set of materials and though they will provide some water repellency, they are not explicitly waterproof. The zippers, smooth as they are, are YKK RC and not of the AquaGuard variety, except for the front pocket (a curious anomaly). The point being, it will probably be fine in light rain. But I wouldn’t subject it to any extreme weather and expect everything inside to remain perfectly dry. There isn’t an external rainfly for the Travel Sling 2 available from Aer directly. But it wouldn’t be too hard to rig up something from a third party that is close enough to the dimensions of this bag.

Verdict

Though the Travel Sling 2 isn’t an entirely new design from Aer, it is a refined silhouette that borrows from their other lines (you can see influences from the Day Sling). What they’ve done though is slightly increase the length and depth which ultimately gives the user a much more useful footprint over the original. The internal layout is a delight for carrying your laptop, headphones, and tech necessities on a daily basis with enough room for a few extras whilst traveling. In the time I’ve been using the Aer Travel Sling 2 I never found it got in my way or caused any sort of frustration. This says a lot as I can be rather picky when it comes to bag designs. If you’re looking for a daily tech hauler or slim travel companion, be sure to put this on your list. It’s excellent value at $115.