WATERFLY Sling Bag - Review 2025

A Cheap But Practical Sling

WATERFLY Crossbody Sling is a good entry-level option for camping, biking or walking around town. While there’s no info about volume, we reckon it’s got about 8 liters of space in the main compartment, similar to the Patagonia Atom.

It doesn’t have the same quality as the more expensive sling bags, but it’s good enough for someone looking for a basic sling bag that does what it’s meant to do. We tested it for everyday use in urban settings, as a daily driver, on a few visits to tourist towns, and camping.

Don’t expect it to revolutionize how you carry things, but you’ll get something that does the job. It features water-resistant fabric, several compartments with pockets, an adjustable shoulder strap, and even a padded back. Although the padding isn’t of the highest quality, it makes carrying the sling bag comfortable for hours at a time.

Did we mention that WATERFLY Crossbody Sling comes in different colors? You can pick the one that stands out or a color that matches your best black stealthy attire. The more vibrant colors presented in Amazon images end up being slightly more faded than you might expect, that goes with the territory (and price).

So, not a premium bag but a versatile and functional sling.

Construction and Design

With over 20,000 5-star ratings, WATERFLY Crossbody Sling Bag is a popular item on Amazon for a reason. For one, it has a good size for storing your essentials like a Kindle, a pair of headphones, and a packable rain jacket.

You might not be able to fit larger items like the bigger WATERFLY sling bag can, but this makes it more travel-friendly. It won’t get bulky, and you’ll be able to stuff it with travel documents, headphones, a bottle of water, and a few other knickknacks and get on the road.

The water-resistant Nylon coupled with Polyester lining is solid. It’s well-made, and with proper care (handwash only), it’ll last a good amount of time. Perhaps not as long as some more large-profile sling bags would, but still a good few years. The zippers glide smoothly too, which is helpful when you need to take something out of your sling bag in a matter of seconds.

Sturdy enough to get you through casual use, the bag has two mesh pockets where you can fit a drink can or a small water bottle. You can also fit a small umbrella inside of it. The front pocket with a zipper is large enough for a power bank or other same-sized tech device. There’s also a handy earphone hole on top of the front pocket that comes in handy.

The external pocket that opens with a buckle isn’t too big, but it can still fit a thing or two. A lightweight pocketable rain jacket is a good candidate for this compartment, and so is a notebook or a set of travel documents.

The large compartment has about 8 liters worth of volume. There are pockets and a sleeve for your electronics (think e-book, iPad, or any other tablet). It can also store your big headphones with the case or even a lunch box if you plan to be out and about the whole day.

One of our testers noted that the shoulder strap had a good design but questioned its durability. The smartphone pocket attached to it will fit your phone if its screen size is under 7 inches. Alternatively, you can use it for storing wet wipes and keys. If you don’t want to leave your sunglasses hanging from the reflective stripe affixed to the smartphone pocket, keep them inside the pocket instead.

The clips work well and will survive casual use. If you want to attach heavy stuff to your carabiner clips, consider looking into more expensive sling bags with sturdier features. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to open the zippered pouch when the front pocket is closed with the clips.

Conclusion

We’d be lying if we said that WATERFLY Crossbody Sling Bag is the best of its kind on the market. It’s not manufactured from the highest-quality material and can even seem a bit cheap when you get it in the mail. It’s also not waterproof, spacious, or sturdy enough to be your go-to accessory on hiking and camping trips.

Other options readily exist: the Osprey Daylite is also a step up in quality and price, but one worth considering for more precious items, durability, and sustainability.

This sling bag is a good choice as an everyday bag that fits all the essentials. It comes in plenty of colors and has multiple compartments and pockets to make for a good accessory you can bring on a trip or running errands.

We didn’t expect it to survive anything active, but it did. In the hands of our editor’s teenager, it went to a music festival, sailing and camping in bad weather for two weeks and it came out with just a burn mark made by an ember from a campfire.

Great to take to an amusement park or a music festival where you need a comfortable and reliable–yet affordable–crossbody bag to carry around the essentials.