Chrome Industries Tensile Sling

The Chrome Industries Tensile Sling is a great civilian bag for holding tablet-sized extras around town. It's versatile and functions over one shoulder or round the waist. It's not going to keep your possessions totally dry in prolonged downpours, so it's most at home on less adventurous trips. It has numerous different well-constructed pockets and straps, and the 'iconic' buckle – though unnecessarily heavy, noisy and bulky in my opinion – is part of an easy-to-adjust strap system.

With a 7L capacity, the Tensile Sling was ideal for trips around town where I was on and off the bike and wanted to keep my pockets empty. It can take a small bike lock or a small tablet – things of that size. (If you want something bigger, check out our guide to the best cycling backpacks.)

The outer feels very plasticky, almost shiny and waxy to the touch, which seems to encourage water run-off. Chrome says the bag is highly water resistant and I think that's pretty accurate. When I got caught in the rain for a few minutes here and there everything was fine, but when it came to riding around with a decent amount of rainfall and some splash from the road, there was some dampness on books inside. I wouldn't consider this a huge problem, but it would make me look for something more adventure specific if I had that in mind.

The ripstop fabric used really is as tough as old boots. I gave it a few grazes on some sharp corners and it batted them all off without blinking. There is some small reflective detailing too.

On the inside

The bag has two main compartments, with an additional long zipped pocket on the front. Inside the rear compartment is a small zipped wallet and a key ring on the end of some material. There's also an easy-to-miss little hook for a pen.

The other compartment is a similar size (big enough for a hardback book), but empty except for a series of three fabric rings that you might tuck bike tools or other things inside.

Both compartments and the flat outer pocket are guarded by tough PU-coated zips, with red strings attached, making them very easy to use.

The combination of flat zippered compartments and more capacious ones provides a variety of options to hold bulkier items and smaller valuables. I'm a bit of a sucker for bags and I found it enjoyable designating different areas for different possessions. Sure, it's not very James Bond behaviour, but it's satisfying all the same.

Positives & negatives

There are lots of positives in the construction and placement of straps, pockets and zips. Two small tightening straps at each end allow you to slim down the bag if it isn't particularly full, and the main strap is about two fingers wide, with half of it made up of incredibly strong Velcro that helps you select the right length for your needs. This is all very intuitive and secure.

I'm not a fan of the 'iconic' seatbelt buckle, though. It's gigantic, and while there's no doubting its security when clicked to lock, thanks to its metal parts it clinks quite annoyingly at all times and, in my opinion, detracts from the modest looks of the bag. And it adds considerable weight. Handily, if you agree, there's an identical version of the bag bar the buckle (it has a Slide buckle instead) that's £25 cheaper.

The bag hangs nicely on the back when cycling, and I found it easy to get it into a comfortable position on the diagonal over one shoulder. Equally, when wearing the strap horizontally, around my hip, it rested in the right places without much adjustment.

Value

The price of £110 is okay considering its size and how hardwearing it is – I imagine you'd get a good few years' use for your money, plus it has a lifetime warranty, so long as you don't damage it yourself. You are paying £25 extra for the seatbelt-style buckle, though; the Chrome Tensile *Slide* Sling is £25 less and aside from the buckle is identical.

There isn't much directly comparable that we've reviewed recently. Josh tested the Apidura City Messenger last year and that's cheaper at £91 and offers more laptop-sized storage.

> 15 easy ways to carry stuff on your bike

Looking elsewhere, the Bellroy Venture Sling is 6L and costs £119. As its name suggests, it's designed for adventure, and is claimed to be water resistant too. Or there's the smaller Bellroy Sling Mini for £85, with a capacity of 4L.

There are cheaper and smaller hip pack options out there, such as the 2.5L Apidura Backcountry Hip Pack (£76) and the 2L Rapha MTB Trail Hip Pack (£70), or for £90 you can find something totally waterproof like the Loop Dry Hip Bag, and it's only 100g heavier.

Or veering into the world of the backpack is the 8L Patagonia Atom Sling bag for a very reasonable £55. As per Patagonia, it has good eco credentials and offers some DWR protection.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a versatile day bag that looks after the smaller essentials with a reasonable amount of protection against the weather, the Tensile Sling is a good option. The seatbelt buckle is a bit overkill in my opinion – diehard Chrome fans will probably love it – but you can buy it with the Slide buckle instead and save yourself some money.

Verdict

Compact, versatile, rain resistant and very well made, though the iconic buckle seems a bit overkill here