Vanguard Alta Rise 43 Sling

With an exterior measuring 265x200x450mm, this is bulkiest bag here. Much of this is due to the superb level of front and rear padding though. Your gear will be cosseted by thick interior dividers, coloured yellow so contents stand out. There’s a side access, but the bag also features an opening top/front panel, so your contents can be fully revealed as if they were in a typical backpack.

The top compartment is an open space large and square-ish enough to be fairly versatile. Should you need even more capacity, the front panel is expandable, allowing you to carry longer lenses in a frontback orientation. It also contains multiple smaller accessory slots and pouches, while a tripod can be attached externally to tough mounting points on one side.

Comfort-wise, the rightmounted shoulder strap isn’t the widest, but is thickly padded and supplemented by a small waist strap. Outer materials are just as uncompromising, making the Alta Rise 43 Sling incredible value.

Pros Terrific storage, access and all-round quality for the money Cons Bulky and more backpacklike than most sling designs We say

A bit of a beast to say the least, but this sling excels in both value and versatility Overall score