Bellroy Venture Pouch Review

From first inspection, the Bellroy Venture Pouch feels like a small sling transformed into an organizer due to the lack of a strap. After all, Bellroy’s Venture Hip Pack is almost identical—so that might be the case. Whatever the relation, we’re amped to see how this thing operates while traveling and compare it to its identical twin once removed. Let’s dive in!

External Components

This pouch utilizes recycled nylon and polyester. In typical Bellroy fashion, this thing is durable, and the materials feel premium. The exterior is a little rough; however, it isn’t uncomfortable to hold onto and feels like it’ll last for ages. In addition to being rugged, the exterior is water resistant, keeping your gear dry in most situations.

At the time of writing, four colorways are available on Bellroy’s website. We went with Nightsky, which feels like staring into the abyss where the sky meets the ocean after the sun has gone down. Ranger Green is woodsy, Bronze is very orange in all the best ways, and Midnight is sleek as all get out. All four have their perks and are unique, which makes choosing easier. Well, unless you like staring into the ocean at night in the woods while wearing the orange shoes you won at last year’s sleek-as-all-get-out awards—then it might be a little harder.

The Bellroy logo is on the top of the pouch’s front face. It’s matte and subdued, so it isn’t too loud or take away from the minimalism presented by the pouch’s design. From a distance, you might not even know it’s there.

The zippers used on this pack are YKK AquaGuard models. Like the exterior materials, these things are heavily water resistant, so you have some extra peace of mind regarding what you stow inside. If a bottle sweats inside your pack or it rains so hard that the exterior of your back starts to seep through, your gear will be fine for a little while.

On the back side of the pouch, two small loops are in the top corners. You can use these to attach it inside your pack or to turn it into a makeshift sling. Notably, the strap on its relative, the Venture Hip Pack, isn’t removable. So, theoretically, the pouch is more versatile because it can act as either, whereas the Hip Pack only functions as an exterior bag. However, attaching straps to this organizer doesn’t create as streamlined a sling as the Hip Pack, so that’s worth noting.

There isn’t anything else on the exterior of this little guy. There’s no handle, so carrying it is semi-awkward, especially if you have it packed out. It’ll fit into larger hands, but those with smaller paws won’t find it as easy to manage.

Inside The Pouch

We’ve got two compartments to work with. The first, smaller one, is on the front of the pouch. It includes a center divider but no other organization. There’s not much room here, but each side is large enough to stow a pair of AirPods or a camera battery with some space to spare. The Hip Pack has a key leash inside, but we don’t have that luxury here.

The main compartment doesn’t have much interior organization, either. There’s a large area in the center where you can stow larger pieces of gear and a divider closer to the back wall. You can store your phone behind here, and both sides have enough padding to keep it safe. The front side of the divider has a little mantra about what it means to ‘venture,’ which is fun.

Apart from the divider, there isn’t much happening inside this area. There’s just one zipper head, so you can only open the top one way. Getting to small gear that falls to the bottom of the pouch can be challenging, especially if you have several items loaded inside.

The Hip Pack has an additional mesh pocket on the front side of the pack. Strangely, this feature didn’t make its way into this organizer. Losing the key leash made sense because you most likely won’t stow your keys inside a pouch like this. However, a mesh organizer makes a lot of sense here.

Overall, this is a handy pouch, but it feels like an awkward size. It isn’t large enough to work as a tech kit for most folks, but it’s too big to fit anywhere inside a travel backpack or daypack. The organization is thoughtful and easy to use, which we appreciate.