NOMATIC X Peter McKinnon Luma Camera Sling 9L Review

This NOMATIC X Peter McKinnon Luma Camera Sling 9L, designed with a streamlined camera setup in mind, offers a protective carry option in a modern aesthetic. As part of The Luma Collection (NOMATIC X Peter McKinnon), this sling is part of a series designed in collaboration with renowned photographer Peter McKinnon. 

Ideal for photographers and videographers on the go, it allows for a minimal camera setup in a stylish package. It is also suitable as an everyday sling thanks to its customizability. The sling’s elongated pill-shaped design also allows it to double as a dedicated packing cube inside a larger bag. That way, you have a dedicated camera sling carrying all your essentials for your next adventure upon arrival.

External Components

The exterior of the NOMATIC X Peter McKinnon Luma Camera Sling 9L is made from a durable 900D polyester with a water-resistant coating, ensuring suitable protection from the elements. It is relatively smooth and pleasant to the touch and features smooth YKK zippers that glide easily, even around the corners. At the time of writing, the sling is available in four color options: Sage, Black, Stone, and Rust. These color options match other products in the Luma Collection. The sling also features six attachment points opposite the sole grab handle. These are designed as accents on the pack and blend in well. Composed of two layers of external nylon webbing, they provide a secure hold, although they can be somewhat tricky to use due to their rigidity. You can use them to secure gear with a decently sized carabiner or shock cord (sold separately). The branding is pretty subtle, with only a tiny flap on the front displaying the NOMATIC X Peter McKinnon logo.

The pack offers three carrying options: a grab handle on the back of the sling, a luggage pass-through, and a wide shoulder strap for over-the-shoulder or crossbody carry. The positioning of the grab handle is unique as it sits in front of the zippers, allowing you to hold the sling with one hand while accessing the contents with the other. However, since this setup is contrary to the usual design, it initially caused some confusion in distinguishing the front from the back. Still, it was manageable after a brief adjustment period. The grab handle, made from dense webbing, offers minimal padding and is spacious enough to fit even larger hands comfortably, and you can use it as an extra attachment point in a pinch. This handle also serves as a luggage pass-through when you’re on the move but suddenly find inspiration. With the sling attached to roller luggage, it feels like a dedicated quick-access camera compartment built into the luggage itself.

The sling’s shoulder strap, crafted from a super soft, silk-like nylon webbing, feels incredibly soft to the touch and delivers a phenomenal user experience. Its adjustment mechanism is remarkably smooth, to the point where it feels like it could potentially slip through but never does, at least in our experience. Notably, adjusting on the go is effortless. Despite the strap’s lack of padding, it is still quite comfortable, largely due to its wide design that evenly distributes weight. The strap also employs dual pivot rivets on both sides, enabling full rotation for optimal conformity to the wearer’s body. While these do a great job of adjusting while the bag is on, we found it tends to be annoying when picking up the bag because you almost have to manually adjust the rivets upright before actually putting it on. While it’s not a huge issue, it’s something to keep in mind. Additionally, the shoulder strap is not removable, nor is there any buckle system, so you have to put it over your head for crossbody carry.

Fit Notes

The bag has an overall modern aesthetic. The elongated pill-shaped design utilizes space well and resembles a dedicated camera cube (or, more aptly, a rectangle). This design makes it an excellent travel companion as it can be stored in other luggage as a dedicated camera cube during transit and then used as a sling upon arrival at the destination. However, when used solely as a sling, especially for everyday carry, it can feel a bit clunky due to the shape. It also has a rigid structure that does not expand or compress. Depending on your chosen color, it can draw attention, for better or worse.

Inside The Sling

The NOMATIC X Peter McKinnon Luma Camera Sling features a single secondary compartment at the top beneath a flap, presumably for weather resistance and protection from the elements. The pull tab on this pocket is uniquely oriented perpendicular to the zipper, which takes a little getting used to but was not a significant issue. However, the pull tab is somewhat small, which might pose some difficulties for those with larger hands. The pocket spans the full length and width of the top, though the zipper doesn’t extend the full length. It’s also worth noting that the interior lacks a soft felt or plush lining. We found this pocket ideal for smaller items like a memory card case, a Field Notes journal and pen, or keys. Since this pocket has no protective lining or padding, we are dubious about storing anything sensitive, like glasses or a phone, inside.

We were initially confused by the placement of the grab handle in front of the main compartment zippers. The main compartment uses dual zippers, which are moderately smooth, even around corners, allowing for a clamshell-style opening that provides a convenient overview of the contents inside. The bag also has a super clever feature: when unzipped, the lid of the main compartment is additionally secured by a pair of strong magnets, which keeps your gear covered without needing to zip it shut fully. This works well, especially when you want to get in and out of the bag when inspiration hits. This feature is one of our favorite parts of the bag due to its ease of use and how it just works.

The bag’s lid features two mesh pockets secured by a single zipper. This design requires unzipping both pockets to access the furthest one, but we did not find this to be a significant issue, although your mileage may vary. These stretchy mesh pockets are excellent for carrying additional batteries or smaller lens filters. The bag has two removable dividers to section off and safeguard your gear. They are easily adjustable and removable, lined with felt to prevent scratches. Despite their padding, they are still pretty flexible, enabling them to conform around a lens if needed. Instead of entirely removing them when not in use, we found that placing them against the wall at either end of the bag didn’t take up much space and allowed us to keep them close by.

The bag’s main compartment is quite spacious, allowing us to comfortably fit a mirrorless camera, specifically a Canon EOS R. However, we had to place the camera facing up, facing down, or sitting straight up, as we couldn’t close the lid of the bag when it was on its side. Additionally, it’s worth noting that even with the camera positioned this way, we had to adjust some items in the mesh lid pocket for it to close fully. The lid and the main compartment share some space when the lid is closed, which is something to keep in mind, especially if you carry larger cameras and lenses.

The NOMATIC X Peter McKinnon Luma Camera Sling 9L is a well-designed, modern sling ideal for photographers, videographers, or anyone on the go. It features a unique pill-shaped design that allows it to double as a packing cube when placed in larger bags. The exterior material provides water resistance for moderate protection from the elements. Inside, it has a spacious main compartment with adjustable dividers to protect your gear. The sling also features a secondary compartment on top that is perfect for smaller items. Overall, this sling offers a versatile choice for anyone seeking a compact yet functional gear-carrying solution that is a joy to use and travel with.