The Travel-Anywhere Sling: KNACK Expandable Bags
duuude x knack x disneyland
If you travel anywhere and are in the need to get into and get things out of your “backpack” quickly, easily, and conveniently, you know the struggle is real. That’s why Slings have been gaining popularity in 2022. Slings offer quick access, minimal design, and way less back-pain weight. Knack knows a lot about backpacks already so when they designed the Knack Expandable Sling Bag, they knew what to focus on to make it one of the best bags for the “go” in us all.
Our crew is no stranger to Knack- in fact they were one of our first reviews when we launched the site. To this day their backpack is one of our favorites and still is in use today. So when we heard they were launching an expandable Sling, we knew we had to test it out- and boy did we. Our crew hit the road and traveled to the one and only place where one could see just how versatile a bag is: Disneyland.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Knack created this Expandable Sling Bag to help carry you through your busy day. All of your essentials, including your tablet and other tech, are always within hand’s reach. And, like its siblings, their Sling expands for those unpredictable days when you may need extra room. This unique Sling Bag is 6 liters unexpanded and 10 liters when expanded.
The Expandable Sling Bag is designed to be worn across your back, across your front or around your waist. Need some extra space? Simply expand the hidden back compartment for 66% more room.
No matter how you wear your Knack Sling Bag, everything is within reach at a moment’s notice. Keep your hands free and your gadgets close.
Spacious front compartment with organization pockets
Separate, patent-pending, expandable back compartment holds workout gear, lunch and your tablet or notebook
Adjustable strap to wear the Sling how you want: across your back, across your front, or around your waist.
Lockable zippers
Black metal Knack logo hardware
Custom-developed, durable, and water-resistant 420D nylon body fabric
Lightweight and cool spacer-mesh back panel
YKK™ water-resistant zipper with custom-designed pullers
EXPAND AND GO
Some days you just need a little extra room- and with a sleek 6 liters unexpanded, it expands to 10 liters with a simple zip.
EXPAND AND PACK
You never know when you need a little extra room for the unexpected turn in the road. The expandable compartment is 4 liters.
TAKE YOUR TECH
When you're on the go, you want your tech with you. The Sling's back expansion compartment can hold devices with screens up to 12.3" (measured diagonally).
Our Initial crew Impression: Knack my have thought of everything.
TESTING IT OUT
Our crew had a brilliant idea (at least to us it was)- let’s test the Knack Expandable Sling in an environment that requires you to get in/out of a backpack a lot, somewhere you need to carry it around ALL day, and a place where you would have to take it off and put back on a lot as well. We thought of no better place than Disneyland. So, our crew loaded up and hit the park to test the bag out.
From the word Go- our crew grabbed the Knack Sling and packed it with the day’s essentials. When the pack is Unexpanded it is around 12” with a 3.5” depth- expanded, adds an extra 2.5” which came in handy when adding a sweatshirt to the bag for the weather ahead. We initially loaded the Sling with Sunglasses, Wallet, Cell Phone, Sweatshirt (started the day with just a T-Shirt but know the temp would drop later in the day), and a few other random items (like sunscreen). The Sling only weights 13 ounces to start with, so the added items did not drag us down like that kid in school with 4 hardcover books in tow. We immediately dug the lightweight but high-density nylon fabric woven with high-twist yarn. With a tested to carry loads up to 20 pounds, we knew we were set for the park.
The zipper system was so simple- literally 2 zippers to work with for getting in and out of the Sling. One main zipper where we stored the sweatshirt, and the other for a smaller compartment- this was super cool for easily getting our cell phone out to grab passes for the next walk-on ride, or tossing our shades in the Sling when we went on a ride with indoor tracks. We really dug how easy the Sling was to carry- One strap around our shoulder, we felt like there was literally nothing on our backs. Often wearing a backpack for that long in a park can put strain on the lower back. Not with the Sling. We carried it around all day from Rope-Drop (7:30am) to end of Park Hours (12am). No pain in the back, and literally forgot we had it on, at times.
Our most highlighted moment was the fact that we can easily slide the sling around to our chest (we even carried it this way for several hours), could easily get into the Sling, and at times never needed to take it off while riding certain rides. No delays in taking it off, tucking under a seat or cramming it in the bins on the ride. Just strapped to our chest and worn like a champ. One cool feature we didn’t expect is we could rest our arms on the top of the sling as we were walking. It was supportive and comfortable like a little table for our forearms.
The Sling was perfect for packing light on the trip, easy to take on and off rides, accessible no matter which way we carried it, and was so lightweight it felt like we had nothing on our backs all day. The Expandable Sling was a perfect travel companion.
STANDOUT FEATURES
Knack Expandable Sling offer a lot of aspects and elements worth noting:
It is extremely lightweight, so wearing it all day did not strain or put a damper on the day
The expandability gives you more or less room- just as you need it. When you are done with the expanded option, simply zip it back tight and now it is back to the slim minimalist profile
The 2 compartment design easily lets you store items intended for later in one section, with a quick access grab section for the more frequented items in tow- such as your wallet, cell, or sunscreen
Zippers were perfect for the bag, ensuring they stay shut with all the movement the slings goes through- no lost items here folks
Comfortable and easily lets you wear it however you see fit
BRAND INFO
The idea behind Knack came from a simple observation: wherever we looked, we noticed an epidemic of people carrying multiple bags. Work bag and a gym bag. Backpack and computer bag. Roller-bag and carry-on.
Each of us at Knack experienced the hassle of being burdened with multiple bags, and thought to ourselves, “I need more hands!” The epiphany was that we didn’t need more hands. We just needed a better way to carry all of our stuff. Not only is carrying multiple bags at the same time a hassle, but it makes it extremely challenging to keep your hands free for your phone, your coffee, or even your child's hand.
“From this insight was born the vision of One Bag Life. We teamed up and brought the best of what we had learned from our collective experience at Tumi, North Face, Coach, Samsonite, and eBags to design the one bag that’s clever enough to replace two.”
