Pakt Anywhere 5L Sling Review

From our first inspection, the Pakt The Anywhere 5L Sling is a unique-looking pack. It has extra straps, a hidden back panel pocket, and can be attached to a duffel bag. When we see a sling with a ton of additional features, we worry that they’ll get in the way of its general usage. At the same time, without innovation, there wouldn’t be much to write home about. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Materials & Aesthetic

To kick things off, the Pakt The Anywhere is constructed from 900D rPET, which is recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or the fancy scientific name for polyester. The pack looks like it’s crafted from Cordura, but feels thinner. Regardless of size, it feels very durable. In addition to being recycled, it has a DWR coating. It holds up in light rain, but when things get torrential, it’s best to head for cover for your gear’s safety.

The colorways available at the time of writing are Green, Black, and Adobe. The zippers and straps are black, which adds a nice layer of contrast to the earthy, non-artificial-looking colors. The Pakt. logo is minimalistic—peaking out on one of the side straps. Overall, we dig the look of The Anywhere Sling. But how does it perform?

Usage & Features

First things first, there’s a strap running diagonally across the front of the pack. It’s broken up into two sections with a small stitching section, making one long and one short area. It has a nice aesthetic but can be used in a few ways. It operates as a quick-grab handle for the sling when it’s sitting on its back or is attached to The Anywhere Duffel (we’ll get to that). Or, you can use the loops to attach gear. Use a carabiner to connect a hat or other accessory for quick access, or use the loop as a hanger. You can also stick pins on here to decorate the sling.

There are two more straps on the sides that are used to attach it to the Anywhere Duffel. Just slide the top handles for the 25L through, fasten the button, and you’ve got a secured sling. This is ideal while traveling, especially at the airport, because you can leave your sling on your duffle until you check it or stow it in the overhead compartment. Have your sling pre-loaded with in-flight goodies, remove it when the time comes, and return it when you land. The straps don’t get in the way when they aren’t in use, which is excellent.

There isn’t a ton of padding on the back panel, but the rPET has ample thickness to stay comfortable. There’s a slide pocket behind it to stow the strap when the sling is stored on your duffle bag.

Speaking of the strap, it’s relatively basic but is generally comfortable. It doesn’t have any padding or aeration, so if you overload the sling, you will start to feel it. This is especially true if you’re wearing a thin t-shirt or the strap is rubbing directly on your skin, but in most cases, it’s comfortable.

The strap isn’t totally removable as it just has a clip on one side (hence the stowaway system). It fastens to a small loop of black fabric on the corner of the pack. It enables the Duraflex clip to shift to the left or the right—allowing you to wear the sling on either shoulder, your front, or your back without cutting across your body awkwardly. The fastener is a reasonably large triangle for its job, but it works well, and the clip snaps back into place quickly.

The front pocket on the sling secures using a small YKK zipper and has no internal organization. We’re able to fit some larger water bottles inside here, but it depends more on the height of the bottle than the width. Taller bottles (like the 16-ounce Hydroflask we tried) won’t make it inside, but shorter, wider bottles (like a 20-ounce Hydroflask we have on hand) will. There’s tons of space for gear inside the front pocket, but there isn’t any padding to protect it from bumps and knocks—so be careful what you put here.

The main compartment uses a YKK #8 zipper to secure your gear and offers the organization that the front pocket lacks. The back side wall has two pockets, one crafted from mesh with an elastic topper and another with a magnetic closure. Both offer a fair amount of security, though small gear can still pop out if the road ahead looks bumpy. Just behind those is another, larger pocket, again with a magnetic closure. This one is suitable for a small book, battery bank, or notepad. Both the magnets are snappy but aren’t big enough to get in the way or be bothersome when you’re trying to open the pockets.

There’s a pen holder, too. It has holes on both sides, which means you can slide your pen in from either end. This might be ideal from an accessibility point of view, but if the button accidentally gets pushed or you lose the cap, you may end up with ink marks inside your sling, so be careful!

On the opposite side is a lone single mesh pocket with an unbranded zipper closure. There’s a keyring inside, but it’s a wide-open space apart from that. The hook is long enough to reach outside the sling, so you don’t need to remove your keys to open the door at your hotel or Airbnb. If you need to take them off, they’re attached using a metal clip. It’s durable and easy to use, which we dig. Nobody likes fumbling to get inside their house!

We like to stow our phone and wallet here because the zipper locks down the space, but you can still see inside it. We can check our phone notifications, ensure we have our passport, and keep an eye on all our essential items throughout the day. The Pakt. logo is on the mesh, which is subtle and is the second and final place we see it on the sling.

There’s a fair amount of space between the organization on the sides for extra gear, although flat-shaped items do best here. Oblong-shaped gear doesn’t do super well because the area is a rectangle—more book-shaped than cylindrical. We can fit a small mirrorless camera with a small lens inside, and the compartment is tall enough to stack gear on top, too.

Oh, and yeah, it fits a Nintendo Switch!

While the sling won’t replace your trusty daypack, we’re amped with how much gear we can fit inside. Overall, we dig the look and features that the Pakt The Anywhere 5L Sling offers, especially in conjunction with the Pakt The Anywhere Duffel. We like that those extra features don’t get in the way of its use when added to the duffel. They both operate in their own right—but can come together to make something greater. Whether you opt for the combo or just the sling is on you