Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:
***** Highly recommended with warm fuzzies!
I had been using the previous/original version of this sling bag, the
Lowepro Slingshot 200 All Weather Backpack (Black), since 2006. For me, this is the perfect SlingShot size. The SlingShot 100/102 is too small for my needs, and while I also have the SlingShot 300 AW, I do not like how it sags too low down on my lower back regardless of how tight I try to adjust the straps to raise the bag up to ride higher on my back. So I only carry my SlingShot 300 AW if I really need to tote the extra amount of gear inside it.
This review is entirely written from the perspective of looking at what Lowepro improved upon compared to their original SlingShot 200 AW model. I have also uploaded 7 fully-annotated images to the 'View and share related images' Customer Images gallery that describe the side-by-side differences between the older SlingShot 200 and new SlingShot 202 models.
I noticed that Amazon currently still offers both the older SlingShot 200 AW model and the newer updated 202 AW model for about the same price. If you currently have a Lowepro SlingShot 200 AW that is showing its wear after years of usage and wonder about switching to the new version, this updated 202 model offers a number of incremental improvements, but this is not a radical redesign of the 200 model... and that is a good thing since the original SlingShot 200 AW was quite good to begin with.
While the well-padded sling that goes diagonally across the back of the bag can be hung over your left shoulder so that the bag loosely rests on your left shoulder blade, it is designed to be primarily worn by slipping both your head and left arm through the sling so that the sling comes over your right shoulder, goes diagonally down the front of your body, and connects to the bag behind the left side of your abdomen. Once the bag is slung onto your back, a smaller strap coming from the bottom-right of your abdomen clasps onto the sling in the front at chest level to further prevent shifting of the bag.
One main advantage of this sling design is that you can conveniently access the bag's contents by unclasping the smaller strap and rotating the sling clockwise around your neck to bring the bag from behind your left side until it rests on your abdomen. With the bag slung in front of you, you can now unzip the main compartment's lid, and you can proceed to change cameras, lenses, memory cards, batteries, or access other supplies. I have made changes to my camera before while still slowly walking with the backpack slung on my abdomen as the top-facing part of the bag can be used as a platform to rest the camera body upon.
This sling bag provides quicker ease of access to your gear by allowing you to swivel the bag from your back to your front, whereas you have to fully take a backpack off to access your gear. This convenience feature does not only apply to when you are standing up, but if you travel as much as I do, you will find this ability to quickly swivel the bag to the front is also advantageous when frequently getting on and off buses, subways, and trains. When I get onto a bus, subway, or train, I quickly swivel my SlingShot around to the front so that it rests on my lap while I am sitting down. And when I get off the bus, the sling bag swivels just as quickly onto my back again. This is less cumbersome than taking a backpack's straps off your shoulders, placing the backpack on your lap or the floor during the bus ride, and then looping the backpack's straps onto your shoulders again when you get off the bus.
However, some people, notably women, may not like how the sling strap and second smaller strap tighten diagonally across the chest area. So these sling bag configurations will not be comfortable for everyone, especially since a fully-loaded sling backpack can pull on the entire chest area with its frontal diagonal straps. The load that is exerted onto your chest depends upon how much weight you are carrying inside the sling bag. With one camera body and one lens in the sling bag, you may be okay; but once you start adding extra lenses, flash, and other gear, your discomfort may increase. As is also the case with how different backpacks may fit you with different levels of comfort, whether you find this sling bag's diagonal sling to be comfortable on your chest may ultimately be an important deciding factor in your purchasing decision. If you frequently carry a "messenger bag" style of laptop bag (e.g. Timbuk2 laptop messenger bags) fully loaded with laptop and books, usually worn with its strap going diagonally across your chest, you should be okay with how this SlingShot feels.
Both the SlingShot 200 and 202 models can carry both my Canon 7D with attached 17-55mm f/2.8 lens and Canon 40D with attached 70-200mm f/4L lens (with hoods reversed and no battery grip). Basically, to convert this from a one-camera SlingShot to a two-camera setup, you rotate both cameras 90 degrees and rearrange the dividers on the bottom of the bag. I added an image to the 'View and share related images' Customer Images gallery if you want to see what this looks like. Unlike a regular backpack that uses shoulder straps, the front diagonal straps do exert more pressure on your chest as you load up more weight inside the sling bag, so you may not find this comfortable for carrying two cameras. While I would not go on a 6-hour walking tour of a city always carrying both cameras inside my SlingShot, I may initially head out with both cameras stored inside and keep them stored as I get into cars/buses/airplanes. And then once I am walking about, I will take out the 17-55mm camera, leaving the 70-200mm camera inside, ready for use.
By far, the most important improvement in the new SlingShot 202, compared with the old 200 model, is the addition of the tripod buckle, cinch strap, and hideaway foldout tripod feet pouch on the side of the 202's bag. On the 200, you had 3 SlipLock Attachment Loops, 2 on the back and 1 on the side, that you could use to sort of carry a tripod or monopod, but I never felt like it securely held my tripod in place. But now with the cinch strap and foldout tripod feet pocket that holds the bottom of the tripod/monopod, this is a far more secure and neater configuration for carrying a tripod. The tripod feet pocket is about 2.5 inches deep. So you insert your tripod feet into this pouch and then buckle and tighten the top cinch strap. A 22 or 24 inch long tripod feels balanced and secure when I carry the Slingshot on my back. When I swing the bag to the front of my chest, the tripod is then positioned underneath the bag and it does not feel very loose because, most importantly, I tighten the top cinch strap very tight. However, I really wished that Lowepro made this pouch deeper. A tripod feet pocket that is 3.5 or 4.0 inches deep would have given a more secure fit to hold the bottom feet of the tripod.
The 202 is a little more boxy and rigid than the previous 200 model. You can set the 202 down on the ground or on a table in an upright position and it will stay standing upright by itself. The bottom of the 200 was not as flat and could sometimes flop forward or backward if you tried to stand it upright on a flat surface.
The SlingShot 202 has an extra zippered pocket in the top compartment's zippered flap for extra separate storage space. In adding this pocket, the SlipLock Attachment Loop that used to be attached to the 200's top compartment's zippered flap is no longer there on the 202. On the inside of the 202's top compartment's zippered flap, there is yet another zippered pocket, along with an elastic band for securely holding an item. The top compartment on the 202 is also more roomier compared with the 200.
The soft microfiber protective LCD monitor cloth has been repositioned from being sewn into the center edge of the main compartment's opening on the SlingShot 200, and is now moved over to the left edge of the main compartment's opening (on the left side when viewed from the perspective of having the bag slung in front of you and looking down into the main compartment's cavity). This is nice in that the cloth flap does not get in the way as much when you are accessing the camera. In both the 200 and 202, there is an elastic mesh pocket that can store the LCD monitor cloth if you want to tuck it away.
I also have the
Lowepro Magnum 200 AW Shoulder Bag (Black), which is another excellent quality bag from Lowepro, and on that bag the microfiber protective LCD monitor cloth is attached to the inside wall of the bag using Velcro so that you can move the cloth to wherever you want it. In addition, having a removable and relocatable LCD monitor cloth not only gives you flexibility in placement of the cloth, but also makes it far easier to wash the cloth if it gets dirty. But on all of the first-generation and second-generation SlingShot models, this cloth is permanently sewn into the bag and you cannot move or remove it. I would have MUCH preferred that this cloth was attached using Velcro the way that Lowepro's Magnum 200 AW was designed!
On the inside lid of the main compartment, the 202 has two Velcro-closure memory card pockets. But on the older SlingShot 200 model, there was actually a single larger Velcro-closure pocket and inside that main pocket were 8 separate elastic pockets for holding memory cards.
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