Product Geek reviews the Chrome Kadet sling bag
Posted by James Buckroyd (Contributor) on February 21st, 2018 at 1:58 pm
The Kadet by Chrome, a company based in northwest Portland.
(Photos: James Buckroyd/BuckyRides.com)
James Buckroyd is our resident product geek. See his past reviews here.
I have been slinging this guy around the city for a while now. Mainly on small in-city runs to and from meetings where I needed a few essentials but not a massive bag full. Here’s what I found:
Chrome’s Welterweight Kadet bag ($100) is a single strap low profile “sling bag” – this particular one has been weight-reduced by using aluminium buckles and selective use of lighter materials. Regular versions can be purchased with steel buckle and many spicy fashion-forward colour options.
What it carries well: a u-lock, notepad, can of beer, a few pens, keys, phone, and a wallet really well. If you omit the can of beer, you can squeeze an iPad in there (I fit the 9.7-inch version during the test), but I’m not so sure I recommend it, as it feels a bit too large and rigid. It can also accommodate a lightweight rain shell folded with care.
What it doesn’t carry well is a medium-sized camera. Think of this Kadet as carrying slimmer things well. Beyond that, I struggled either with not being able to zip it up all the way or had to make do with lumps. Maybe a pocket-sized point and shoot but not a small mirrorless or DSLR. My smaller camera is 5″ x 2.5″ x 2.5″ and it was just a bit too awkward which is a shame really (even though on the Chrome website it shows a camera in there, they have obviously not tried to zip it up and ride).
Advertisement
So, why would you want this bag? A few logical reasons:
- Smaller than a backpack, less bulky, more convenient than a larger bag.
- Sling style swing around accessibility for on the go-ness
- A single strap look without the played out messenger fixter look
- Available in other colours in the regular models
- You want a fresh look for on or off the bike
Consider this:
- How much stuff you need to carry, this bag has a specific niche.
- Chrome should lose the Chrome badge off the front. You don’t need it Chrome, you own this market. Have some confidence and make a design statement.
- Not really for riding with a camera, Chrome should make it fit a compact mirrorless camera, the “sling around feature” is a sell for this – riding and shooting.
Read the full story about this bag over on buckyrides.com.
If you’re in the market for a full-featured camera bag, check out Chrome’s new Nike F-Stop Backpack.
— James Buckroyd – Buckyrides.com
Never miss a story. Sign-up for the daily BP Headlines email.
BikePortland needs your support.
NOTE: Thanks for sharing and reading our comments. To ensure this is a welcoming and productive space, all comments are manually approved by staff. BikePortland is an inclusive company with no tolerance for meanness, discrimination or harassment. Comments with expressions of racism, sexism, homophobia, or xenophobia will be deleted and authors will be banned.