The Aer Day Sling 3 is (as of the time of editing this review) my favorite sling. I’ve carried one around with me in some variation or another for a couple of years now. I have had and currently still have all three material types (1680D Cordura®, VX-42 X-Pac®, Ultra400X) and have had the Day Sling 3 Max in both 1680D Cordura® and VX-42 X-Pac®. And that being sufficient provenance, I will say, clearly, I love this sling bag in all of its varieties.
But a recent attempt to downsize some areas of my collection (sling bags and pouches of various kinds) has left only the 1680D Cordura® and the Ultra. The VX-42 X-Pac® models have both departed for greener pastures over other shoulders1. So what do I have to say about the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra?
This … sling … is … the … GOAT!
The Exterior of the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra
Ultra400X Fabric
The fabric is super nice! It’s not as crunchy as VX-42 X-Pac®. And it’s definitely softer. I love the colorway as well! It’s not black or grey. It’s a strange mixture of both! Or maybe we could just call it charcoal. Yeah, I just realized I totally described charcoal, which is precisely what this colorway is. Moving on.
They say it’s a super strong fabric and I’ll just agree, because I’m neither a fabric expert nor do I want to test it out. I tend to baby my bags and am not really tempted to test the “stronger than steel” theory that some claim. That doesn’t even make sense to me.
I already loved the Aer Day Sling 3 but the Ultra has upped the ante and corrected many of the minor gripes I’ve had regarding this line of slings – buuuuuut… maybe it introduced one or two others along the way.
Let’s have a look.
Is That an Elephant in the Room?! Aer and FIDLOCK®.
The Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra has brought an end to the days of loose or unintentionally separating Fidlock® buckles. The addition of the Fidlock® magnetic V-Buckle has changed that game 100%.
As I said in another review: I, personally, never had the sliding Fidlock® buckle separate fully but it was, indeed, loose. That is not the case here at all. The Fidlock® magnetic V-Buckle is strong. It’s not coming apart unintentionally.
The strap is new, too (new for the Aer Day Sling line). It’s much softer, much more pliable, and a whole lot easier to adjust! My guess is that sooner or later, we’ll find this buckle and strap on the remainder of the Day Sling line – Aer Day Sling 4? Something new?
How about Those Zippers?
Well, there was a common petty gripe about the zippers on some Day Sling variations. The YKK® zippers on the VX-42 X-Pac® version of both the Day Sling 3 and the Day Sling 3 Max were all Aquaguard® zippers. As such, they were always a little stiff, not-so-smooth to open, especially the front zipper.
Yes, the tabs on the front helped to make that one smoother but without those tabs and a good yank, it was usually not a super smooth or simple proposition. The same is true of the Cordura front zipper. Be sure to give it a good yank. The main compartment zippers of the Cordura version, on the other hand, are not Aquaguard®. So these have always been as smooth as silk to open and close from either side.
Contrast that with the external zippers on the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra. They are all much smoother to open. The front zipper is a little tighter than the rest but it no longer requires as pronounced a yank to open. This seems like it could be due to the length of the Hypalon zipper pulls on the Ultra. The leverage gained by adding longer looping pulls to any zipper is a thing. More leverage, easier opening.
But the addition of those longer looping pulls has brought about a renewal of an old gripe, albeit a minor one.
New/Old Minor Zipper Gripe
The new longer looping and dangling Hypalon® pulls do not help to reduce much the jingle jangle jingle so prevalent on all Aer bags. It seems like the length of them causes constant swinging and also jingling. They just don’t need to be that long. More length, more dangle, more jingle, more jangle.
Nod to Aaron over at Nomad’s Nation – #stopthedangle).
But let’s pull those jingle jangle jinglers open.
The Interior of the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra
Once the front compartment is open, the high-visibility, light green lining makes it super easy to see inside. I really do like the more muted but bright color of the green lining. It just seems to work better (for me) than the usual bright orange.
The Front Compartment
The front compartment that runs the length of the bag doesn’t have a very large capacity but can hold a few smaller, thinner items without adding bulk and cutting into the main compartment. I don’t think it’s meant to be loaded to the max. Keys, a chapstick, some mints or gum are good enough in here for me. A phone does fit, too, but if there are keys in there, too… you know.
I may have chosen to use a different color for the 5 inch (including hardware) key leash sewn to the inside. It would add contrast and better visibility. Also, the leash isn’t stretchy, which would have been nice.
Old Minor Key Leash Gripe
I’m kind of done with key leashes, themselves, being sewn into any compartment of a bag. Sew a loop into a few pockets instead. Some bag makers are beginning to understand and offer this. People like choices when they organize. A loop and BYOF (Bring Your Own Fastener) solution would be so much nicer!
So, note to bag makers: ditch the sewn-in key leashes and add loops in a few pockets to give choices to the users of your bags. We like clipping things in places that work for us, not in places that don’t always. Let’s carry on…
The hardshell case for my glasses fits as well. And while it does zip closed, the main compartment is pretty severely compromised. Something to note.
Speaking of the Main Compartment…
It… is… spacious!
The Aer Day Sling 3 is rated at 3L but the layout makes that rating feel a little conservative. Of course, I’m not an expert in measuring volume but yeah… It feels super spacious! You’ll understand why in a moment.
Look at that main compartment! It’s split in five sections. Put the sling on and we’ll start with the first section closest to the body.
Main Compartment – Section One
Section one is a slide pocket that runs the entire 11.5 inches of the bag. It’s a great place for a phone, smaller notebook, iPad Mini, Kindle or any other flatter item. It’s not meant to hold a ton of stuff – just a flatter item or two. It does quite well in this capacity.
Main Compartment – Section Two
Section 2 is a zippered compartment that runs nearly the entire length of the sling. This compartment features the same green high-visibility lining as the front exterior pocket. It’s a great place for sensitive or important items like a passport, cash, other identification, credit cards, a thin wallet, etc.. A phone would go nicely in here as well, though it would be difficult to access quickly.
Main Compartment – Section Three
Further into the main compartment, the outside wall of the zippered compartment is section three. Section three features two elastic nylon pockets that are really stretchy and very soft. These pockets can definitely hold some stuff and snap right back into shape once the contents are removed. To give an idea of how stretchy, they can easily accommodate a grapefruit, if carrying large fruit in your sling bag is your thing.
As for me, I put my AirPods Pro, two kinds of lip balm, and a small Purell® in just one side and there’s STILL room for more. These stretchy pockets are most definitely NOT your typical, stiff nylon mesh pockets that other bag makers use. They really stretch!
Main Compartment – Section Four
The most spacious section in the main compartment is the fourth. It’s a veritable chasm of a dump area that extends both the length and height of the Day Sling 3 Ultra. It’s lined with a less-high-vis gray but a lighter gray than the Cordura version.
This is where one can put things with some heft. I, myself, have dropped an 18L Yeti Rambler with the chug cap in there without a problem. But the fact that it fits is not a reason to make it so. Throw that water bottle in and you’ll be severely want for space in any of the nylon stretch pockets. I drop things in here that I won’t be leaving in the bag long term – stuff I pick up throughout my day.
See that folded over bit toward the bottom of the bag? It unfolds as you add items. It keeps the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra slim when not packed out and allows more space when you do pack it out. Smart!
Main Compartment – Section Five
The final section inside the main compartment is on the interior front wall opposite the body. It features two more very comfortable stretchy nylon pockets that work exactly like those in the third section of the main compartment.
Like those pockets, these can hold a nice amount of stuff, because they stretch so well. Want to carry a baseball? No problem. Throw it in one of these pockets so it won’t roll around in the bag.
Is There Anything Else to the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra?
What’s left, JP? Is that all or is there something else?
Well, yes, there IS one more thing. The rear of the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra, between the bag and the body, is a…
“Hidden” zipper pocket.
But is it really hidden? Maybe let’s call it “hidden-from-view”…
The “hidden” pocket of the Aer Day Sling 3 is shallower than the internal zipper pocket and can hold mostly the same flat gear that you might put in the internal zip pocket in Section 2 of the main compartment.
Don’t try to put a phone in this pocket, if it’s any larger than an iPhone 14 Pro. It’s just not going to fit.
Your passports, ID’s, credit cards, and other common and flatter items will fit nicely in this pocket. Do keep in mind that it may take some fumbling to get open, though. You’ll have to pull the sling away from your body to access the same Hypalon® zipper pull that can be found on the other variations of this bag. This isn’t terrible but it does require some effort to do.
There have been some who have grumbled a bit about the flap for this pocket coming up from underneath the zipper and forming a sort of channel to slide the zipper across. Their concern is that the channel may become a reservoir for water. I have yet to experience such a deluge of water that this fills up but, if I do, I’ll surely let you know. Any time I have been caught in the rain, I’ve either had an umbrella or the bag has been tight up against my body. It’s just not a problem.
Conclusion
So the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra has made an already super successful line of sling bags an even better line. BUT, there are a couple of things I mentioned that, if I have to nitpick, I would change:
- I would have liked to have seen the high-visibility green lining throughout the main compartment. It’s an interesting choice to only use it in the external and internal zipper pockets.
- The Hypalon® Zipper Pull loops seem a little too long. This makes them swing more and, in turn, causes a little more jingle jangle jingle.
- Finally, the last thing I would change about the Aer Day Sling 3 Ultra is….
Nothing!
It’s the GOAT of the line, hands down.
Now, if only they’d do the Day Sling 3 Max in Ultra, too!
Thanks for reading!
- This was true at the time of writing the initial review. I have since decided that I needed to purchase the Day Sling 3 Max X-Pac® again. I’m an idiot. 🤣 I should also add that the day I took delivery, I replaced the terrible sliding Fidlock® buckle with a Fidlock® V-Buckle. ↩︎
Disclaimer
I provide links to the items/products mentioned throughout this piece for referential purposes. They provide context and ease of use in not having to scroll all over to find “where that link was”.
I purchased this review item myself. Aer did not supply me with this item.
