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The best drone bag we’ve found wasn’t made for drones

Clever Supply Co. is a leather camera strap and bag company, not a drone brand. They sent over their Camera Sling V2 in tan along with one of their leather camera straps for me to review. For the record, they didn’t pay for this and didn’t get to see the video or this article before it went up — everything here is our own honest take.

We’ll cut to the point: the most interesting thing about this gear has nothing to do with the photographers it was built for. The sling makes a genuinely better drone bag than the one DJI ships in the box, and the strap solved a small annoyance we’ve had for years.

A camera bag that’s secretly a Mavic bag

Clever Supply Co. built their reputation on leather goods — straps, mostly — and have been expanding into bags over the last few years. The Camera Sling V2 is a 6L sling in a nice canvas with proper padding, a comfortable shoulder strap, grab handles on the back and both sides, and a row of loops underneath for sliding in a tripod. The front pocket is full of small organizer pouches, and the standout detail is that each of those pouches is rubberized and weather-sealed. The main compartment opens with a double zipper and has two padded dividers, plus a hidden back pocket for a wallet or keys.

All of that is designed for a mirrorless body, a film camera, and the small accessories that go with them. But the first thing we thought when I held it was that the shape looked like a drone bag.

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So we compared it to the bag DJI includes with the Mavic 3 Pro kit. They’re almost identical in size, and they even share nearly the same handle and strap layout. The difference is everything around that footprint. The Clever sling has more compartments, better padding, and weather sealing the DJI bag simply doesn’t offer — which matters the moment you’re flying in light rain or snow. My full Mavic 3 Pro loadout packs in cleanly: drone, ND filters, spare props, charger, with the dividers there if you want to keep things separated.

And there’s the part nobody likes to say out loud. Every drone bag on the market looks the same, and DJI’s looks like every drone bag DJI has ever made. The Clever sling just looks better. For most pilots that’s a tiebreaker, not a dealbreaker — but when the bag is also more protective and better organized, the looks stop being the only reason to switch.

The strap fixed a problem I’d stopped noticing

The leather strap is a camera strap, but I’ve got it clipped to my remote. Most DJI remotes have small anchor mounts you can fit with Peak Design-style anchors, and I went with the Peak Design version of Clever’s strap so it clips straight on. I’ve flown with a Peak Design strap before for exactly this reason — it lets me sling the remote over my shoulder when I’m shooting other things, so I’m not setting it down somewhere it can get knocked or lost, and I’m not constantly tucking the sticks away.

What I like better here is the length. A Peak Design strap adjusts, but Clever’s lands at the right length for me straight out of the box, and the leather is going to age better than the webbing on a typical strap. It’s a small upgrade, but it’s the kind that earns its place in a daily kit.

Who it’s for

If you’re a photographer, this is exactly what it says it is — a well-made sling and a strap that’ll outlast a lot of what’s in your bag. If you fly, it’s worth a second look as a Mavic-class bag that’s more protective and a lot less generic than the one you already own. We’ve left pricing and links below.

Either way, it’s a reminder that the best gear for a drone pilot doesn’t always come from a drone company.

Camera Sling V2: $198

Minimal Anchor Strap: $119

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

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