Welcome back to another gear review, everyone! Today I’m bringing you all a sling bag from my friends over at Mindshift. I used this bag quite a bit through Summer and Fall and found a lot of things that I love about it. Likewise, I found one thing that I didn’t like so much.
Mindshift Photocross Review
The Mindshift Photocross is an excellent bag for quick walk-around photoshoots, such as street photography and even everyday carry if you’re like me and always have a camera handy. It can carry more than enough gear for these types of shoots, it organizes perfectly and it acts as the perfect “shelf” if you flip it around to the front of your body for lens changes/battery swaps/etc.
Taken on a street photography session, while using the Mindshift Photocross 13.
Fuji X-T20 & XF35mm F2
Mindshift Photocross Quality
As with all Mindshift (and ThinkTank) Gear, the Photocross Sling Bag is top notch in terms of quality. The exterior fabric is made of a lightweight, yet heavy duty water resistant nylon material. The zippers are also weather resistant YKK Zippers. (dare I say, “waterproof”) On top of all of this, the Photocross comes with a seam-sealed rain cover.
Perhaps my favorite attention to detail on this bag are the zipper pulls along the front slash pocket and main compartment. The zipper pulls are a “T” shape and they slide open/shut with ease. I mean, just look at them…Are those not the coolest looking zipper pulls ever?! They’re my new favorite!
Front Pocket Organization
The front of the Photocross is an excellent place for notebooks (like my trusted RiteInTheRain), pens/sharpies, filters, trail bars, etc. I find myself using this area of the pack a lot, especially for EDC (everyday carry).
I also really like the weather resistant material that MindShift chose for the front of the Photocross. I’ve found it to be incredibly durable as it made its way in and out of my car every day, as well as rustling around the city/backwoods.
Internal Organization
As always, Mindshift did a fantastic job with the modular internal dividers. You can make it as complex or simple as you desire/need. I personally opt for a simple setup 95% of the time.
Below is a stock photo from Mindshift that showcases a very similar mirrorless camera setup to what I use.
I particularly love the double-zip mesh pocket that you can see on the inside of the pocket flat. It makes easy work of locating small items like batteries, lens cloths, and memory cards.
It’s a fantastic use of real-estate that’s typically left untouched by other brands.
Shot with the Fuji X-T20 and XF35mm F2 while testing the Mindshift Photocross 13
Mindshift Photocross Comfort
The one area that hasn’t lived up to my expectations or hopes is the comfort of the Mindshift Photocross. Both the hip belt and sling offer very little padding. As a result, this puts all of the weight on you as the carrier and leaves you with shoulder fatigue very quickly.
This not only limits the bags carry weight drastically, but it results in a lot of excess space on the inside since you’re paring your weight down. I, unfortunately, could not alleviate this with any adjustments and wasn’t able to find the sweet spot.
As you can see above – The strap on the Photocross is very flimsy.
For the Mindshift Photocross to remain comfortable I could not load it past 10lbs or so. And while this may seem like a lot of weight, in theory, it really doesn’t take a lot of gear to reach this weight limit. For instance: My Fuji X-T20, a small prime lens, telephoto lens and a tripod and there I am at the top of the max weight range for the bag to remain comfortable. This leaves a lot of wasted space on the inside of the bag.
The layout, organization, and capacity of the bag are perfect. But I really do wish it could handle the weight of a full kit, rather than a bare-bones one.
Fuji X-T20 and XF35mm F2
Who would like the Photocross?
As with any MindShift product, I believe outdoorsy types of photographers would really enjoy it. This is certainly their best bag yet in terms of materials used + design/aesthetics.
If you’re a gear-intensive shooter, I would recommend looking for another sling bag since this one cannot handle a lot of weight (as I mentioned above). A sling bag like the TurnStyle by Mindshift’s sister company ThinkTank is plenty comfortable, even with heavy loads. Though it does lack some of the cosmetic flares of the Photocross you’re seeing here.
Shot on the Fuji X-T20 and XF35mm F2 while testing the Mindshift Photocross
Mindshift Photocross 13 (6.75 out of a 10)
It honestly pains me to cut the Mindshift Photocross this deep on my rating, as I had high hopes for it. I absolutely love it in terms of aesthetics and layout…In fact, it’s one of my favorite looking bags. But the limitations posed by the sling strap are a deal breaker in terms of comfortably carrying the bag. And after all, I’m not always quick with my photoshoots…So I need a bag that will hang in there with me and not wear my shoulder(s) out in the process.
If Mindshift were to go back to the drawing board and reinforce the sling strap with more padding, I believe we’d be looking at a near-perfect sling bag at that point! (pretty please Mindshift, consider a 2.0 version with an updated sling strap)
With all of this said, I really do love the Photocross in a lot of ways. But I believe it needs a bit more attention to be perfect. In the meantime, I’ll still use my Photocross for light/casual trips when all I need are some daily essentials + my camera and a light lens.
READ NEXT: New for 2019 Mindshift Photocross 15 Backpack (spoilers: I like the new bag a LOT)
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And as always, if you have any questions about Mindshift Bags, want to share your experiences or just chat – Drop me a comment below!
