Able Carry Core Sling Mini Review

Small slings can be hit or miss. Some feel overbuilt for what they carry, while others feel like glorified pouches that don’t justify the extra strap. The Able Carry Core Sling Mini aims for a middle ground—something compact and clean that won’t weigh you down but still gives you enough structure, durability, and thoughtful organization to make it worth carrying every day. After two weeks of testing, it’s clear that Able Carry wanted to keep things simple without slipping into Spartan territory, and for the most part, they strike a pretty nice balance.

This is very much a grab-and-go sling. It’s the kind of bag you might keep near the door, toss your daily essentials into, and forget about until you’re halfway across the city. It’s small and unobtrusive, but still functional enough that we didn’t feel like we were sacrificing functionality. If you already appreciate Able Carry’s approach to material quality and subtle aesthetics, the Core Sling Mini takes those same ideas and distills them into a streamlined, minimalist package, ready for everyday errands, quick trips, or travel days when all you need are the basics.

External Components

At first glance, the Able Carry Core Sling Mini looks pretty straightforward. There isn’t a ton of exterior structure or excessive paneling, and that simplicity is part of its charm. Able Carry leans heavily on materials to elevate its bags, and that’s doing a lot of work here. The sample tested uses 210D CORDURA® Ripstop, which strikes a nice balance between durability and lightweight smoothness, paired with a 1000D Ultra Stretch mesh panel on the front. The mesh isn’t shy—it has a visible grid pattern, giving the sling a technical pop without going full “tactical.” Other colorways swap materials for Able Carry’s Ultra 200X fabric, but all maintain the same clean aesthetic.

Hardware is dialed in across the board. There are Woojin buckles and YKK zippers, with a reverse-coil zip on the main compartment for a more polished look and better weather resistance. It’s not an AquaGuard zipper, but given how small the sling is—and the fact that the material itself naturally sheds light moisture—it doesn’t feel necessary. The zipper pulls are simple nylon loops, easy to grab and unobtrusive. Able Carry even includes small loops at the ends of the zipper track, letting you route a zipper pull through to add a bit of anti-theft security or attach extra gear externally.

Speaking of external attachment, a daisy chain runs across the bottom of the bag. You can clip on a carabiner or lash extra gear—but realistically, this bag is so small that hanging things off the bottom feels more awkward than useful. The good news is that the loops lie flat and completely disappear when you’re not using them, so you’re not sacrificing aesthetics for functionality.

The Core Sling Mini uses a single, detachable strap. That’s both one of its best features and one of its pain points. Because the strap attaches with G-hook-style connectors, you can remove it entirely, turning the sling into a pouch. That’s great for packing it inside a larger bag, dropping it in a tote, or leaving it inside luggage until you need something smaller for daily excursions. The thin strap also stores inside the main compartment without any fuss.

Fit Notes

That thinness comes with trade-offs. The width of the strap is very minimal, and while the sling is too small to load up with heavy gear, we still noticed the pressure point on the shoulder more than we do with slings of similar size that use slightly wider straps. It’s not painful—just more noticeable, especially after a few hours of wear. Comfort isn’t a dealbreaker here, but if thin straps generally bug you, it’s worth keeping in mind.

Adjustment is smooth and usable on the body, and the sling can be worn across the chest, back, or high on the side, depending on your preferred fit. Because you can detach and flip the strap, you can position the buckle on whichever side looks best or feels least intrusive. That’s helpful, because the buckle is fairly visible. It’s small but not invisible, and the double layer of strap near the buckle can look a little clunky, depending on how you’ve adjusted the length. None of this ruins the experience, but it does contribute to the overall feeling of minimal hardware being pushed to the limits of practicality.

Inside The Sling

The organization inside the Core Sling Mini is straightforward and practical, especially given its limited capacity. There are only two compartments: a front stretch-mesh pocket and the main compartment.

The front pocket lies flush against the sling’s exterior. It’s better suited for bulkier items, like a phone, because dropping small accessories inside can feel sketchy. While the stretchy mesh holds things securely, the outward bulge of a phone affects the bag’s silhouette and draws attention to whatever’s inside. There’s also no back-panel pocket on this sling, which is something we’ve come to expect even on ultralight models, so your phone ends up living in the front pocket or the main compartment.

The main compartment is simple but efficient. Two interior mesh pockets sit along one wall—perfect for daily small items, like lip balm, AirPods, or a folding pocket tool. A flat back pocket provides a home for slim items you don’t need constantly: gum, small documents, or receipts. The rest of the space is open and easy to work with, albeit with the understandably limited capacity of 1.5 liters. Because the sling is small, everything is reachable, and you won’t lose items in dark corners.

There’s also a detachable central key leash with the same hardware style found on the main strap’s clips. It’s robust and secure, but its placement in the center of the compartment makes it more of an obstacle when you’re not actively using it. If your keys are sizable, they can take up more room than you’d expect, and the leash can flop around when not in use. Stashing the keys inside one of the mesh pockets helps keep things tidy, but that’s a user-dependent fix.