Benro Smart 20 shoulder bag review

Benro Smart 20 shoulder bag at a glance:

Price: £39
Website: www.benro.eachshot.com

Although best known for its tripods, Benro offers a wide array of camera bags spanning small messenger bags to big backpacks. While they do look good, for the most part they’re functional things. However, Benro’s Smart range pays close attention to the style of the bag while still maintaining a high level of functionality.

The Benro Smart bag comes in three sizes. The Smart 10 is ideal for a bridge camera, small CSC or DSLR with a spare lens. The Smart 20 can house a medium-sized DSLR or CSC with a couple of lenses and a flash. Finally, the Smart 30 can accommodate large DSLR kits, flashes, two or three spare lenses and other items.

Our review sample is the Benro Smart 20 shoulder bag. I used it to carry an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with a medium-sized lens attached, an 8in tablet, and some chargers and personal items around The Photography Show in Birmingham. I found that all this gear fitted into the bag easily and it was very comfortable to carry. The Smart 20 comes in a variety of colours including bright blue, yellow tan – which I particularly like – and grey and black with red detailing (a great colour option for all Canon fans). The test sample I had was in a chocolate colour with grey details, which looked rather good.

The Smart shoulder bag is made from tough, waterproof nylon, with thick padding all around the inside and two detachable dividers. To secure the top, there are two Velcro patches to fasten the bag, and a clip to hold the flap down. Users can have top access to their kit via a zip on the top of the bag. There’s also a neoprene pouch on the side, designed to hold a water bottle, and there are plenty of little pockets for notepads, pens, SD cards, documents and other such essentials.

The Benro Smart 20 is a good-looking and practical bag. Being available in a variety of colours, it should have a wide appeal.