I’ve been searching online extensively for different styles of bags. My search expanded to include tactical and hiking packs, and I discovered some sling-style bags that seemed to meet more of my requirements.

One standout is a sling bag from Waterfly. It ticks off several of my ‘Must Have’ requirements.

Including, it was very affordable.

I decided to buy it, but when it arrived, I was quite disappointed.

Looking at the photos of it in use, it showcased several must-have features and even a few extras that weren’t on my list:

1. Earphone hole: Not many people use wired headphones these days.
2. Reflective stripe that also is a good place to hang sunglasses: Not sure if that is a feature I would be using as a selling point.
3. Easy access pocket for phone: I think this is the most interesting feature not in my list.

One and two are not features I am wanting.

The third, Quick access pocket on the strap for a phone is a feature I am seeing a lot of bag companies adding.

Below is my requirements table and how the Waterfly bag meets or doesn’t meet them.

No	Requirement	MoSCoW	WaterFly bag feedback
1	Needs to be able to carry water bottles and keep them upright and not let them leak onto the items stored in the bag	Must	It has 2 side pockets, although one is meant for an umbrella, they are the same size and made of the same material. I could not get a standard drink bottle into the pouch without a lot of force. It took me 3 trys and it was no something I could do without both hands. These pockets look like they do the job, but are not a good implementation of a side pocket.
2	Small enough that I take it all the time when I only have water bottles to carry	Must	Due to the bag having no structural rigidity, and nothing in the bad, it made for putting a water bottle in the pouch nearly impossible.
3	Larger enough that it can fit a small amount of food and jackets/jumpers for the kids	Should	To access the large pocket is a 2 step process. It requires you to open a clip and then a zip. It has an open pocket on the front side of the bag which is has a clip to secure it. The clip for this pocket secures at the top of the bag, meaning the only way into the main pocket is to open this clip first. The main pocket is not very large at all and would not fit food plus jumper/jackets.
4	Be able to carry my 13inch ipad safely	Could	It is designed to fit a 11inch ipad without a case. With my protective case it will not fit.
5	It needs to be easy to carry and light to not hurt my shoulders if carried over the shoulder.	Must	The shoulder strap is padded and comfy to wear. It is easy to put over the head and wear as a sling.
6	It needs to be able to sit upright by itself and not fall over.	Must	The bag has no structural rigidity and does not sit up. With a water bottle in the pouch, it falls over.
7	Not overly expensive – preferably under $100.	Must	It was only $32.99 delivered on discount, with a RRP of $39.99.

More detail on some features of this bag

Structural Rigidity

The bag lacks structural strength, making it extremely difficult to fit a bottle into one of the two pouches.

I didn’t realise how much of an issue this would be, as most of my current bags have some rigidity and padding that give them shape. In the photos, it doesn’t look as flimsy as it is. Usually, I hold and feel a bag before buying it and generally avoid this style

Secure iPad Storage

While it does fit an 11-inch iPad, the pocket doesn’t accommodate a protective case. I find this design puzzling, as I don’t know anyone who would go out without a protective case on their iPad.

Additionally, the padding in the storage pouch is very thin, offering little protection if the bag were to fall or be knocked.

Front Open Pocket

This is the most frustrating ‘feature.’ To access the main zipped compartment, you need to first undo the buckle at the top of the bag. I’m struggling to understand why they added this extra ‘pocket’ on the outside, as it makes accessing the bag a two-step process. From my experience with this style of open outside pocket, I’ve only used it for a light rain jacket when wet as it offers little security, so things could fall out during normal use.

I feel they added it as a low-cost feature to sell the bag, but functionally, it’s a negative, and I would prefer to remove it.

Easy Access Mobile pocket on strap

This is another ‘feature’ that is marketed as a positive, but I find it poorly implemented and unattractive.

The pocket is positioned too high on the strap, half on my shoulder instead of my chest, making it nearly impossible to access the zip. I have to pull the bag forward to access it. It might work for shorter people, but at 6 ft 1 in, it seems pointless for a large group of potential customers.

The pocket has a long zip that stretches from halfway up one side, across the top, and halfway down the other side, requiring two hands to open it. Even if the pocket were positioned for easy access, the zip design doesn’t make it quick or convenient to access your phone. If it were ringing or if I wanted to use it, I wouldn’t find it convenient to leave it in this pocket.

Moreover, the pocket is larger than just a phone pocket, fitting a phone, keys, and wallet. The material has no structure, and the pocket depth causes it to protrude from your chest (or shoulder). I’ve seen slim-lined phone pockets with a single straight zip down the side, allowing quick and easy access to a mobile phone. This pocket tries to do too much and ends up doing it all badly.

Updated Requirements

While I am disappointed in this bag and will not use it, it has helped me refine my views on some requirements. I will also add a few more to my list.

See the updated requirements table below.

No	Requirement	MoSCoW	Comments
1	Needs to be able to carry water bottles and keep them upright and not let them leak onto the items stored in the bag	Must
2	Small enough that I take it all the time when I only have water bottles to carry	Must
3	Larger enough that it can fit a small amount of food for the kids	Must
4	Larger enough that it can fit 2 jackets/jumpers for the kids	Must	I have broken this into 2 as when I start to define features I this might be a separate compartment than the one for food.
5	Secure storage for a 13 inch iPad with a protective case	Could	I have refined my requirement to include a protective case plus added the 11in model as I would be happy to use that, but don’t want the bag to get too large.
6	Secure storage for a 11 inch iPad with a protective case	Should	see above
7	It needs to be easy to carry and light to not hurt my shoulders if carried over the shoulder.	Must
8	It needs to be able to sit upright by itself and not fall over.	Should	I have changed this to a Should as the only way a bag can stand up will mean that it has a large base and have not seen a lot of bags that met this requirement at all.
9	Not overly expensive – preferably under $100.	Must
10	A secure mobile phone easy access pocket/pouch that can be operated with a single hand.	Should	I like the idea of a pocket for the phone that is easy and quick.
11	Large pocket need to be easy to and quick to access	Must	After seeing how Waterfly added the open pocket over the top, I have added this requirement.
12	Large pocket to be able to be accessible while bag is still over shoulder	Must	I have used a number of sling bags and found the feature I like about them more than a backpack is being able to access items without taking the bag off. I feel this is a good requirement to add.
13	The bag must be easy to carry in multiple ways so that I take it more often than not	Must	I find getting from the house to the car is a short walk and want an easy way to transport it without putting the sling on.

What is Next

I have a few other bags that I’ve been road-testing, and I’ll see how they rate compared to my requirements.

Additionally, I’ve started to mind map a list of features that will form the basis for the design phase, which I need to write up. This overall requirement list will guide the design of each individual feature.