Leather Slings · Sling vs Crossbody

Sling bag or crossbody? On an adjustable strap it is the same bag

Written and reviewed by the Latico Leathers team · New Jersey

Sling or crossbody gets treated as a choice between two kinds of bag. On an adjustable strap it is not. This conversation covers what actually separates them, why the decision is size rather than style, how the three sizes compare, and what to look at inside a bag before buying it.

Watch on YouTube. Full transcript below.

How to choose between a sling and a crossbody

A sling and a crossbody are the same bag worn at different strap lengths. A sling sits high across the chest at roughly a ten inch drop and a crossbody hangs at the hip at roughly twenty, so on a bag whose strap adjusts across that range it is not a choice between two products. The real decision is size.

The difference is strap drop, not bag type: ten inches wears as a sling, twenty as a crossbody
All three sizes adjust across that range and wear on either shoulder
Size is the real decision: Crosby at 12 inches, Callie at 15.5, Cabo at 23
Empty bag weight causes more shoulder ache than strap width, starting at 14 ounces
Interior organization is what you live with, not the silhouette

What this video covers

How to choose between a sling and a crossbody

Decide the strap drop before the style: roughly ten inches wears as a sling, twenty as a crossbody.
Weigh the empty bag. Most shoulder ache blamed on a strap is the bag itself before anything goes in it.
Check strap width, since wider spreads the load over a long day.
Look for a sewn-in organizer rather than a single lined compartment.
Check for outside zip pockets, so your phone does not live in the main compartment.
Confirm full-grain leather: coated leather separates from its backing and peels, and full-grain has no coating to peel.
Divide the price by realistic wears instead of comparing sticker prices.

Full transcript

Sling bag vs crossbody: the actual difference

HostWhat is the difference between a sling bag and a crossbody, and which one should I carry?

ExpertOn most bags that is a real choice. On these three it is not, and that is the useful thing to know first. Callie, Crosby, and Cabo all wear three ways. Sling, crossbody, or over the shoulder. You are not picking a category. You are adjusting a strap.

HostThen let us start with the definitions, because people do use the words differently.

What a sling is, what a crossbody is

ExpertA sling sits high and tight, worn diagonally across the chest or pulled around to the back. A crossbody hangs lower, usually at the hip, on a longer strap. So the difference is not really the bag. It is the drop, meaning how far the bag hangs below the strap.

HostAnd the drop is adjustable on all three.

ExpertTen inches at the shortest, twenty at the longest. Ten inches puts the bag at your chest, which is sling. Twenty puts it at your hip, which is crossbody. Same bag, same afternoon, whichever you feel like.

HostSo if the wearing style is not the decision, what is?

The three-size ladder: Crosby, Callie, Cabo

ExpertSize. Three of them cover almost everyone, and they step up in a ladder. Crosby is twelve inches long and weighs fourteen ounces. Callie is fifteen and a half inches and weighs a pound and a quarter. Cabo is twenty three inches and one and seven tenths pounds, and it is the one you take on a plane.

HostFourteen ounces is genuinely light.

ExpertThat is the number people underestimate. Most of the shoulder ache people blame on a strap is actually the bag itself before anything goes in it. Start from under a pound and you have spent your weight budget on your things instead of on leather.

HostLet us talk about the strap properly, since that is where comfort lives.

Strap width, weight, and either shoulder

ExpertCrosby's strap is three quarters of an inch wide. Callie's is a full inch. Wider spreads the load, so if you carry heavy or you carry all day, the inch matters more than the ounces do. And both are built to be worn on either shoulder, left or right, which sounds small until you are left handed and every bag you own opens the wrong way.

HostNobody mentions that.

ExpertNobody designs for it either. It is a stitching decision made at the start, and you cannot retrofit it.

HostAlright. Inside. What is actually in there?

What is inside: the sewn-in organizer

ExpertThis is where I would spend your attention, because it is the part you live with. Crosby has four credit card slots, a slit pocket, and a zip pocket. Callie has four card slots, three pen holders, a zip pocket, and two open pockets, all built into a sewn-in organizer rather than dropped in as an insert.

HostWhy does the organizer being sewn in matter?

ExpertBecause the alternative is a single lined compartment, and a single compartment turns into a place where things go to disappear. You know the feeling. You can hear your keys and you cannot find them. An organizer means a card has one place it belongs, and a pen is not lying loose against the lining.

HostThere are also outside pockets.

Side zip pockets, and how secure these are

ExpertTwo side zip pockets on both bags. That is the one I would test in a store if you could. Your phone goes in the side, not the main compartment, so you get it out without unzipping the bag and without looking inside. It is a small thing that you use twenty times a day.

HostWhat about security, since these are worn out in the world.

ExpertTop zip entry with a leather pull on all of them, and the side pockets zip too. Worn as a sling, pulled around front, the opening faces your body. That is not the same as a slash-resistant travel bag, and I would not pretend it is. If you want cut-proof panels and locking zippers, buy a bag built for that. What this does is close properly and sit where you can see it, which covers most of ordinary life.

HostSo who should buy the small one?

Which size fits the way you carry

ExpertIf you carry a phone, a card case, keys, and sunglasses, Crosby is the right answer and the extra size is just extra bag. It is the one to take to dinner, or on a day where your hands should be free.

HostAnd Callie?

ExpertCallie is the everyday one. It takes a full day of things without looking overpacked, and it has the pen holders, so if you write anything down or carry more than the minimum, this is the size that stops you from choosing what to leave behind.

HostCabo?

ExpertTravel and haul. Twenty three inches is a lot of bag. If you are commuting with a tablet or flying with the things you want to reach mid-flight, that is what it is for. For daily errands it is more than you need.

HostLet us talk about the leather, because there is a lot of confusion in that word.

Full-grain leather, and why coated leather peels

ExpertThese are full grain, which means the outer surface of the hide is left intact rather than sanded down and coated. It matters for one very practical reason. A coated leather can separate from its backing and peel, and once it starts you cannot stop it. Full grain has no coating to peel. It wears instead, and it takes on a patina, so the bag looks like yours after a year rather than looking tired.

HostAnd where is it made?

Where is it made

ExpertHandcrafted in small batches by artisans in South America and India, from hides that are a byproduct of the meat and dairy industry, tanned under LWG and REACH certification with no harmful chemicals in the process. The company is family run, has been since 1984, and everything ships from New Jersey. Ten meals also go to Feeding America for every bag sold, which is 218,430 meals so far.

HostPrice, since that is the last question everyone has.

Cost per day rather than per purchase

ExpertCrosby is one hundred ninety five dollars. Callie is two hundred forty five. The honest way to think about that is per day rather than per purchase. Carry a bag four days a week for three years and Callie costs about forty cents a day. A sixty dollar bag that peels in eighteen months and gets replaced twice costs you more than that, and you carried something you did not like in the meantime.

HostWho should not buy one of these?

Who should not buy one

ExpertTwo groups. If you want a structured bag that holds its shape standing up on a desk, this is not that. These are soft, and they slouch, and that is deliberate. And if you carry a laptop daily, none of the three is the right tool. Look at a tote instead.

HostIf someone is still stuck between Crosby and Callie, what breaks the tie?

ExpertTake what you carried yesterday and put it on a table. If it fits in two hands, Crosby. If you needed a second trip, Callie. People almost always know which one they are, they just talk themselves into the bigger bag and then carry it half empty.

HostWhere should people look if they want to see these in the colors?

Expertlaticoleathers dot com. Cognac, camel, and black are on all three, and there are far more than that. Thanks for hanging out. There will be another one soon.