Carry Speed CS-1 Review

Instead of copying the Black Rapid strap, Carry Speed took the sling strap and put their own stamp on it. Designed in Houston, Texas, it gets some good reviews on YouTube and is good value for money, so I was interested to see how it stood up against the Q Strap. The strap is available from their website, but if you’re outside Canada or the US, you’ll only be able to get it on eBay. It costs £17.95 with Express international postage costing about as much again, so factor that in if you’re a foreigner like me.

One thing Carry Speed has thought a lot about is the quality side of the strap. They point out the strengths of the connecting plate (the same type of plate as supplied with the Q strap), the fact that the carabiner can take up to 150 lbs in weight and the fact that it comes supplied with the ‘Uni strap’ (more about that later.)

Indeed, first impressions are good. The strap arrived without any wasteful packaging, just the strap, attached to a display card. I liked that as it meant I was paying for the strap and nothing else. The pad is made of a similar material to the Q Strap, but has a substantial waterproof backing. The pocket is a full length one, more than doubling the size of the one found on the Q strap.

The strap is really comfy, and sits nicely on the shoulder, but I did find that I either had to have the strap too long, else there wasn’t enough slack to bring the camera up for shooting.

CS1 worn — Ilya wears the CS-1 and smiles too.

In use the strap starts to let itself down. The connecting plate, although the same design as the one used by the Q Strap, does feel sturdier on the camera, however, getting it hooked and unhooked was a real pain. The hole on the plate just kept bashing against the hook, rather than sliding onto it. The twin bumpers are also more awkward to adjust, as is the strap, which really became an issue while trying to get it the right size for my son, and then re-adjust it for me. The other thing I realised is that there is an awful lot of strap to adjust, giving the impression it wasn’t designed for people with less than a 40 inch chest.

The real bonus was getting an under-arm strap and the ‘uni strap’. First the ‘uni strap’. This little gizmo loops onto the connecting plate and also hooks onto a trouser belt loop. This prevents the camera flopping around when you lean forward. It has a quick release clip for when you want to use the camera. In reality, it was annoying. Bring the camera up to shoot and this extra dangly bit just gets in the way. It does work to prevent the camera flopping around, and provides a little extra security, but I really didn’t think it was worth it.

So onto the under-arm strap. After all, this was the main reason for buying the strap. Boy was I disappointed. First gripe is that carry Speed really don’t design for slim people. This strap is so big I couldn’t get it tight enough. Ok, so I can jerry-rig it and fix that, but the second gripe is that the quick release buckle is right smack bang in the middle, so it sits nicely under the armpit, right where it shouldn’t be. It was so uncomfortable I had to take it of after a couple of minutes. Sure, I could jerry-rig that too, but it’s something Carry Speed really need to look at if it wants to gain a bigger market share.

I have to say I really, really wanted to like this strap, and in a way I do. The look of the strap is my favourite of the three, including the Black Rapid. The pad is comfy and I don’t feel the weight of the camera at all. But in use, it sucks. I can’t say it any fairer. They need to shorten the length of the strap, make the bumpers easier to open and adjust, change the design of the under-arm strap, and give up on the ‘uni strap’ as a gimmick, sort out the issues between the carabiner and the plate and then…..they’ll probably have the best sling strap on the market and be in a position to give Black Rapid a run for their money.

Is it a bad strap? Well, let me put it this way – if I had to choose between a nice luxury neck strap, or the CS-1, I’d choose the CS-1. Would I choose the CS-1 over the Q Strap? I so want to say yes, but the honest answer is no. The Q Strap is just a better strap. All that remains is to see how both of those stand up to the Black Rapid.

More info can be found at http://carryspeed.com

The Q Strap Review

The Q Strap, Quick Strap, or whatever they’re calling it today, is a direct knock off of the Black rapid straps. They’ve even copied the logo, replacing the R with a Q!! Chinese made, the main difference is the camera mount. The Q strap uses a flat plate with a hole at the side which allows the camera to hang at a more natural position, allegedly.

First impressions

It arrived in a plain poly bag with the Q logo. No extra fuss or packaging. The strap looked good, but the plate stank and it took a couple of months to get rid of the smell. No amount of cleaning could get rid of it. It did go eventually though, but I’d be cautious about leaving it your camera bag until the smell goes away. That said, it is a genius mount and has two major benefits over the connector that comes with the Black Rapid, which I’ll cover later.

Build quality seems okay. The carabiner is a gun metal colour and the gate has a locking screw so it doesn’t unhook accidentally. The strap is made from a seat-belt type material which I like and includes a single bumper, which acts as a ‘stop’ for the camera, making sure it hangs where you want it too.

It can be bought on eBay for about £15 and is the cheapest of the 3 I’m looking at.

Comfort

The pad is pretty comfy with plenty of padding. It sits nicely on the shoulder thanks to it’s slight ergonomic design. This brings me to the first advantage of the connecting plate – the camera really does hang at your waist in a more natural and comfortable position. The lens hangs back against your waist and the camera doesn’t feel heavy at all.

In use

The pad has a small zip pocket that holds two memory cards. Not really necessary but useful to have. The carabiner glides smoothly up and down the strap allowing you to grab and shoot quickly. The only irritation is that the pad does slide back over your shoulder with use. There are two ways around this. First push the camera back against the bumper when returning it to your waist. That pushes the pad back into position. Second – buy an arm strap. Sadly, The Q strap doesn’t have that option, so you’ll have to fashion your own, or buy one from a competitor.

The connecting plate also allows for a tripod quick release plate to be attached, making it quick to unhook, attach your camera to the tripod, shoot and hook it back onto the strap. That’s another benefit not offered by the Black Rapid connector.

Overall

It doesn’t include a second bumper, and there’s no arm strap, but other than that, the Q Strap gets a thumbs up. Considering it is less than half the price of the Black Rapid strap, it is excellent value for money.

More details at www.qstrap.co.uk

Camera Straps

Rule number 8: Camera Straps are a pain in the neck

I’m not a fan of camera straps. If I have one attached to my camera, I tend to wrap it around my wrist. I could live without them, but it’s nice to have the security of having something just in case I get clumsy, which I’ve been known to be from time to time. The biggest problem with them is that after wearing your camera around your neck for a bit, your neck feels like it’s spent a couple of hours at the gym.

My first stab at cracking the camera strap woes was under the guise of the Optech Pro strap. This is basically a shaped chunk of neoprene that sits around the base of the neck and distributes the weight. It also detaches from the camera attachments, which then clip together to form a short strap. As a piece of design work, it is genius. I gave it a full day’s testing at the Waddington Air show, and afterwards decided it was time to ditch the neck strap all together. The problem with the Optech strap was that it rode up my neck, making the camera heavier than if I’d just used a regular strap. Plus, on a hot day, all that neoprene makes for a sweaty strap.

So I got onto the net and looked at sling straps. There are a few to choose from, especially if you live on eBay, and over the next week or so I’ll post reviews of the Q strap, Carry Speed CS-1 and the Black Rapid RS-4. After reviewing each of them I’ll do a comparison between the three and make a few recommendations.