Wapiti Camera Straps
Wapiti Camera Straps
Today I am reviewing a new camera strap that I have picked up for my Canons. I ordered them directly from David Grubb’s website (http://www.wapitistraps.com). I am not affiliated in any way, just a consumer looking for a product that works. I have been looking for a good, sturdy, comfortable camera strap for quite some time now. I’ve tried them all, and there is always something that just doesn’t work with each one I’ve tried.
I came across David Grubb’s site by chance and I was immediately interested in his design.
With that, let’s dive right in and take a look at the Wapiti Strap.
Design:
The Wapiti strap is a strong and simple design that uses natural Elk leather for the shoulder pad, I’ll let you read what David has to say about the strap: "I crafted the Wapiti Strap from strong nylon webbing with a shoulder pad made of Montana Elk leather. The wapiti hide allows you to hang a heavy camera off of your neck for extended periods of time with comfort. The leather soaks up sweat during those hot summer ball games and won't allow the camera to slide off the shoulder of a slippery winter coat."
When you place your order for the Wapiti strap you start with three main choices and then refine from there. You can choose the C1 (for Canon) the N1 (for Nikon) or the Adjustable “Bugle” strap. Naturally being a Canon shooter I chose the C1. Once you choose which strap you want you have the choice of 3 pre-made sizes or a custom length strap. This is totally important to know BEFORE you order because the straps are non adjustable. You can choose from 32”, 36” or 40” for the pre-made lengths, but any length is available at no extra charge.
In Use:
I went with a 46” length strap personally, which may have been a little long to be honest, but it is still very comfortable on my shoulders and if need be I can still sling it across my chest. I really like the quality of the nylon webbing. It is very thick (yet still flexible enough to easily wrap around one’s wrist) and this inspires confidence in the strap. Up to this point I had settled on Domke straps, which work well enough, but A) they aren’t very comfortable, and B) they tend to wear out right at the strap lugs on my cameras. I never had one actually tear, but I’ve seen it happen and that always worried me. I don’t think that would happen with the Wapiti strap, the mounting point is exceptionally secure and I could not get it to slip no matter how hard I tried.
The mounting point (on Canon) loops through the lugs like a normal strap would, but it is suggested that you loop it back through the tri-glide and then tuck the excess into the sliding “buckle”. Doing this gives you an exceptionally secure mount and also keeps the camera from twisting TOO much which is what always caused the wear and tear on my other straps. Once I had the strap adjusted on my camera It was nice and secure no matter which lens I had mounted. The shoulder pad is made from Elk leather (if you’re ordering within the US) and is exceptionally comfortable. I had initial concerns that it would not be “grippy” enough, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I was a second shooter at a wedding just recently and my camera stayed put on my shoulder and never slipped once (even on a not so grippy surface like my dress shirt).
The weight of my cameras are definitely felt on the shoulder, but the leather provides “enough” padding to still be very comfortable. Personally I prefer a thinner strap over a huge bulky one. For example, the Canon CPS strap is a very wide Op-Tech neoprene strap, it is exceptionally comfortable on one’s shoulder, but it is just way too bulky for me and I almost never used it.
If I had to find one thing to say I didn’t like, it would be that the non-adjustable nature of the strap means that if you pick the wrong length, you’re stuck. I initially felt that my straps were a bit longer than I expected, but I have already acclimated to the length and it’s no longer a concern. I’m flexible, but others may not be, strictly a personal preference.
In Conclusion:
To conclude, I ABSOLUTELY recommend the Wapiti camera strap. David Grubbs made plenty of effort to answer my questions before ordering, even taking the time to call me. That is the kind of customer service you simply don’t find enough of these days. Aside from David’s service, his product is excels in both craftsmanship and functionality. I will use these straps on every camera from here on out. If you would like to order one (or two!) for yourself, simply visit http://www.wapitistraps.com and place your order!
If you would like to reach David via email, send your messages to: wapiti@wapitistraps.com
Thank you for taking the time to read my review, and I hope it was helpful to you.
- Abram