GEAR: UpStrap Kevlar

February 6, 2008

For Christmas, Sara bought me an amazing little gift. This is one product to keep in mind if you are ever looking to spend $50 or less on your favorite photographer.

The UPstrap SLR-Kevlar is a camera strap. “But, Greg,” you may say, “my camera came with a camera strap! Why spend $42.00 on something I already have?”

That’s a good question. But if you’ve ever been carrying a camera on your shoulder, and had it slip down (which can happen quite often with a DSLR, a battery grip and a long telephoto lens…a combo that can weigh in excess of 5 pounds), $42 is a small price to pay to keep all that expensive equipment ON YOUR SHOULDER.

The patented surface of the strap pad is designed to grip whatever clothing you happen to be wearing (I would imagine it would work if you weren’t wearing any clothing, too, but I can’t speak from experience), and the Kevlar webbing (mil-spec, if you’re interested in being technical) is highly resistant to abrasion, so this strap should see many years of work.

On my trip to Uganda, I used a two camera setup nearly every day, so I had a great opportunity to compare this strap with the standard issue Canon strap. I attached this UPstrap to my gripped 40D (BG-E2n in place) with my 70-200mm lens mounted, and had the Canon brand strap on my 30D and wide-angle. The UPStrap performed beautifully, keeping the much heavier camera-lens combo perfectly in place, while I had to keep shrugging my shoulders and readjusting the strap on the lighter combo.

It’s hard to find much more to say about something as ordinary as a camera strap, but this one is definitely worth mentioning. Oh yeah, and when you order a strap, they send you a cool little flash diffuser bag you can use in a pinch. How many companies do you work with that include free extras?!?

If you’re a photographer, or know one who might need a little gift, check out UPstrap!

Posted in Gear