OP/TECH USA Utility Strap, Sling XL Quick Adjust (Nature)

This product was a life changer for me. Damage to my shoulder & neck from an accident prevents me from carrying anything with my left arm/hand, and I can't have any kind of strap - not even a light scarf or necklace - over my left shoulder or around my neck. I'd just started dabbling in photography before the accident, and had to give it up because I couldn't carry the camera, batteries, lenses, etc. easily. I'd tried a waist pack, but it was clumsy, bulky, and hot. After planning a special trip with my husband, and wishing that I could once again take photos to record the trip as I'd done in the past, I started searching online for a solution that wouldn't aggravate my injuries and was light weight, and would hold the camera securely in crowds, while hiking, etc. This Op/Tech strap looked like a possibility. I read another review that mentioned using the gender changers to reverse the strap from left to right, and figured I'd give it a try. SUCCESS! I wore this strap every day for 2 weeks, in mostly hot weather, without a single problem. I'm a tall, middle-aged woman with an ample bust, and unlike some other straps, I was able to easily adjust this in length & position so that it was always comfortable. Nothing rubbed or caught on my clothes or skin, there were no rough edges anywhere, even at the ends of the straps, which was much appreciated. I added on the Op/Tech SLR Wrist Strap, Gender Changers, and 2 sets of Secure-Its System Connectors, and I was able to carry everything I had - extra cards & batteries, filters, and two lenses + camera, easily, all day long. Nothing bounced around, everything stayed secure, even in crowds and on steep ancient stairs & mountain paths hiking through ruins in Greece. After 2 weeks of constant use in heat, rain, etc. everything still looked & functioned like new, and I saw no signs of fraying, broken or loose stitching, etc. And, my hands were free to hold onto railings, shop, eat, etc. Was even convenient to sit at a cafe and have a meal while the camera was resting against my hip, no worries about leaving the camera on a chair or the floor, and it wasn't in my way. I definitely recommend this product to anyone who is thinking about a strap, esp. if you're going anywhere crowded or where you'll be active. I got some extra long velcro and ran it inside the little carrying case for my filters, and then looped it over the strap, so I really was able to carry everything with me. I also used a stretchy neoprene sleeve to cover the camera when not in use, and it easily fit over the strap, so my camera was well protected from scratches & bumps while on the strap.

It's OK, but.... maybe not for me. I used this strap extensively on two multi-day trips through canyons and forests,GOOD: I like the padding on the strap. It makes for a comfortable carry. The strap has worn well and no signs of wear on the connectors. They do NOT feel cheap at all! There are probably as many ways to connect the strap to your camera as you can imagine -BAD: As many ways are there are to connect this strap to my camera, I haven't found one that is comfortable AND lets me get the camera in position quickly. I keep a Kirk tripod adapter on the base of the camera at all times, giving me 3 good spots to connect the strap. I tried the connection on the upper right side of the camera - the "preferred" way, and found that I was constantly pushing it out of my way while trying to set up for a shoot. Added a second connection on the tripod adapter, and both got in the way. Moved the primary connector to the tripod adapter and the secondary one to the left side of the camera, and it's better. NOT exactly the way I want it, but this might work.

First off, let me just say that I love this strap! It's very comfortable and feels natural where it sits on my hip. There is however, one caveat, and maybe other reviews have already covered this point. I find it hard to look through the viewfinder when both connectors are attached to the camera. If you look at the user submitted picture I posted (with the Red Socks hat in the background), you'll see how the two connectors pull in towards the viewfinder. I found that it's manageable when taking horizontal pictures... it usually just rests on my nose. However when I twist the camera for a vertical shot it can easily get in the way and obstruct the viewfinder.Actually, Let me expand on the vertical shot problem. If you pull up and twist the camera counter clock wise it obstructs the view. If you pull up and twist clock wise, it doesn't. I prefer to shoot vertical shots twisting counter clock wise so that my index finger and trigger are above the camera not below.So why the five stars? Well, I've found that if you have only one of the two connecters attached, there's no problem looking through the viewfinder. Also, you can still work with it if with both connectors (i.e. if you know to twist clockwise for verticals) for those "on the fly" shots.What I usually find myself doing is:1. If I'm just walking around with the camera, I have it connected with both connectors for the added security / safety (it prevents it from swinging around at all).2. When I'm in picture mode where I'm actually holding the camera and / or anticipating a shot, I'll take the extra second to remove one of the connectors (which is really easy to do).

I wish that I had found this system years ago. It would have saved me a lot of neck pain and bashed equipment from collisions with fences & gates etc. while my gear has been slung around my neck, not to mention my ice cream dripping on it in hot weather!I am an 18 stone, 6 foot 2 inch tall guy and I have always been concerned that straps of this kind would end up putting the camera in the region of my armpit, but after watching the video where it was demonstrated that the strap could be extended by clipping in another uni strap, I decided to take the plunge.Briilliant! The XL uni strap that I fitted is way long enough and in fact I have had to shorten it right down. The camera is at my right hand, just where I want it and it slides up the sling to the shooting position with no hindrance at all.The neoprene strap is really so very comfortable that you forget you are carrying the gear. The only negative for me is that the only thing between £2k worth of gear and the pavement is a single plastic clip. I did buy another pack of XL camera connectors, so I am going to look at a way of doubling up on security without interfering with functionality. I have fitted the little Velcro strips to prevent accidental undoing of the clip, but I am more concerned with the clip failing all together. I will find a way. I am sure that I am just being over cautious but better safe than sorry as they say.One this is for certain though, I will not be going back to the bog standard straps out of the box.UPDATE: The little Velcro strips are good but they make the connector tight against the strap so the ability to slide is impeded. Have taken them off.To satisfy my psychosis about my camera hitting the deck, I have fitted the QR mount for my tripod and attached the other Uni loop connector to that, so there is a failsafe should one clip fail. I can attach to the tripod without removing the uni loop because there is a recess in the QR plate.Now I am a happy bunny!

By far the most comfortable strap that I have ever used. In addition, the ease and convenience of access/use of the camera is great.As seen on the product image the strap comes with two sliding connectors so that you can (if your camera has the fixing points) use one on each side of the camera body. This is not something that I wanted to do as I wanted to hang it from one side.As other reviewers have mentioned this means that there is therefore a single point of failure (in fact there are two such points, see further down) and whilst OP/TECH produce good stuff it worried me that if the buckle/clip broke, crash goes my gear. Some people have suggested a velcro fastening on the clip as backup but this seems to impact the ease with which the buckle slides on the strap.My solution was to put both connectors on one side of the camera. This works for me as the camera (EOS 5D IV) has a reasonably large connecting point, but it would also work on something a bit smaller, just feed both loops through the camera connecting point before passing the clip through the loop.This means that there are now two connectors from the strap to the camera so there is no longer a single point of failure here.The remaining single point of failure is a clip on the strap itself. Again, the clip is good so unlikely to fail however, if like me you want to be safe, then I suggest that some velcro (such as that produced by OP/TECH) is a good way to be doubly sure.

Why do some companies insist on branding their products so prominently? This is a great strap, but it loses a star as a penalty for me having to tolerate carrying a large and very obvious Op/Tech USA advertisement on my shoulder. It can give people the impression that I'm from the other side of the pond - which, in places like India, means the price of everything I want to buy immediately doubles! Their name's silkscreen-printed in bright white, but I'll figure out a way to make it a bit more discreet!The strap gets its remaining four stars for being comfortable, stretchy and non-slip - totally fit for purpose. It's so much better to carry a camera at waist height than have it hanging around your neck or over a shoulder. The elasticated padded section takes off so much weight when you're carrying a long lens (or even a short one for a long time).Like many others, I ignored the instruction to fit it to the right-hand side of my camera - which made it almost impossible to use the camera in portrait mode. It works just as well, although the camera does hang slightly more awkwardly, when fitted to the left-hand side. I've fitted another connector to the right-hand side so, if need be, I can use my Op/Tech wrist strap (which doesn't have an obvious advert on it!) instead.Unlike other reviewers, I'm not unduly concerned about the clips or fabric connectors breaking and allowing my hugely expensive kit to crash to the floor. They seem to be made of tough stuff and I'm sure that, given the Americans' love of litigation, Op/Tech will have tested them to destruction. My only concession to added security has been to tailor-fit a Velcro cable tie around the quick-release buckle.I have previously been a fan of the over-priced Blackrapid R-Strap system, but I'm pleased to recover use of the tripod mount on my camera with the Op/Tech system. I also find this strap significantly more comfortable - on my shoulder and on my wallet.

It is products like this that make me fume. They conveniently don't mention that this product is designed only for people who want to put the strap over their left shoulder (ie they are right handed). If you try to put it over your right shoulder, then the camera(s) will be around the back of you rather that at the (considerably more convenient) front.In tiny print on the instruction leaflet they say "See website for other options (eg right shoulder conversion,...)". When you eventually track this down - and it is not easy - they tell you that you need to buy an additional pair of "gender changers" for a stonking £7.99 - in other words nearly 50% more!It would have cost them NOTHING to have made the two clips on either side of the neoprene strap the same. Then the buyer could easily have reversed it in seconds. Alternatively, they could have made the "second triglide" (half way round the strap) removable so that it could be placed on the other side of the two Uni-Loop connectors.Pure and simple - this is really bad industrial design. And like the piece of orange peel inside the inflight magazine makes you wonder if the airline takes the same attitude to engine maintenance as it does cleaning, this makes you wonder what other poor design features there are built into the Op/Tech USA products?Well I am darned if I am going to part with an extra £7.99 for the dubiously named "gender changers". If you have been caught out like me, there are two easy fixes! Move the second triglide until it is out of the way - which will probably mean that it is right up against the first. (You could even break it off if you'd rather!) Then, depending on your preferred technology, either stitch a fold into the strap to keep the two UniLoop connectors at the front of the strap, or (as I chose) put two rivets into the strap.It's just annoying, because it shouldn't have been like this in the first place.

I bought this strap as a replacement for another make of strap which was showing signs of wear. I've had that one for years. That strap sat on my right shoulder so that my camera (heavy full frame camera) hung to the left of my body. This strap is designed to be on your left shoulder, so that the camera hangs to the right, which feels alien. The design of the shoulder piece and the configuration of the strap and clips (male and female fittings) make it impossible for it to be worn on the right shoulder; the stops on the strap are too low at the front and too high at the rear.I need to be able to attach my camera to a tripod with the minimum of fuss and so have a tripod attachment fastened to the baseof my camera. I bought one that allowed me to fasten my previous shoulder strap to it using a single clip and loop, so that if I used the tripod I could simply unclip it from the strap and put on the tripod. This strap has two clips with loops so that they can be fastened to either side of the camera. I have fastened both of the loops to the tripod attachment fastened to the camera base. Individually they are not as strong as my previous single attachment, and undoing the two clips is awkward. Again the clips are mixed with alternate male and female fittings.I've tried all ways to try and change the configurations but the design won't let me. I much prefer my old strap.