I appear to have reached a point in my life where decades of back and neck problems have taken their toll. Not being someone who wants simply to give up and accept the inevitably that this is leading to, adjustments to some aspects of life will hopefully prove beneficial.

Recently, the humble camera strap came under my scrutiny. I have a box full of straps that have been collected since the late 1970’s. Different materials and colours are what attracted me to them over the decades, and not much thought was given to comfort. Getting older changes ones priorities, particularly if there is an element of discomfort involved. My cameras and lenses are not getting smaller and lighter as I enjoy using what I own regardless of its size and weight. And I am the sort of person to stop using equipment if my enjoyment dies - camera equipment is more than simply a tool to me.

My largest bodies are a Pentax K1 mkii and Leica SL2, both having 35mm sensor sizes. They are also what can be considered ‘professional’, ergo their bulk and weight can be considerable with certain lenses attached. Due to the above mentioned problems, I have spent some time hunting around for a replacement camera strap whereby the main feature is comfort (or orthopaedic).

The market is pretty saturated when it comes to wide straps, or in fact straps of any kind. A wider suitably padded strap does help, but it does not get away from the fact that a cameras weight is not  distributed to any other area than the point of the body it makes contact with i.e. neck or shoulder. Of course the simplest solution to mitigate discomfort caused by strap use is to not use a strap at all. Most cameras have comfortable grips that can be used with a small wrist lanyard so is it simply not a matter of re-educating myself to approach the solution in a slightly different manner?

I have a bunch of cameras and lenses that are small enough not to pose any problems when hanging around my neck - and long may this continue. But the leviathans in my brood are not something I wish to give up. And when kitted with some of my larger, heavier lenses, I need to rely on more than their handgrips.

Enter the Camstrap Explorer Camera Strap. Here we have a camera strap designed by a team of people including a doctor and physiotherapist. It is a product designed with comfort in mind and everything I have read indicates it being sympathetic toward back, shoulder and neck problems. Designed and manufactured in France, it was just a couple of transit days before I could try one for myself.

Unpacking the strap was a pleasant experience as it came in a fabric case, lens cleaning cloth and magnetic lens cap holder. It is good to see attention to detail extends into peripheral items. The strap itself looks a little odd and is a departure from the simple loop to chuck around my neck or over a shoulder.

I can best explain the style as a ‘double loop’. One loop fits around the waist and the other goes over the neck. It took me a little while to get up to speed wearing it, but after a few trial attempts I became pretty adept. It is this design that helps mitigate shoulder, neck and back pressure as the waist strap shifts some of the weight from the neck, redistributing it around the lower back and waist. In this respect it is not unlike a back pack. The camera attaches to the strap via quick release connectors that are fixed to the camera (or lens) strap lugs, and a spare set are provided. The fixings simply snap into a secure mount on each end of the strap and can be released quickly by a simple press of each fixing. The strap itself is made of a fabric that is reminiscent of a car seat-belt, and is a little over 4 cm wide. Its width certainly contributes to overall comfort. A rubberised neck pad slips over the strap and can be moved in either direction.

The strap is fully adjustable via a buckle that rests on the waist and it is important to ensure correct fitting for maximum comfort. It took me three attempts to get it exactly right as a lot also depends on how high or low you wish the camera to rest and what it being worn.

I first tested my Leica SL2-s and 90-280mm zoom which is the heaviest body/lens combination I own. Indeed the strap was purchased with this in mind. My destination was one of the Dark Peak edges several miles from home. This provided a good mix of terrain that I knew would stress my back and shoulders. It was a beautiful spring day and I found myself using the camera a lot. The strap performed well although was a little more difficult to use when I rotated the camera into a portrait position due to resistance from the lower waist section. I found that I had to loosen it a tad which resulted in the camera resting lower than I would have liked. Apart from this I found that by the end of my walk I was in slightly less pain than previous attempts using this body/lens combination, although not significantly so. However a benefit that I had not considered prior to use was that, thanks to the waist strap, it prevents equipment from annoyingly swinging from side to side.

The following day I attached the spare set of strap logs to my Pentax K1 mkii, onto which I mounted my HD Pentax-D FA* 85mm F1.4ED SDM AW Lens. This is a hefty prime, although not quite as heavy as the previously used zoom. As the weather was settled the days walk was along a nearby limestone dale and, while not as challenging as the previous walk, was longer in distance. The strap performed in a similar fashion, but I found the adjustable rubber neck pad occasionally slid along the strap a few centimetres, thus reducing the comfort factor more. Occasionally it fell off completely. Maybe the designers could review the way the pad attaches with a view to making it more resistant to movement.

I have since taken it on several further walks and while it does bring an improvement to carrying large gear, it is never truly comfortable for much longer than an hour. The neck pad moving or falling off became a real problem. By the time I had come to the end of testing, I was outside of the return window so it has now been consigned to my box of spares where it will likely be sold on.

For me, the product didn’t eliminate much of the pain and is certainly not a panacea to my back problems when it comes to carrying heavy camera gear. But in the strap’s defence it is very comfortable when used with smaller rigs. And I feel that to allow me to continue to use some of my heavier gear, I need to move away from carry straps and explore harnesses. So the search continues…

The Explorer Camera Strap is the larger of two straps produced by Camstrap. For lighter equipment, the Voyager is available (and in different colours) that uses the same principles.

More information can be found here.