BlackRapid Sport Breathe Original Camera Sling Design, Strap for DSLR, SLR and Mirrorless Cameras

High quality strap distributes the weight of a camera and long lens over my shoulder. The under arm strap provides a little more security and prevents the strap from rotating over my shoulder. I typically put it on first, then put a pair of binoculars with the dual shoulder straps on over the camera strap, and can still easily bring the camera up for taking pictures without the binocular straps getting in the way or pulling. I like that it has a locking carabiner to attach to my lens as well as a safety strap to clip onto the camera in case anything breaks or loosens up. When I have my short lens on, I just use the safety strap, but also keep the camera in a hip case when not taking pictures. It is expensive, but I looked at MANY other (cheaper) products which all lacked one or more key features that this strap has. The price is worth it.

I love this strap and how it distributes the weight of the camera and lens over the shoulder better than a regular shoulder or neck strap. It appears to be well made and includes the FR-5 attachment point as well as the safety tether. I have a double strap similar to this, but wanted a single strap and this seemed pretty good. I will order a second FR-5 for my zoom lens foot. I wish I bought this sooner. Update: I still love the strap and will continue to use it. However, after several days using it, I decided I didn't like the carabiner clip and eye attachment. The carabiner is slow to move the safety, unscrew the lock ring, and unclip, then reverse the procedure to reattach the strap to a lens. (I attach the strap to the body when using a standard zoom, and to the lens when using a telephoto zoom.) I decided to get a MagPul QD connector as I have a Really Right Stuff L plate on the body with a QD socket. I really like the QD system, it's secure, and so much faster to push the button to release the body or lens, and also is lower profile than the carabiner/eye setup. I do use the BlackRapid safety strap as added security. I will buy a Kirk plate with QD for the lens as RRS does not make one short enough to be practical on my zoom lens foot. It only took a few minutes to unstitch the strap, remove the hardware and replace the carabiner with the QD connector, and put it all back together again. Maybe BlackRapid will someday sell a version with a QD connector instead of the carabiner.

I hesitated buying this strap for a long time because of a minority of reviews that expressed concerns about the fastener loosening from the tripod screw mount. I have only had this strap for a few weeks but this past weekend I used it for several (5+) hours with as fairly heavy camera and lens - DSLR with battery grim and 70-200 mm lens. I used it with the fastener screwed to the battery grip and I also used it with the fastener screwed to len's tripod mount. I did a fair amount of walking as I was in a nature reserve for some of the time. An no time did I detect any noticeable loosening of the fastener on either mount. By the end of the day any equipment safety concerns I had were dispelled. I like this strap a lot for all of the positive reasons given in other feedback and reviews. It does relieve the strain on my neck but by the end of the day I did feel a little strain on my shoulder. Nothing significant but it was there. I love the convenience of the clips that hold the camera in place. Bending over or just walking was easier with the camera generally held in a fixed place at my side. The little strap that goes under your arm is a little awkward to attach. It does tend to fall of when being stored or even when putting the strap on. But once secured on my shoulder it was fine. I ordered the standard strap but after I received it I realized that even though I am right handed I always carry my camera on the left side. I will likely end up buying an additional one that is for left side carry. I like this strap a lot and it is hard for me to envision using anything else for the foreseeable future.

I still run a heavy "old school" setup. D850 + battery grip + very heavy lenses (f2.8 70-200, etc.) I wear this strap 10+ hours a day during weddings, and this strap spreads the weight of my gear out so well that I don't even think about it. Durable. Comfortable. Functional. Worth every penny!

I have taken this strap all over the U.S., Europe, and Africa. More than 30 years of shooting and this is the best strap I have ever used. Perfect for actively climbing rocks in the desert or queit street shooting in a crowded souq, it’s super comfortable and ensures your camera is always out of the way but ready in an instant. The sliding locks allow you to put the camera exactly where you need it – to your side when walking about, or slightly behind when clambering around a pyramid. The breathable mesh really does its job – I don’t recall ever sweating with this on - even in 100+ degree desert heat. But this strap is deeply flawed. The whole system rests on the secondary underarm strap to keep it in place. And that secondary strap is only connected on one end by an open hook which is constantly slipping out of it’s loop and disconnecting the underarm strap from the primary (the other end is a standard buckle). To keep the underarm strap from falling out of its loop while putting the strap on requires a an advanced Twister style maneuver. And like many advanced Twister maneuvers, more often than not the entire mess is going to end up on the floor. So, if it’s all this trouble, why not just leave the under arm strap off? Because without it in place the main strap will slip behind your shoulder, unbalancing the entire affair, leaving your camera to slip all over the place and negating 90% of the benefit this strap brings to the table. When everything is hooked up and properly secured, this thing is an absolute joy. Getting and keeping it that way, not so much. BlackRapid, it would be so easy for you to fix this problem – replace the clip with a proper buckle. Since the underarm strap is not permanently connected at one end, it’s only a matter of time before I’m going to lose it. And then the entire affair will need to be replaced. In the meantime, a carefully threaded zip tie is holding things in place. But it really doesn’t seem right that I should have to jury rig a $80 strap to work correctly. But there it is. There may be some logic behind this baffling design flaw, but I’ll be darned if I can figure out what it is. Buy it. Zip tie it. You’ll love it. (BlackRapid, please fix this!)

I started shooting a few years ago and quickly made my way into professional work where I needed something comfortable yet responsive. Being a bigger guy, I also needed to account for my girth and my propensity for perspiration (I get sweaty y'all). Naturally I avoided the leather strap systems since leather and water do not mix well. Thankfully I found this strap! I shoot around 20-30 events per year, ranging from sports action to senior portraits to events and concerts, so this strap has gone through almost every niche. I have the single and double straps and they're both amazing! I never have problems with them, never had a bolt get loose even once, they hold up well against sweat on those long outdoor shoots, and they're engineered well. If I ever had a thread come loose, I don't remember it! Some people have complained about the old style strap that goes under the armpit. I, personally, never had an issue with this while wearing it or storing it. My smaller wife, however, did have issues with it, but only when she would store it. We gladly purchased the upgraded straps with the locking hinged face and they are perfect; we've been without incident since. I will say the one and only thing I wish I could improve about this system is the ability to have a quick release between the strap and the camera. I do a lot of low angle shots which often require me to put my camera nearly on the ground, and if there was a way to quickly release the camera from the strap instead of having to either unscrew the bolt from the camera or undo the plastic cage and unscrew the carabiner clip sleeve, it'd make my life wayyy easier. But this isn't worth losing a star!

Why would you pay so much money for a strap when you have other similar straps that are under $20? In one word "quality". I've owned one of those inexpensive straps and my experience with them is while they basically do the job they don't last and they can be insecure resulting in damage to your expensive camera and lens. The main problem with the cheap brands is the clasp and the ring that attaches into the camera. These are made of cheap metal and the design can wear and even break over time. The sharp ridge on the inside of the mounting ring is very sharp and actually cuts a groove in the clasp over time. If you have a heavy lens and camera, as I do, the result can be serious damage. This strap, however, has an excellent clasp and a well designed mounting ring with rounded edges. The clasp is so strong you can use it as a tool to firmly twist the mounting ring into the tripod connection (I use Loctite - blue to make sure the ring doesn't come loose). This strap is more comfortable also. The wide part that goes over your shoulder extends further onto your chest thus distributing the weight of the camera over a larger area and reducing the load on your shoulder. The under arm strap has some elastic parts that keep the strap from slipping off of your shoulder. This under arm strap however can slip off of the connection behind the shoulder. A small locking wire strap is an easy permanent way to solve this problem. The bottom line is "you get what you pay for." This is a perfect example of that.

BLACKRAPID Sport Breathe Original Camera Sling Right-handed Design - This harness has held up great for over a year. I took it on an 8 month deployment overseas and used it almost every day. No issues. The mounting system is very robust and never let me down. I've climbed up and down vertical ladders, through tight passages and shot in every kind of inclement weather imaginable and the strap still functions 100%. I would recommend this product to anyone who is looking for a sturdy and trustworthy shoulder harness. -JT