Gear Review: Peak Design Slide Lite Camera Strap
Black Friday was an absolute blast last year… seems like such a long time ago already, doesn’t it!? The Peak Design Slide Lite strap, and the accompanying “Cuff” were two of the things I managed to bag a bargain on, but were they worth it - let’s take a look…
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I have recently taken delivery of a Peak Design Slide Lite camera strap as well as its little brother, the “cuff”.
I brought both of these items with my own money, so this is a completely transparent, warts and all review!
As well as bagging some bargain Christmas presents for loved ones, I did manage to grab myself a couple of little treats as well - I got some handheld lighting which is going to be great in my studio and a couple of new photo books (I also got some little RGB lights which are going to be great for field based macro photography, I’ll review these when I have had the chance to play with them properly), but I also treated myself to the Peak Design Camera strap and the wrist cuff strap that goes along with it!
A lot of landscape photographers don’t use straps at all, as their camera spends time in their bag or on their tripod, there isn’t much of an inbetween. You’ll know from previous blogs that I love my Peak Design Camera Capture Clip, for keeping my camera attached to my bag and freeing up my hands, so why on earth do I need a strap?
There’s a number of reasons, but the 2 that really influenced the purchase were 1) I don’t exclusively do landscape photography, I love a bit of street photography do and I find the strap can sometimes be useful for that and 2) I am really clumsy at times. When my camera is in my hands not attached to my bag or my tripod, it really pays dividends for me to have attached to my body in some way or other!
So why did I choose the Peak Design Slide Lite Camera Strap?
Well, my camera spends a lot of time on its tripod. Having a strap attached to the camera when it is on your tripod isn’t the greatest idea. It gets tangled up with everything you’re trying to do, it can introduce movement into your shots when you really don’t want it to, can obstruct your lens or LCD Screen and when it’s windy, the strap essentially becomes a sail attached to your camera waiting to blow it away or knock it over.
The Peak Design Camera Strap uses their “Anchor Link” system to attach your camera to the strap. This consists of two “anchors” which attach to either side of your camera where your strap usually attaches which slide neatly into the opposite shaped receivers which are on the strap. This makes attaching and removing the strap an absolute breeze, and let’s face it, a lot of the straps on the market are a pain in the a**e to remove and reattach, causing you more stress than in necessary for what should be a simple task. This makes it simple.
On top of that, the anchor links are rated at 90kgs each which is way, way, way in excess of anything you’re going to be carrying around your neck.
There are two versions of this strap, “Slide” and “Slide Light”. The major difference between the two is the width of the strap. The Lite has a width of 1.3” (32mm) and the Slide is 1.8” (45mm) wide. I opted for the slimmer one as I find wide straps to be quite bulky and restrictive.
Why Peak Design? Well I already own some of their products. I like them. I trust them. This was an easy decision.
What’s in The Box?
Slide Lite
1 slide lite strap
Anchors
Anchor Mount
4mm hex wrench
Microfiber pouch
Cuff
Cuff
Anchors
Microfiber pouch
Both if the items also come with a spare anchor and a small kit which can help you to attach the anchors to the anchor points on your camera if there’s something stopping from attaching in the regular way, though I am not sure what that would be.
Build Quality
This is a really well made it of kit, as we would expect from Peak Design - these guys don’t do half a job. The materials are excellent and seem to be pretty hard wearing. It’s made of the same nylon webbing as a car seatbelt, there’s a PVC shoulder pad and the hardware is made of aluminium and glass filled nylon. The connectors are solid and made from Glass-reinforced nylon with stainless steel springs, and comprise a 2-layer anti-abrasion woven thermoplastic Anchor cord, the covers are made from thermoplastic. The materials are the same for both the slide and the cuff, but if you opt for the Coyote colour way, then expect 30%recycled nylon in the material for that extra sustainability tick!
They’ve tried to be as sustainable as possible with this one and if you want to read some more about this, head over to the Peak Design website and you can see it all in their words.
Both times feel solid and like they are going to last a long time, even if you give them a bit of beating, they’re soft to the touch and aren’t going to irritate your skin.
First Impressions
Slide Lite
These are well packaged items and the packaging feels really premium, a little bit like the materials you’ll find Apple products in. I know that to an extent, commenting on the packaging feels a but redundant, but if a company is taking time to make the packaging solid, they’re putting effort into the product you’re buying, and that’s definitely the case here.
When you hold the strap, it feels good in the hand and you can see the stitching is good quality and the bright red thread stands out well against the dark colour of this strap giving a couple of nice accents, without being too garish.
The hardware, which is made from aluminium and nylon is solid and has the feel that it is going to last a long time.
It feels good when you’re wearing it, and it’s really long - at its smallest length, it’s 37inches (about 95cm) and fully extended it's 57.5” (around 146cm, or just under 1.5metres). I’m not a small chap and I’m just over 6ft 1 tall, and this is plenty long enough for what I need.
I was interested to see the anchor points and how they work, and it’s super easy. You remove your old camera strap and then attach the anchors to wear your old strap was attached. Once that’s done, it’s just a case of looping the anchors through themselves and cinching them up. Once that’s done, you just have to slide them into the receivers on the strap. To remove them, you just apply some light pressure to the actor inside the receiver and they just pop out. It’s really easy, but I think in cold weather it might get a bit fiddly, but this is a really minor consideration that isn’t going to apply to everyone or every situation.
It’s a similar story with the cuff, it’s easy enough to attach and remove and the anchors are interchangeable between the two “systems” so you don’t need to keep swapping your anchors.
I was a tad worried when I ordered the cuff that it would be on the small side - I have quite big wrists and things like this don’t always fit me, but this is plenty big enough, and if you’re at the other end of the “wrist spectrum”, then it adjusts right down to a nice small size.
Despite the fact that this is essentially made of the same/very similar to a seatbelt, it is surprisingly soft and comfortable to have around your wrist. The ‘clasp;’ that tightens the strap around your wrist is a nice piece of aluminium which looks good and isn’t going to wear out.
Another thing worth knowing about the cuff is that if you crop your camera whilst wearing the cuff, the metal loop acts like brake and will tighten everything up to stop your pride and joy from ending up as a heap of scrap metal, plastic and glass all over the floor.
All in all, I am really impressed with both of these items, the real test of them both, for me at least, will be to see how much the edges wear over time and how quickly they start to show any signs of wear, but to be honest, give how well made this feels and looks, I don’t think this will be an issue.
Impressions after a couple of months use.
I had thought I was just going to come to this around February time and just write a bit of something about how it’d gone with the new strap, but I find myself jumping back after only a couple of weeks to say that in the studio, it’s completely changed things for me. I only own one camera that’s good enough for working in the studio with and it's the same one I use for my landscape work as well. That means that invariably the strap is attached, it’s (was!) a pain to take on and off and it puts me off wanting to do my studio projects, because I can’t be bothered with the faff. Having this really changes that, the strap doesn’t live on the camera now, it lives in the bag and the anchor clips stay on the camera and I am more productive than ever!
Ok, so the actual two months later part…
First off, the “Cuff”; I don’t have a whole bunch to say about it. That’s not because I don’t have anything to say, just I haven’t used it as much as I thought I would do. Maybe it’e because I haven’t been out doing much street photography, but when I have it’s been fine. Comfortable, discreet and secure, it hasn’t caused me any issues and it’s nice to have the camera ready to go at a moment’s notice.
The strap. What I can say? Following on from the 2 week update, it’s all very positive. I might even go as far to say that for me, it’s been a real game changer. Being able to clip the strap to the camera and take it off just as quickly means that I’m not constantly wrestling to take it on and off, and the speed I am now able to do this at means that I am doing more with my camera, and for me, that is always being to be a big tick in the positive column.
I’m impressed with the way this has worn. It’s been out in rain, hail, sleet and cold conditions and it’s doing fine. I’ll be honest, I was expecting some wear around the edges or some fraying but there’s nothing - this is a truly heard wearing piece of kit and is going to be handle most things that you are able to throw at it.
I’m happy with the width I chose, it’s comfortable around the neck and the length of the strap means that you can find a comfortable position for it to hang against your body. If there was one thing I could change about the strap that came with my camera, and a couple of others I have tried, it would be that they were longer as I found them uncomfortable, even cumbersome, but the Slide Lite eliminates that entirely, for me at least.
I love that that neither of these items are covered in really overt branding, it draws less attention to the expensive and highly desirable thing that is hanging around you neck!
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Pros and Cons
Slide Light
Pros
Great materials with an eye on sustainability.
Excellent build quality
The slide and slide light are available in a couple of length options giving some choice in how you wear the strap
The anchors are solid and offer a quick way to attache and remove the camera/strap.
Lifetime warranty!
Cons
Quite pricey, but you get what you pay for. There are cheaper options, but are they as good?
The metal hardware can be a bit abrasive so check where you are storing it in your bag to avoid marking anything.
Slimmer strap on the light means that weight isn’t as well spread out as with it is with the Slide, so if you’re carry heavy rigs, this should be a consideration.
Anchor links can flap about in the wind, creating issues for audio for video shooters.
Cuff
Pros
Ideal for shorter shoots or when you need the camera in “ready position” for those quick opportunities.
Great for mid-size setups.
Great materials with an eye on sustainability.
Excellent build quality
Minimal look.
Cons
A little expensive, but again, you get what you pay for.
Can be a little fiddly and restrict movement if you’re wearing gloves or a thick coat.
In Conclusion
Honestly, I think that both of these pieces of kit are well worth their respective money. In both cases, you’re getting a premium product and this is why they attract a higher price than other more generic straps. I’m a big believer in “buy cheap, buy twice” and you’re not going to be buying twice if you decide to make this investment.
If you’re concerned about flashing your camera model and advertising your camera to people who would like to relieve you of it, then the lack of obvious branding is also a plus.
The materials look great and are hard wearing, just be careful with the metal hardware and don’t let it scratch up your kit. this is east to avoid now you know it has the potential to be an issue - just be careful.
The Cuff is a good option for a secondary strap, especially if you are shooting in a variety of situations and need that flexibility and don’t want to have wear your camera around your neck or over your shoulder all day.
Both items are backed up by a lifetime warranty, software if you look after it, you might never need to buy another camera strap, as long as you are using it within the terms of the warranty!
Disclosure: This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you make a qualifying purchase after clicking a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support the blog and keeps new guides coming.
Who is it for?
Slide Lite
This really is for everyone who wants a good quality, hard wearing strap which you can buy in a variety of colours. It’s ideally suited to people who want to have the flexibility of having the strap attached and removed from the camera and not having to go through a massive effort to do it. Landscape photographers are going to find this useful, as are street photographers who value a strap as opposed to something like the cuff.
Cuff
I think that street and travel photographers are going to love this. It’s comfortable, compact and secure. Your camera is already in your hand when you’re wearing this and if you happen to let go of your camera then the strap is going to give you a better chance of catching it. If you’re on holiday and you’re trying to keep your pride and joy safe in hadn't, then this is definitely a worthwhile investment.
Where can I buy one?
You can get these from most reputable camera retailers online, and they are available direct from PeakDesign as well.
I got mine from Amazon and got both for less than £80 but there was a considerable discount on the cuff. Head to Amazon and get yours here!
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