For those of us who don’t use neck straps, shoulder straps provide a much more comfortable and user-friendly approach to hanging your camera to your side. They’re great for shooting with a one-lens, one-camera setup when you’re out and about your city. But what do you do when you also need to carry a backpack for more lenses on your person? The shoulder strap often sits uncomfortably under the backpack straps, which makes it tough to maneuver your camera. That’s where the Blackrapid Backpack Strap makes life a lot easier for you.
Table of Contents
The Big Picture
I’ve often traveled with Blackrapid shoulder straps on my trips abroad. All those times, my left shoulder had always felt constantly irritated when my heavy backpack was on me because of the extra thickness and chafing. I’m not one to keep the camera inside when I walk around foreign cities. It’s often attached to the strap on my shoulder, with the rest of my gear inside the backpack, safely locked up. As someone who walks for hours each day when traveling, in pursuit of various kinds of pictures, my left shoulder often gets sore.
The Blackrapid Backpack Camera Strap is the perfect solution for anyone wanting to comfortably use their cameras on a strap without overloading their neck or shoulders. It alleviates some of the physical stress of walking around with a backpack for many hours, shifting the camera’s weight off your shoulders and onto the backpack. It retains all the features that make Blackrapid straps so intuitive to use, so you don’t have to sacrifice anything while switching to this strap for your travels.
It’s a simple solution to a problem many of us face. But it also keeps all of the top materials and finishing that Blackrapid is known for in the photography industry. This product is something that every photographer who uses a backpack while out and about could make use of. I’m giving the Blackrapid Backpack Camera Strap five out of five stars and our Editor’s Choice Award.
Pros
- Lightweight (4.5oz /127.5g) and slim
- Two secure and strong Blackrapid CR-3 carabiners provide peace of mind for your camera’s safety. These can easily attach to any loops on your backpack meant for modular attachments.
- Comes with Blackrapid’s Lockstar, Camera Safety Tether, and FR-5 FastenR, just like most of their other popular camera straps
- Keeps Blackrapid’s trademark front and back spring-loaded cam-locks to prevent your camera from sliding around
- Easily and quickly adjustable from 20″ (50.8cm) to 31.5” (80cm)
Cons
There are none that I can think of, really. I only wish this came in more color options.
“No more getting your camera strap stuck under your backpack when you want to grab a shot while on the go. There is no irritation with the double padding, causing you to constantly adjust your shoulder. It’s just a simple solution I wish had been available long ago.”
Gear Used
I used the Blackrapid Backpack Camera Strap with a Nikon D810 camera and a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VR II lens. Also, with a Nikon Z6II, a Nikon 50mm f1.8 Z S lens, and a Nikon Z 24-120mm F4 S lens. The strap was attached to my ThinkTank Airport Essentials backpack and the Morally Toxic Valkyrie 20L backpack.
Ergonomics
Succinctly put, this is pretty much a regular Blackrapid camera strap minus the shoulder padding. It’s made of what appears to be the same nylon material and has all else that you’d expect in a strap from them. Your camera still effortlessly slides along the strap just as it would with any of their other straps.
The front and back spring-loaded camera stops are there. You get the Lockstar for extra peace of mind, which prevents the CR-3 carabiner (attached to your camera) from coming loose during use. The trademark FR-5 FastenR for attaching the strap to the base of your camera is there. You even get an additional Camera Safety Tether with the pack as well.
Ease Of Use
What separates this strap from their other models are the two aluminum carabiners. These can be securely hooked anywhere on your backpack before you attach your camera to the strap. It’s best to hook one higher up on the backpack, preferably to a metal modular hook like the one seen here.
The second one can either be hooked up as well or to the side by your hips.
Once you’ve secured the camera to the strap, adjust the cam-locks by pinching them and sliding them along the strap. One of these keeps your camera from sliding around as you move. The other prevents you from lifting the camera too high upward.
Build Quality
The strap is about 1 inch wide and doesn’t look like it will fray easily. I’ve had Blackrapid straps for over 10 years now, and not one of them has ever seemed like it would come apart during usage. If there’s one thing that Blackrapid doesn’t do with their straps, it’s cutting corners on quality. The Blackrapid Backpack Camera strap feels as secure and reliable as their Sport Breathe, Sport X Coyote, Boomerang, and Original straps from them that I own. What’s even better is that I won’t feel any of the discomfort I often had when using those straps along with a backpack. My camera backpacks usually have thicker padding than most backpacks, and having that sit over the padding of the camera strap always made my left shoulder feel uncomfortable.
The spring cam-locks, for keeping your camera in place on the strap while it hangs, can’t be moved around easily. This means your camera is exactly where it needs to be when you want it there.
Who Should Buy The Blackrapid Backpack Camera Strap
Here’s an accessory that every photographer who uses shoulder camera straps and owns backpacks should consider. It makes your photography experience much more effortless when you’re out and about with a backpack. No more getting your camera strap stuck under your backpack when you want to grab a shot while on the go. There is no irritation with the double padding, causing you to constantly adjust your shoulder. It’s just a simple solution I wish had been available long ago.