We’ve all heard the horror stories, and sadly, some of us were at center of those horror stories. You know what i’m talking about…that terrifying moment when your camera strap/mount fails or you accidently unhook it somehow and your precious gear goes tumbling into an untimely fate! It’s why so many of us advocate for having insurance and backup gear, all the while hoping that it never happens to us. That moment is shear gut wrenching, and with that in mind, falling cameras may become a thing of the past if camera strap manufacturers Cecilia and RucPac have their say! The two companies have teamed up to declare that November is International “Check Your Camera Strap” Month.
Informal surveying of camera manufacturers and repair centers confirms that “impact damage” causing dings, dents and worse, is a major culprit of physical camera damage followed distantly by liquid damage (usually rain or spilled beverages). By reminding camera users all over the world to simply check the security of their straps—camera straps, gadget bags, etc.—it’s possible that most of these expensive disasters can be avoided. Honestly, until I had this discussion with the RucPac team, I didn’t give my straps a second thought, but I decided to check one of my workhorse dual straps and I found that one of the clasps was actually starting (and more so almost completely) wore through and definitely needed replacing!
[Related Reading: Best Camera Straps and Holsters of 2019]
“This idea came from a discussion I had with a journalist at a recent consumer photography show,” says Michael Fleisch, managing director of Cecilia. “He mentioned that he had just narrowly missed disaster when he noticed that the strap on his DSLR camera had mysteriously unfastened itself. He was lucky enough to catch it. If a loose strap could happen to him, we realized, it could happen to anyone.”
“Reminding folks to check their straps is such a helpful thing to do,” says Laurens Parsons, founder of UK-based RucPac. “So, when Cecilia contacted us and asked if we’d like to share spreading the word, we immediately agreed to carry the message across our side of the globe.”
So, with International “Check Your Camera Strap” Month beginning this week, there is no better time for photographers to take a moment to make certain that the straps on their precious photo equipment are properly connected and secure.
And on that final note, be sure to pull out your straps, mounts, and clasps and give them a good once over to make sure everything is still in tip-top shape, and then tell us your stories in the comments below! Have you or someone you know had a strap-catastrophe? Did your Strap-Check catch something you may have missed? Let us know!
Get Connected!