Sling Straps: Black Rapid, Sun Sniper

[neuroanatomist]

I put the backpack on first, then the BR strap/camera over that.  The camera hangs at my hip, the lens extended behind me under the bottom of the pack. 

[Tijn]

When wearing the strap *over* the backpack, I would expect it to kind of bulge over the backpack (as it comes from aside the neck on one end, and then goes to the hip on the other side- over the back, where your backpack would be). That doesn't seem quite stable as the strap is not tight against your body on the back side.

Do you wear it any differently?

[LuCoOc]

Are straps like those comfortably usable if you're also wearing a backpack?

   

Yes.  I often wear it with a Lowepro Flipside 400 AW on my shoulders.

Do you wear the band under the backpack and its shoulderbands? And does that leave you enough slack to comfortably be able to pull your camera away from your body? (I imagine the shoulderbands of the backpack somewhat reducing the slack of the sling strap.)

I put on the sling first and then the backpack. The most comfortable way to carry it is to plug the chest and waist belt unter the strap afterwards. Make sure to remove all batteries and or memory cards from the small pocket on the strap

[Drizzt321]

Are straps like those comfortably usable if you're also wearing a backpack?

   

Yes.  I often wear it with a Lowepro Flipside 400 AW on my shoulders.

Do you wear the band under the backpack and its shoulderbands? And does that leave you enough slack to comfortably be able to pull your camera away from your body? (I imagine the shoulderbands of the backpack somewhat reducing the slack of the sling strap.)

I put on the sling first and then the backpack. The most comfortable way to carry it is to plug the chest and waist belt unter the strap afterwards. Make sure to remove all batteries and or memory cards from the small pocket on the strap

That's the way I normally wear it with a pack. Worked out awesome at Burning Man. I'd have a small pack with lots of water, snacks, a few minimal playa survival items, and then had my minimal camera gear actually in the strap of my BlackRapid. Extra battery, extra memory card, cards giving the URL I was going to post the pics to, and a micro-fiber cloth in a small baggie for when I was somewhere sheltered if I needed to use it on my lens. Worked pretty amazing!

[neuroanatomist]

I put the backpack on first, then the BR strap/camera over that.  The camera hangs at my hip, the lens extended behind me under the bottom of the pack.

Strike that, reverse it.  Bad description, sorry.  I wear it as LuCoOc suggests, back of BR strap against my back, under the backpack, but with the hip belt and sternum strap buckled under the BR strap. 

[Ryusui]

I use a Lowepro Fastpack 350 and the Black Rapid RS-7.  I've had no problems with using the RS-7 over the backpack straps.  It fits comfortably and glides smoothly.

[ThorntonCohen]

I am on my third R-Strap right now and have the current edition. The whole product design has evolved nicely over the last four years. I would sugget that the earlier versions were more prone to loosening though the current rubber gasket-reverse friction method works very well. I am surprised to hear many people seem to leave it attached to their camera over very long periods of time. I have mine on and off all the time and i think this habit can contribute to keeping it tight and checking it often.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I use my black rapid strap and love it.  I've never had the lug loosen, but I do check it occasionally if I'm walking around for a long period of time.

The neck straps give me a sore neck in just a few minutes.

I do not go back and forth from strap to tripod mount very often, or I'd get a clamp that attaches to a QR plate.

I also do not carry a really large lens on it, my 100-400mm L being the largest.  I could not imagine someone carrying a 300mm f/2.8 with it, for example, but there are probably a few that do.

[Crapking]

Any users of the double-strap style ? Wondering how useful, as I just added a second body to my arsenal and have been fairly happy with the single RS-5, but a little annoyed that the phone pocket is too small for an iPhone in a case.
With the double - strap, how does it feel bringing the camera up, c/w with the single (where the strap feels stable ACROSS the chest, but with double, it is coming up more from the side) -- too much swing ??

[neuroanatomist]

Briansquibb might chime in - he uses a double strap with a 70-200/2.8 on one body and a 400/2.8 on the other.

[Jamesy]

I attach my BR strap to my RRS L-Bracket with a heavy duty Ty-Rap that has a metal gripper inside it - super strong. I did however have the BR ConnectR-2 fail and they sent me a new one within days - excellent customer service!

[Michael_pfh]

Does anybody here have experience with the Black Rapid RS-Sport strap? What makes it better than the "normal" models?

Does the BRAD (BlackRapid Arm Defense) MOD also work with it?

[wickidwombat]

I use my black rapid strap and love it.  I've never had the lug loosen, but I do check it occasionally if I'm walking around for a long period of time.

The neck straps give me a sore neck in just a few minutes.

I do not go back and forth from strap to tripod mount very often, or I'd get a clamp that attaches to a QR plate.

I also do not carry a really large lens on it, my 100-400mm L being the largest.  I could not imagine someone carrying a 300mm f/2.8 with it, for example, but there are probably a few that do.

I hung a 28-300 off a 1D on a rapid strap its fine even when travelling and sent quite a bit of time with it in this setup

[ferdi]

Any users of the double-strap style ? Wondering how useful, as I just added a second body to my arsenal and have been fairly happy with the single RS-5, but a little annoyed that the phone pocket is too small for an iPhone in a case.
With the double - strap, how does it feel bringing the camera up, c/w with the single (where the strap feels stable ACROSS the chest, but with double, it is coming up more from the side) -- too much swing ??

It does swing more when walking, so make sure to use the front and back straps to stabilize them somewhat.
Also you have watch your balance when switching cameras, especially with heavy combos like 1D + tele prime.
The CoupleR that came with my double strap doesn't fit (I still have to contact them about it), but just using the front strap works fine for me and I am usually stationary anyway.

[MazV-L]

The Black Rapid Strap's brilliant I've had mine for about a year and use it alot, never had it fail but I usually keep my right hand loosely holding the cameragrip, that way I'm ready to take a shot in a hurry too. I frequently check the attachment though, because prior to buying the Black Rapid strap I had a "strapbuddy" (which attaches your regular camera-strap to the tripod mount, so the camera hangs at your side in a similar manner) it failed first time Fortunately I caught the camera before it hit the ground!