Drive By :: DSPTCH camera strap

DSPTCH get a little EDC on the camera strap

I have to admit that for the last two years I’ve had a butchered lanyard as my SLR wrist strap. It was ugly, but it mostly worked, so it hung in there.

Thankfully DSPTCH have recently started up in San Fran, a base from where they want to contribute a little Tactical joy to the carry habits of people like me. Richard was good enough to send us one of their paracord wrist straps (as well as a key chain), which I’ve been running with for a couple of months now…

Highlights

The cord: 550 paracord is a sweet rope; soft yet durable, stealth yet attractive. When you braid it like this, you get enough grip, enough slip, and just a nice feeling wrist retainer.

The metal hardware: The clip and ring are both top knotch, with good spring and a great finish.

Adjustability: So long as you spec the right size when ordering (there’s petite, standard and large), then the clip slides open for quick entry, and pulls tight when weight goes onto it, giving a reassuring little tug around your wrist.

MacGyverable: It’s great knowing that if you ever REALLY need to shoulder sling your camera, you can unravel the cord and rig something up. But yeah, that would require a whole series of YouTube tutorials to re-braid it afterwards, so I haven’t gone there yet.

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Lowlights

The plastic: After such nice metal hardware, the plastic clip feels a little flimsy and cheap, with the clip missing that reassuring ‘snap’ of high grade plastics.

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It’s just a knot: Which means it can unravel a little. No biggie, but you need to keep an eye on it.

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DSPTCH straps do come with two camera attachment options. I went the wrong side of lady luck for my SLR, but the plastic clip looks essentially the same on the webbing version…

The other DSPTCH stuff

For the moment, there’s just the Sling, the Wrist, and the Key. They are all great looking products, with similar traits to the wrist strap I’ve been playing with.

The summary

I like it. I’ve liked wrist straps for some years, as they cut down on bulk, integrate well if you carry a camera shoulder bag, and get rid of flappy straps that get tangled around things. With this DSPTCH, I’ve finally rid the scrappy lanyard hacks that have tied me over so far, and pimped my rig a little more in the right direction.

Once they upgrade the plastic bits, DSPTCH should have a rad little offer for not much coin (US$32).