CS 1 speed strap vs Black Rapid RS7

Can anyone tell me which strap is better? or is there another one on the market that is one to consider?
http://www.carryspeed.​com/
http://www.blackrapid.​com/


Thanks for your help

I personally have used the strap the comes with my camera, the CPS strap, and the BlackRapid RS-5. From this point forward, I will always have a BR strap attached to my camera. I'm on my second RS-5 because the first one I owned had some quality control issues early on. I let BR know about these problems and they quickly replaced my whole unit with a brand new RS-5.

The biggest problem I had with the original RS-5 was with the rough thumb screw on the Connect-R2. This connector left scratches along the bottom of my old camera. After talking to the BR team about it, they've replaced all their connectors with smooth thumb screws on the Connect-R2. Unfortunately, they haven't updated the pictures on their website to show the new connector.

The BR customer service and their continuing innovation to their products are what's going to keep me a customer with them for as long as I own a camera. I'm looking forward to trying out their new SnapR and RS-Sport products in the future.

To the best of my knowledge, the Black Rapid was the first of the sling straps and they had a few teething problems. Now that they have gotten all that sorted out and are fairly successful, everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon.

I have four different Black Rapid straps, two of which I converted into a dual rig and I'm very happy with them. I think they're reliable and do just exactly what they advertise.

If you look around, or do a search for "Black Rapid," you're going to find many differing opinions about them, so make your own decision. Some of the detractors are pretty vehement...

Thank for your insight -

Doctorh wrote in post #11612520
Can anyone tell me which strap is better? or is there another one on the market that is one to consider?
http://www.carryspeed.​com/
http://www.blackrapid.​com/


Thanks for your help

I've been looking at the BR system but for 1/2 the price it seems like a good alternative. You should try it out and give us a testimonial .

@Doctorh - A friend and I met the owner of CarrySpeed yesterday and both picked up a CS-1 from him.

The CS-1 is equivalent to the BR RS-4. The owner has a strap equivalent to the RS-7 but I can't remember what it was called and his website doesn't have the latest product shot of it up.

I haven't given the CS-1 a good workout yet but my initial impressions are that the build quality of the strap is good, the metal connectors appears to be strong. The plastic "stop buckles" (that's what I call them) are nicer on the BR compared to the CS-1.

The biggest difference is the fastener to the camera. BR's fastener is at the tripod mount (which gives it more freedom to rotate once attached to the connector) while CS-1 uses an offset plate. What that means is that I do have to pay attention which way to attach to the carabiner for the CS-1. The upside is that it seems to hang better at my side (camera doesn't want to rotate around) and I can still mount it to a quick release plate.

For the price, so far I think it's a pretty good deal.

I was really leaning on getting a BR but for the price I will give the CS a shot.

Don't forget Sun Sniper, especially with the new fastener that acts as both the slide and the clip (eliminates scratches associated with clips).

The Carry Speed strap looks pretty cool. I like basic straps, no pockets and crap added on. However, they need to get a better web design as their current pages suck out my will to live.

I just purchased the CS1 and what sold me was the tripod ready speed mount. Seems like a solid deal for a $35 kit and look forward to trying out next week.

The CS1 whole package is EXACTLY like what I bought in HongKong for equivalent to about $20USD. The "speed mount" is a metal plate wit slot cut for hand strap and thread for mount tripod. The overall connection is pretty solid. However, the tripod mount is nearly useless if you use tripod plate. on your camera. So if your tripod setup use a plate, or if you have tripod plate attached to your camera all the time, then this is NOT the device for you.

As for Black Rapid, I have RS4 myself for about 1 year. I am actually kind of disaspointed with the strap material, specifically the webbing. Mine strap fraying already after 1 year of light use. The webbing is very light weight and soft, seems not so high quality. I hope the later model, RS7 and RS-sport have better material, if not, for the money, I will not buy again.

BR has updated the strap material used on their straps. I had bad fraying on my first RS-5 Strap along with a couple other nitpicky problems. BR replaced it with a newer RS-5 built with newer materials.

alpharon wrote in post #11773812
BR has updated the strap material used on their straps. I had bad fraying on my first RS-5 Strap along with a couple other nitpicky problems. BR replaced it with a newer RS-5 built with newer materials.

good to know

do I just email BR for replacement?

the connectors look just like the BR knockoff called Q-strap. Try searching it on ebay. I've been using it for a few months now and it's flawless so far. The good thing about it is that the mounting plate comes with a handstrap bracket...comes in handy...

alpharon wrote in post #11773812
BR has updated the strap material used on their straps. I had bad fraying on my first RS-5 Strap along with a couple other nitpicky problems. BR replaced it with a newer RS-5 built with newer materials.

BR customer service is really top notch. I email them about my RS4 webbing fraying issue. They email me this morning said replacement with update webbing is on the way. The only thing I email them is BH photo invoice for my RS4. This alone makes me felt BR is worth the extra $$.

FrostQ wrote in post #11775431
the connectors look just like the BR knockoff called Q-strap. Try searching it on ebay. I've been using it for a few months now and it's flawless so far. The good thing about it is that the mounting plate comes with a handstrap bracket...comes in handy...

Yes, Q strap was what I bought from Hong Kong. I did a review a while back between Q and RS4. The conclusion was BR has better hardware, but Q has better webbing. Now with the updated RS4, will see. I will report back once I got the RS4 replacement.

Update: I ended up purchasing the Black Rapid RS-7, just returned from a trip overseas and used it everyday for 11 days! Wow! What a great product. Easy to use, freed up my hands, walked miles, took over 1000 shots - never got tired with the camera hanging on my side. Just a great product.
Also, I shot an event one evening - shooting over 400 shots - sliding the camera up and down the strap - not one problem! Buy one!