I think most photographers have a love-hate relationship with their tripod, I know I definitely do. The problem is that tripods no matter how big or small they are are always a pain to have to carry, but you need your tripod to produce the best image quality possible in your work. I regularly agonise over this, I want to travel light, enjoy the day but I also want to have the best chance to get great images. I know there is a discussion to be had on VR lenses, I use VR lenses a lot but for things like landscape and a lot of travel type projects I like to have a tripod along for the ride.

I have tried all sorts of solutions for this, from tripod bags to tripod straps to trying to find the smallest lightest tripod ever made. Still it always comes down to the fact how do I carry the beast. I have found that the simplest solution to this issue is the best. My solution iOS to use a small carbon fibre travel tripod and an OP-Tech Tripod Strap. The benefit of this being that the OP-Tech strap because of the way it is designed and the materials used in its construction seems to make whatever tripod I carry feel lighter. I know this is probably partially imaginary, however I do think that because of the way the straps distribute the weight they really do make it easier to lug around a tripod for a days shooting.

The Op-Tech straps come in two slightly different styles. One has two loops and one has one loop and one clip.

Op-Tech straps are manufactured from high quality materials in the USA. From what I can see the build quality is top notch, The stitching is definitely not going to come apart any time soon. I tend to use my equipment a lot so quality build and ruggedness are two of the elements that are always high on my list of things I look for.

The strap comes in a fetching shade of black. I think it only comes in black, fortunatly this works fine for me. If you want more exciting colours then you may want to check out the OP-tech website. I think there may be a wider range of colours available in the USA. I have only ever seen them in black in the UK though.

Price wise the strap I got was £17.98 (2018 pricing), I have seen them ranging from £35.00 to £16.00. you just need to shop around a little to make sure you get a decent price.

Useful Links:

• OP-Tech can be found at https://www.optech.com
• I got my strap from SRS Microsystems in Watford (UK), they are an old style camera shop where the guys in the shop really know their stuff. Definitely well worth a visit if like me you are obsessed with all things photography related. You can find them at www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk.

IMPORTANT – I get asked on a regular basis if my reviews are sponsored. so to make things clear this review is not sponsored by anyone in any way. I bought the strap that I am reviewing with my own money and intend to use it for both business and personal photography work. The opinions in this review are completely mine, basically this is a completely honest review, I’m not trying to sell anything or do a placement piece for OP-Tech. I think its a good piece of kit and I’m really using it for real world photography work, it does the job for me and may do so for you.