The Sailor Strap. With a variety of colors from royal blue to olive and standard black, sturdy stainless steel rings to attached the strap and Italian leather they look great, but how do they perform with daily use?
I first spotted Sailor Strap when someone on Twitter posted a photo excited about their new gear, at the time I was still shooting Nikon DSLRs and the idea of all that weight hanging from a thin rope strap wasn’t exactly an appealing one. Now, since switching from Nikon DSLRs to Fuji X and Leica M the Sailer strap is a more viable option.
I’ve tried a few “rope” type straps in the past and haven’t been very impressed, I am however happy to report I love both my Sailor Straps. The stitching is clean and neat, strong enough to hold up well with everyday wear and the leather is top notch. The Sailor Strap is waterproof made from real sailing ropes come in 8, 10 and 12mm thickness. I have one in 8mm and one 12mm. I haven’t found either to be too thin. I have the 8mm on my M-Monchrome and my 12mm on the Fuji X-Pro 2. The M may feel a little heavy for some when using this strap, but I find it’s a great size and fit for the camera.
As for the Fuji X cameras, the straps are perfect. I’ve been using them on these two cameras for months now and I don’t have any complaints. The stitching is holding up very well, no wear or fringing of the thread. The leather has been exposed to water and heat and is holding up very well. The rope itself has minimal wear in the form of some stray thread fuzz, but there’s no sign of wear that would lead one to doubt the strap. These are also very easy to loop into a easy to untie knot, which make storage easy and even means less fuss when you’re packing them away. Unlike climbing rope straps, sailing rope is easy to work with due to the lack of stiffness.
“…I love both my Sailor Straps.”
All in all I’m very happy with both, actually truth be told… I’m more than than happy. These are currently my favorite straps for both my X-Pro 2 and my Leica MM. Both straps are extremely well made and consistent in quality. The service was quite good and the site is nice as well. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s easy to navigate and they’ve listed out many of the cameras that they feel their product is well suited for. They also have a short film about the creation of the Sailor Strap, which I’ve embedded below.
If you’re looking for a new strap, that is both rugged and something different, you could do a lot worse than The Sailor Strap. FP