PGYtech Shoulder Strap Review

Pros

---

Cons

Dimensions

152cm x 4.5cm

---

Weight

139g

---

Max Weight Capacity

90kg

---

Material

Polyester, EPDM and fiber-reinforced nylon   

---

Colour Options

Dark Blue / Fern Green / Night Black / Rock Grey

In the box, you’ll find one strap, as well as four anchor beads, two black and two orange as well as a quick-release plate.

Taking the strap out of the box, the material feels a lot softer than my old strap. There’s plenty of padding in the centre where it’ll be in contact with my neck or shoulder. But it feels robust with a bit of stretch. I decided to opt for the Dark Blue this time, to add a bit of colour to the camera. But you can also get this in Fern Green, Night Black and Rock Grey. 

The PGYTech camera strap attaches using anchor beads, similar to the Peak Design system. The key difference is instead of using disks they use small balls. This means when wearing the strap doesn’t get tangled, as it can remain in place whilst the camera spins freely.

The Quick Beads come in two colours, one black and the other orange. I prefer the black for aesthetics, but that’s a personal choice. Others may prefer the orange especially if they work in low light situations as it’ll be more visible.

The quick-release is really easy to use. Just squeeze and lift, and it pops straight out. The risk of it being accidentally squeezed is nonexistent. I have tested this by tugging on it, and it’s firmly locked in, so you can have confidence that your camera is safe. This system makes it super smooth to switch between a wrist and shoulder strap.

I love how soft to the touch the material of this strap is. It does have a little bit of flex to it, but it feels like it supports and cradles the weight. If I dropped my camera, it would just have a little bounce instead of pulling taught, making the forces easier on my neck and my camera. The flex also helps in day-to-day wearing, too, stretching out to distribute the weight evenly around my neck instead of having the forces in one spot. 

The PGYTech shoulder strap comes in four colours. This time I opted for some flair with the Dark Blue, but you can also get Fern Green, Night Black and Rock Grey. All looked great to me, and it was a hard choice for me to decide which one to choose. 

For those who like to match their outfits, The quick release makes it easy to change. So you can buy multiple, ensuring you always have one that matches your clothes.

The material of the camera shoulder strap feels very soft and silky, so much better than the stock one that came with my camera. Of course, the more weight you put on it, the more uncomfortable it becomes. But for lightweight systems, it is perfect.

I can wear this for hours on end without issue. The soft, thick strap does a fantastic job of dispersing weight. The stretch of the material helps with this, by creating a wide area across your shoulders.

This camera strap can support an impressive 90kg of weight at a time. I don’t know any cameras that are anywhere near that. But it’s pretty safe to say your neck will snap before this strap does. Though, like all things, wear and tear can set in eventually. I love how PGYtech incorporate an early warning system into the cable, showing yellow when it needs replacing and red when close to breaking.

As I did with the PGYtech Wrist Strap, I’ll be comparing it to the Peak Design equivalent. The PGYTECH shoulder strap is £39.95, however you can often find it on sale. The Peak Design version Is between £54.99 and £64.99 (prices are at the time of writing).

Considering the great quality of the PGYTech and also how it’s often on sale, it’s a no-brainer who the winner is here. That’s money that can be saved and put towards another accessory, or even train tickets to a new location to shoot.

The addition of a quick-release plate is a nice touch. Although it doesn’t come with a quick-release mount, you’ll have to buy one of those separately. You can attach this to your camera onto the bottom or camera cage with the 1/4 inch screw. The reason it’s included is so that you can use it as a point to connect your second anchor bead. Almost all cameras have a second mounting point on the body. But by using the quick-release plate, the camera remains closer to your body and bounces less. Therefore providing better protection to your camera and lenses.

You do have to buy the mount for the quick-release plate separately, as only the mount is included. It’s handy if you want to switch cameras on your tripod or mount quickly. For example, I may want to use a tripod with my Sony A7CII, but they switch to the DJI Osmo Action Pro to get some video footage. Having a quick-release plate lets me switch in seconds with just a push of a button. 

The PGYtech Shoulder Straps are fantastic quality and great value for money. Every photographer has their preference on a wrist or should strap. But sometimes one is better than the other depending on the situation. Having the Anchors makes it so much easier to switch between the two, depending on the situation. 

Whilst I will always be firmly in the wrist strap camp, it is nice to have the option when needed. If you want to purchase one, check out the link below.