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HiGHKEY Camera Strap: Review

Damien Franco | Sep 21, 2009 | Comments Comments

A few weeks ago I received this beautiful Royal Argyle Red Camera Strap from the fine folks at HiGHKEY Camera. You remember HiGHKEY Camera right? Yep, they’re part of our totally awesome photographer giveaway for the Exposure community membership drive.

Most photographers fall into one of two categories:

1. Still using the camera manufacturer’s strap that came with their camera.

2. Have gone through a few camera straps trying to find that “perfect” camera strap.

Let’s just say I have a few (or more) lying around the house. Of course, because life tends to get in the way, I hadn’t had a real chance to try it out in any intensive way until this past weekend.

We took our kiddos to a local fair for a few hours and I was able to see how the strap holds up. But first, let’s take a quick look at this camera strap’s anatomy.

HiGHKEY uses a high-quality, woven surface that is not only attractive, but will also hold up to your every-day heavy use.

Each strap is marked with a simple label that bears the HiGHKEY name.

Black recycled leather end pieces are used to create a classy touch and add to the overall look.

The bottom layer of the camera strap is specially designed to grip tight, preventing slipping which they call the Gecko-Grip.

Woven top, woven nylon webbing, and the Gecko-Grip bottom comprise the three layer system for a strong reliable strap.

How does the HiGHKEY camera strap stand up to my standards?

Pretty darn good.

These camera straps are very fashionable. The hardest thing was going through their website gallery and picking one out. They’re all great looking camera straps. Plenty to choose from in contemporary colors and designs for both men and women.

While at the fair I was asked by two people about the strap. It creates conversation and I was able to point them to the direction of their website. The overall design excels with their small label that simply says “HiGHKEY”. You aren’t walking around like a billboard for your camera manufacturer and I like that.

Comfort was okay. No worse than the stock camera strap that comes with your camera but not much better either.

The Gecko-Grip surface felt just “sticky” enough to feel like the camera was secure while not restricting the action of bringing the camera up to my face and dropping it down to my side. It never really felt like it was going to slip off and I wasn’t tugging on it throughout our walking.

It’s tough to say how durable the strap is built based on my small usage but it feels well built.

Conclusion

While the HiGHKEY camera strap isn’t the most comfortable camera strap in the market it is very much one of the most stylish and the Gecko-Grip undersurface makes it a better alternative to your camera manufacturer’s strap. This is a great camera strap for most photographers. The price is just right at $29.95 for their newer styles and a bargain for a few of the $19.95 models.

I’m giving the HiGHKEY camera strap a 4 out of 5!


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  • Kay
    My hubby got me one (pap strap camera strap) for Christmas. I like it a lot.
  • Kay
    My hubby got me one for Christmas. I like it a lot.
  • Garry
    Don't see how this design is different enough really. Once it is around your neck it's the same right? I think you are just paying for the design. I can see how some people like to stand out with that. I made a change from the standard camera strap (canon) to the Pap Strap. This across the body design takes away the slipping syndrome but it takes away the weight of my gear too. I carry a heavy rig most of the day and the Pap Strap has tranformed my smiley face. I certainly wouldn't change back. If my stap fails, which I can't see how it can I'll go back and buy another. www.papstrap.co.uk for anyone looking for comfort I would go for a Pap Strap. If you are going for fashion then give the Pap Strap a miss. Mine is standard black, but I like to go undetected :-)
  • This does look like a stylish camera strap. It is too bad that the comfort isn't better. I guess you often have to make a choice between appearance and functionality. Personally I will just stick with my stock camera strap.
  • The comfort isn't BAD, it just isn't much better than what you get with your manufacturer's camera strap. You're paying for the fashion appearance of the strap. It's a matter of whether you're the type of person who likes accessories or not.
  • I'm digging the Urban Explorer Brown, just wish it had disconnects. And it looks like a lot of them are backordered, glad to see they're doing good business.
  • I really did have a hard time picking one out. I don't remember photography ever having been such a fashionable thing. But now we've got great looking camera straps, consumer level DSLRs coming out in colors, fashionable camera bags, what's next?
  • I have to say that the strap that came with my olympus has been great so far. Not too slippery and not too thin, I find the thinner straps are the ones that start to cut in after a couple of hours.
  • Camera straps are just like any other accessory in that they all work differently for different people. I'm still looking for my "perfect camera bag" and have yet to find it.
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