mdwsta4
Matty Westside
Juan from Child of Laborer got ahold of me asking if I wanted to test out a few of his straps. Being the strap-whore that I am, of course I said 'yes!' He sent me two straps; one natural with black stitching, and the other black with red stitching. The straps are approximately 39" long, 3/4" wide. After a few weeks with the straps, here are my initial thoughts on them.
Pros:
The leather is of good quality with the natural being *extremely* supple straight out of the box. It seriously feels as though I've been using the strap for years; great hand feel.
The black strap is not what I'd call stiff, but will take some time before it is as soft as the natural.
Stitching is done cleanly and tightly; there are no frays and I don't have any doubt that they'll hold up to most conditions. I particularly like the red stitching on the black strap as it adds just a bit of flash to an otherwise understated strap.
The softness of both makes it easy to wrap them around your wrist
The inside of the strap is unfinished leather which 'sticks' to your shoulder so you don't have to worry about accidental slippage
Cons:
The edges are unfinished. I think a small detail like finishing the sides/edges of the entire strap really go a long way to giving a professional feel to the product. Guys like Cub & Co, Gordy's, and Tap & Dye do this nicely
Above I mentioned a 'pro' to the unfinished inside is that it grips well. This is true, but being unfinished it also flakes a lot. I'm still finding small pieces of sueded leather after a couple weeks of use. No doubt it'll smooth with time, but finding suede fuzz (not sure what else you'd call it) all over your clothes, seats, and apartment isn't all that pleasant.
Leather ring protectors. Artistan & Artist straps spoiled me with these and now I find it pretty much a necessity on any strap I use. I'm referring to a little swath of leather at the end of the strap that protects the rings from banging against the camera. I know, I know, cameras are meant to be used not babied, blah, blah, blah. But I don't like unnecessary clanging and scratching if I can help it. In the meantime I simply put a few pieces of gaffer tape around the sides so I don't hear the metal on metal sound every time I move the strap
Details:
The packaging is pretty nice. A sturdy box with a hand stamped logo, a small card (also attached with leather) letting you know you can use the strap in all kinds of weather (leather will only patina and get better with age)
Stamped logo - It's somewhat large, but near the end of the strap and relatively unobtrusive. Its simply and tasteful
Thickness/width - I'm not listing this as a pro or a con, but as someone who has pretty much used A&A and Cub&Co straps exclusively for the past 4-5 years, the thick width of these straps took some getting used to when wrapping them around my wrist. Probably a bit of an overkill for most mirrorless/film cameras, although I think it would be perfect for a DSLR or Hasselblad.
Made in the good ol' US of A. I swear, NY must be the new strap making mecca!! Everyone out there is making their own straps!
All in all, you can find straps in countless number of places nowadays, but it's still nice to support the 'little guy' and buy from entrepreneurs trying to put their spin on various designs.
Juan's IG page can be found here: https://instagram.com/childoflaborer/
And for the time being, straps can be found on his Etsy page here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CHILDofLABORER?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Alright, enough blabbering, here are some pics!
Inside of package and hand stamps
Outer details of the stitching
Inner details of the stitching
Branding stamp
Pros:
The leather is of good quality with the natural being *extremely* supple straight out of the box. It seriously feels as though I've been using the strap for years; great hand feel.
The black strap is not what I'd call stiff, but will take some time before it is as soft as the natural.
Stitching is done cleanly and tightly; there are no frays and I don't have any doubt that they'll hold up to most conditions. I particularly like the red stitching on the black strap as it adds just a bit of flash to an otherwise understated strap.
The softness of both makes it easy to wrap them around your wrist
The inside of the strap is unfinished leather which 'sticks' to your shoulder so you don't have to worry about accidental slippage
Cons:
The edges are unfinished. I think a small detail like finishing the sides/edges of the entire strap really go a long way to giving a professional feel to the product. Guys like Cub & Co, Gordy's, and Tap & Dye do this nicely
Above I mentioned a 'pro' to the unfinished inside is that it grips well. This is true, but being unfinished it also flakes a lot. I'm still finding small pieces of sueded leather after a couple weeks of use. No doubt it'll smooth with time, but finding suede fuzz (not sure what else you'd call it) all over your clothes, seats, and apartment isn't all that pleasant.
Leather ring protectors. Artistan & Artist straps spoiled me with these and now I find it pretty much a necessity on any strap I use. I'm referring to a little swath of leather at the end of the strap that protects the rings from banging against the camera. I know, I know, cameras are meant to be used not babied, blah, blah, blah. But I don't like unnecessary clanging and scratching if I can help it. In the meantime I simply put a few pieces of gaffer tape around the sides so I don't hear the metal on metal sound every time I move the strap
Details:
The packaging is pretty nice. A sturdy box with a hand stamped logo, a small card (also attached with leather) letting you know you can use the strap in all kinds of weather (leather will only patina and get better with age)
Stamped logo - It's somewhat large, but near the end of the strap and relatively unobtrusive. Its simply and tasteful
Thickness/width - I'm not listing this as a pro or a con, but as someone who has pretty much used A&A and Cub&Co straps exclusively for the past 4-5 years, the thick width of these straps took some getting used to when wrapping them around my wrist. Probably a bit of an overkill for most mirrorless/film cameras, although I think it would be perfect for a DSLR or Hasselblad.
Made in the good ol' US of A. I swear, NY must be the new strap making mecca!! Everyone out there is making their own straps!
All in all, you can find straps in countless number of places nowadays, but it's still nice to support the 'little guy' and buy from entrepreneurs trying to put their spin on various designs.
Juan's IG page can be found here: https://instagram.com/childoflaborer/
And for the time being, straps can be found on his Etsy page here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CHILDofLABORER?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Alright, enough blabbering, here are some pics!
Inside of package and hand stamps
Outer details of the stitching
Inner details of the stitching
Branding stamp
mdwsta4
Matty Westside
The brown on an x100s
both straps
The red stitching goes particular well with my red Tom Abrahamsson soft release
Another view of the branding
both straps
The red stitching goes particular well with my red Tom Abrahamsson soft release
Another view of the branding
Tony Whitney
Well-known
Those are kinda nice. I must check the outfit out sometime. Your images are outstanding, by the way. You're also a fine photographer as well as a "strap-whore!" Cheers...TW
Ranchu
Veteran
Thanks for the review, they look good. You can burn off some of that fluff with a lighter or the burner on your stove...
mdwsta4
Matty Westside
aizan
Veteran
Actually, the edges of those three straps are either raw or minimally finished. Gordy bevels the edges, T&D leave them unfinished, and C&C only paints the edges.
Mudman
Well-known
They look nice, but the name of the company is a bit weird. Makes me think it's made with child labor, though I'm sure there's something there that's very different in meaning to the maker. I'll have to take a look at them closer the next time I need a strap. They look well made.
mdwsta4
Matty Westside
Suppose you're right. I thought the Gordy ones were finished, but I guess they're not. They still look really clean (must be the beveling). Upon further inspection of my tap and dye strap you are also correct. It's older so I guess I forgot what it was like when it was new. And yes, the Cub and Co is painted, but to me that looks 'finished'.