“If the leather is good enough to hold up your pants, it’s good enough to hold up your camera!”
This is how Gordon Coale of Gordy strap fame introduces his product on the homepage of his website. We had long read about the supreme quality and comfort of these leather wrist and neck straps from our fellow photographers in the mirrorless community, so we knew we had no option but to contact Gordon to ask for a demo of the lug-mount wrist strap to test. Not only did he graciously oblige, but he actually sent us two: a regular-sized one for me, and a long one for Mathieu. Now, having used them for two weeks on our Panasonic GH4 and Fujifilm X-T1, we can join the masses in saying that the Gordy wrist strap really is one of the best options around for mirrorless cameras.
Gordy began making camera straps from his home on the south end of Whidbey Island (USA) back in 2005. Since then, the business has grown to include six dedicated employees, including his own son and daughter. I’ve always been a fan of supporting local family businesses, so when I discovered the homegrown origins of the Gordy strap, I could not have been more pleased.
The Gordy lug-mount wrist strap that was sent to us is a very comfortable 1/4″ wide and comes in a variety of vintage colours from natural to russet to dark brown and black leather. Slipping it on and off your wrist is a breeze, and if you let the camera fall from your grasp as you walk, you have no fear that the strap will accidentally slide off. As with any strap, if you let it dangle for too long from your wrist without holding the camera grip, it will leave an impression on your skin but even so, it has never caused me any discomfort. It should also be mentioned that the more you use a leather wrist strap, the softer the leather becomes.
The lug is securely tied with waxed heavy-duty cord that comes in a variety of colours, and it is accented with a rubber o-ring that slides up and down to increase or reduce the diameter of the strap. This feature makes it one of the most customisable leather straps I’ve tried.
Most products have some sort of flaw but the Gordy strap certainly isn’t one of them. I can guarantee that any mirrorless camera user will be pleased with his or her purchase.
Though we only had the opportunity to try the wrist strap with the lug mount, Gordy has a number of other excellent products in his line-up including wrist straps that attach to your camera’s tripod mount rather than to the lug, non-adjustable vertical and horizontal neck straps, a combination neck and wrist strap named the Zoe strap, adjustable neck straps and more. Considering that they are handmade, all his products are very reasonably priced. For more information, you can browse his website and take a look the full collection.
Are you using a Gordy strap on your camera? If so, feel free to chime in below and let others know what you think of it!
