One of the most necessary pieces of gear a photographer can have is a good strap. Whether you choose a sling, neck strap or a wrist strap, it’s important that strap keeps your camera secure on your body (or wrist), while still allowing you to access all the dials, buttons and anything else you need on your camera.
When it comes to wrist straps, having one that’s comfortable but also fits securely around your wrist is of the utmost importance. And while the Hex Ranger Camera Wrist Strap succeeds at the comfort part, it completely fails when it comes to keeping your camera secure. Allow me to explain.
Note: Hex sent us the Ranger Camera Wrist Strap to review and keep. However, all thoughts and opinions about this bag are our own. We have not been told what to say, nor have we been influenced in any way. We tell you this as we always want to be honest with you.
Pros
- Comfortable and lightweight
- Easy to attach to your camera
Cons
- No way to tighten the strap on your wrist, meaning it can easily fall off
- Can easily twist when shooting, getting in the way
Hex Ranger Camera Wrist Strap — Technical specifications
All technical specifications have been taken from the Hex Brand website:
- Water-resistant ballistic nylon
- EVA foam padded
- Airmesh backing for breathability
- Aluminum D-Ring buckle
- Hypalon connectors rated to hold 80 lbs. each
- HEX molded rubber logo label
- Circumference (Max): 33.5 cm (13.19 in)
- Circumference (Min): 14.5 cm (5.7 in)
- Padded Strap width: 45 mm (1.77 in)
- Webbing Strap width: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- Attachment Leash Length: 9.5 cm (3.74 in) (Aluminum ring + 10 mm webbing)
- Buckle Length: 28 mm (1.1 in)
- Loop Length: 45 mm (1.77 in)
- Weight: 1 oz (26 g)
Hex Ranger Camera Wrist Strap — Ergonomics and build quality
Let’s talk about the materials. There’s a thicker part to the strap that is backed with EVA foam, and that feels pretty soft and comfortable. The rest of the strap’s webbing feels pretty good, and doesn’t itch or get sweaty. It’s also water resistant.
The Hex Ranger Camera Wrist Strap is very easy to connect to your camera, so I applaud Hex on that. Plus, the Camo look and feel I’ve really started to enjoy throughout Hex’s product line. It just looks really slick.
Hex Ranger Camera Wrist Strap — You might literally drop your camera with this
I’ve tried a lot of wrist straps over the past year or so. They all do one thing super well — they make you feel secure that your camera is around your wrist snugly, but comfortably. And they make sure that if you lose grip of your camera, that it doesn’t come crashing to the ground.
But with the Hex Ranger Camera Wrist Strap, it’s hard for me to see how this would actually protect your camera from falling to its demise.
The strap, while comfortable, is incredibly loose. The Hex Ranger Camera Wrist Strap was so loose that at first, I thought I was doing something wrong. But upon looking at the Hex Brand website and reviews from users, my thoughts were confirmed. I found photos from customers that looked just like what I had experienced.
Simply put, there’s no way to tighten this thing manually. It only tightens when you let the camera hang from your wrist. And with the length of the strap, you’d have to drop it from at least a few feet to actually help you save your camera from crashing to the ground.
If you have small wrists like I do, there is no way I can recommend this strap. It was sliding around my wrist, meaning the thicker, padded part frequently got in the way while I was shooting. It regularly turned around and got tangled. It was difficult at times to work around, because it was in the way.
