gordy's camera straps

Andrew Gilkerson at Ace Leather Goods taught me everything I know about leather. Without Andrew there wouldn't be a gordy's camera straps. He makes leather bags. Check them out. They are great! If you should buy one of his bags tell them Gordy sent you.

The original. Accept no substitutes.

Since 2005

Handmade in the USA

I think these straps are elegant and rugged all at once.
Bob H.

Welcome to the home of gordy's camera straps. You can purchase all my straps on this website. If you are in Seattle, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, or Norway, you can see my straps in person at my authorized resellers. They are also availaible online in Singapore, Philippines, and the United Kingdom at my authorized resellers which have websites. This website and my authorized resellers carry the original gordy straps. Accept no substitutes.

Please note that, when you order, you will receive notification from PayPal. That will be your order confirmation. I've received inquiries about an additional order confirmation from me. I do not send an additional confirmation. When PayPal notifies you they also notify me. Additional information on shipping is here.

If you would like to see what cameras and straps I use check out gordy's cameras.

Wrist Straps


lug-mount	tripod-mount	string

	wrist pads

Adjustable Neck Straps

horizontal — lug-mount

Non-adjustable Neck Straps

sling


horizontal — lug-mount	vertical — lug & tripod-mount	double attach point — string


single attach point — string	single attach point — split-ring	neck pads

Tripod strap

tripod strap

For Straps with split-rings

strap bumpers

Free bookmarks!

Every gordy strap now comes with a free bookmark attached to it. They look just like merchandise tags, don't they? When Zoe first saw them she grabbed them for bookmarks and they are great for that. I think the would also be great for loading film into bottom loader cameras. I need to try that.

Gordy's Camera Strap News

We added four new waxed cord colors: raspberry, turquoise, orange, and hot pink.

I added the tripod strap.

I added adjustable horizontal lug-mount straps.

I added a page of authorized resellers of gordy straps.

I added intructions for attaching the o-ring strap bumper to a slot attachment

What's happening here

I started making these straps because I wanted one for myself and I couldn't find anything like it.

Made of California Latigo belt leather, which comes from range toughened steer hides, my hand made camera straps are tough, flexible, and pliable, with a natural luster that only improves with age and softens with use. This is real natural cowhide that is not always uniform like plastic. If the leather is good enough to hold up your pants, it's good enough to hold up your camera!

The leather is served with .040" (1mm) diameter polyester cord that is heavy duty and waxed for durability.

I used to say that each strap is handmade by a little old man (that would be me), or my faithful helper Kim. Well, things have been growing here at World Headquarters for gordy's camera straps (still in my basement). Kim and I have been making the straps for several years but strap orders have increased to the level that we have had to bring on extra people. My son, Robby, now handles shipping and making all the leather strips, pads, buckles, tripod connectors, and strap bumpers. We have added a second strap assembler: Ethan. Kim has done an excellent job of bringing him up to the quality level our customers expect. Running the business side has gotten too much for one person and my oldest daughter, Jenny, has become my Office Manager. She puts the orders together and handles the books. I try and keep this train on the tracks. I still do special orders and I have been developing some new straps .

Secure credit card processing is through PayPal. Or pay me through PayPal with my email: gordy@gordyscamerastraps.com. Or you can send me a certified check or money order to:

Gordon Coale
4365 Walden Loop
Greenbank, WA 98253

How strong are they?

lug-mount wrist straps

VOIGHTLANDER, of Rangefinder Forum, ordered a couple of straps from me and asked the following:

"A question ... your strap is it made from a continuous loop of leather or both ends are tied/hidden within the waxed thread.

I need to know if it's the latter cos i will take care not to swing the camera around as the strap ends may just came loose."

There is a glued and stapled joint under the waxed thread where the two ends are joined together. I've really pulled on these with my hands before to test them but I've been thinking about something a little more measurable. VOIGHTLANDER's question prompted me to do a test to destruction to see what the limits of this joint is. I first hung a vise and hammer that totaled 17 pounds. That worked fine so the only other thing heavier I had was an old monitor. It weighs 25 pounds. It hung there just fine but the split ring was starting to deform.

At this point I didn't want to add more weight because I didn't want that much weight falling when something failed.

I think it's safe to say that if the camera you are carrying with the wrist strap is starting to deform the split ring that you might not want to swing it around.

string wrist straps

I also have been asked "How strong is the string?" on my string attach straps. The attach string is the same as the polyester wrapping cord. I use a monkey trap design to keep the attach string from pulling through. The monkey trap is a jar with something the monkey wants inside. The neck of the jar is wide enough to let the monkey put his hand in but not wide enough for the monkey to get his hand out if he has his hand full of whatever was in the jar. The monkey won't let go in order to free his hand and the trapper grabs the monkey. I use the same concept.

The attach string is double knotted and the wrapping cord traps it. You can carry a fairly large camera with this arrangement. I used the strap that was on my Pentax *ist DL for the following tests. (Apologies for the slightly blurry pictures. I was using hot lights and a 1.5 second exposure. The camera was hanging free and was moving slightly.)

The strap is strong enough to carry my 5x7 Burke & James Commercial view with a 10" Elgeet lens. I also simulated a camera drop with a 15 pound vise, which is actually heavier than the 5x7.

After the drop the string looked good. Good enough to put the strap back on my Pentax. (Try holding a hanging 15 pound weight still for a 1.5 second expoure.)

Strap after the test. Still going strong.

double attach point string neck straps

To test the strength of the strap I attached it to my 5x7 Burke & James with it's 10" Elgeet lens. On top is perched a Zeiss Icon Box Tengor. Hanging in front of the Burke & James is, from left to right, a Nikon F3 HP with motor drive, a Honeywell Pentax H1a, a Leica IIIc, and a Ricoh Diacord. The total camera weight is around 20 pounds. I would recommend that, if you are going to carry all of your cameras with one strap, that you also purchase a neck pad. Just a suggestion.

Here is a detail of the strap attachment. As a curiosity, that is my inverted portrait in the lens. The Box Tengor has a shiny piece of metal that slides between the lens and shutter mechanism. I was standing it the right place when I took the picture and my inverted face reflected back. I could never have planned that.

I now have the test strap back on my Salut-S.

Thanks for visiting.

Gordy Coale
gordy@gordyscamerastraps.com