Peak Design Form Rope review: get your camera roped in and wear it in three different ways, maybe even more

One of the best manufacturers of camera bags and accessories, along with the likes of Manfrotto and Tenba, Peak Design started life in a similar way, with a man on a mission. In this case, it was Peter Dering, who toured the world back in 2010 with a large camera kit and a disappointing way of carting it around. He promptly quit his job, designed his own way of carrying a camera, launched it on Kickstarter and hasn’t looked back. Peak Design has gone from strength to strength in the following years, following the same crowdfunding principles, so they can create products on their own terms with no interference from investors.

With a diverse product range, Peak Design makes and sells camera bags and straps, general travel luggage, outdoor gear, phone cases, wallets and even mounting systems for attaching gadgets to cars and motorcycles. Then there are tripods, including the groundbreaking Peak Design Travel Tripod (Aluminum) and Peak Design Travel Tripod (Carbon Fiber). I’ve recently been particularly impressed with the new and improved Peak Design Pro Tripod range.

Getting back to camera straps, one of the best on the market is the Peak Design Slide Lite, to which my colleague awarded a perfect 5/5 rating in his review. I personally wasn’t so completely won over, as I found the large overlapping loops of wide strap and chunky buckles a bit of a hindrance. There’s no such problem with the more minimalist Peak Design Form Rope, which is available as a basic ‘Neck’ version and three alternative lengths of Crossbody options, all of them aiming to be among the best camera straps on the market.

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Peak Design Form Rope: Specifications

Peak Design Form Rope: Price

The Peak Design Form Rope comes in three alternative Crossbody – Short, Standard and Long Crossbody editions, all of them listing at $50 / £45 / AU$100. That might sound a bit on the pricey side for a camera strap, but each edition is actually a comprehensive kit of parts. The more basic Form Rope Neck edition costs a little less at £45 / £40 / AU$90. For further price comparison, the popular Peak Design Slide Lite is more costly at around $70 / £60 / AU$135.

Peak Design Form Rope: Design & Handling

How do you like to wear your camera? Going back to basics, the whole concept of ‘wearing’ a camera might seem strange to the uninitiated, but most photographers that I know wear their cameras around their necks. Indeed, a neck strap is generally included in the box of bits when you buy a camera, although just like with ‘kit lenses’, they’re not always of the best quality and generally lack any innovative extras or clever design flourishes.

I’m also not a fan of own-brand camera straps that have the make and model emblazoned in large print along them, which I often think loosely translates as ‘mug me right now’. The Peak Design Form Rope is very much the opposite, which it kind of needs to be if it’s going to tempt you to upgrade from your basic ‘free’ camera strap.

The picture on the front of the retail box shown above tells it like it is – it’s a crossbody camera strap. But there’s more. Flip the box around and you get visual pointers to alternative ways that you can wear your camera using the Form Rope and its accessories. The most basic ‘Neck’ edition comes in one length of strap (78.5cm / 30.9in) with two anchors, a microfiber pouch and two oval split rings. The Crossbody editions come in short (103.5cm / 40.75in), standard (118.5cm / 46.65in) and long (134cm / 52.75in) editions. In each case, the ‘rope’ itself is 10mm / 0.39in in diameter.

Each of the three editions of the Crossbody Form Rope doubles up on anchors, so you get four rather than the two that are supplied with the Neck edition. The extras enable you to make the most of how you attach the rope to your camera and other accessories, and how you wear them. One thing that’s held in common is the rope itself, and it’s not just any old rope. Instead of rough and ready rope that can feel quite abrasive, the specialist basket-woven, nylon/poly rope was specifically designed to combine the strength, padding and stretch needed for a comfortable camera-carrying experience.

Color options include black, ocean, and kelp. I went for the last of these, and I like the way that the colorway extends to the anchors as well as the rope. The anchors themselves are made from glass-reinforced nylon and are the latest V5 edition of Peak Design’s low-profile design of quick-release connectors. Not only quick and easy to connect to the rope, the anchors each have a mighty individual payload rating of 90+kg / 200+lb. The attachment cord might look like a weak link, but it’s really not, and I like the three-layer design so that in the unlikely event of the cord getting damaged or worn, there are clearly visible yellow and red warning signs.

I had no problem threading the anchor cords through the attachment rings on my cameras, but some camera bodies and other accessories might have eyelets that are simply too small to accommodate the cord. That potential problem is neatly solved by each of the kits including a pair of split rings with specially shaped covers and a little tool for making it easy to attach the split rings to your camera’s eyelets.

Most cameras have ‘proper’ strap attachment rings, so it’s simply a case of threading the cord through, looping it over the anchor, and you’re ready to roll. I really like the quick-release system. The circular anchors are very secure but quick and easy to remove from the rope, with a press-and-slide mechanism. The system has been widely adopted by many manufacturers, because it simply works and works simply.

The only occasional criticism that I’ve heard is that if you’re using them with the strap removed, for example on a tripod in a stiff breeze, the anchors can knock against the side of the camera and the noise can be recorded by the camera’s microphone when you’re shooting video. I’ve not encountered that particular problem myself.

Again, I like that the color scheme is maintained between the rope and the anchors, so the whole kit looks entirely consistent. The image below shows how the connection looks when the rope is attached to an anchor. As I’ve mentioned, the quick-release action is simply a case of pressing the circular anchor downwards and sliding it towards the center of the receptacle.

Whether with or without split rings, you don’t actually have to attach anchors to your camera’s strap rings or eyelets at all. Another option is to attach an anchor to the tripod socket on the base of the camera. A screw-in plate and additional anchor are supplied for just this purpose, as shown below. It also gives a useful extra option if you want to use one rope with two different cameras.

The screw-in plate can also be used on other accessories that have a standard 1/4in threaded socket, as well as lenses that have the same kind of mounting thread on a tripod mounting collar. For a secure connection, the screw has a hex head, and there’s a companion hex key that’s also provided as part of the kit.

Peak Design Form Rope: Performance

One of my concerns about the Peak Design Form Rope was that it would be uncomfortable to wear with heavier camera and lens combinations, at least compared with relatively wide flat straps. I needn’t have worried, however, as I found the specially woven rope wonderfully comfy, even with heavy loads. Speaking of which, the rope is very lightweight, ranging from 42.5g / 1.5oz to 68g / 2.4oz depending on length, yet has a huge payload rating of 82kg / 180lb (90+kg / 200+lb for the anchors).

You’re somewhat spoilt for choice when it comes to how to wear your camera, but I started with my Crossbody – Standard kit by wearing it as a basic neck strap. I found that the length of the rope was ideal for this, and that the camera rested at the same height that I normally set when using an adjustable strap.

Taking my cue from the product name, I next tried the Crossbody – Standard edition by wearing it messenger-style, across my body. Again, the length was spot on for my preferences. If you’re not of the same opinion, short and long versions are also available.

Another option is to secure the rope to a single anchor on one side of your camera, and use another of the four supplied anchors in the accessory loop that’s fixed around the rope. I say ‘fixed', but it’s perfectly sized so that you can easily move it along the rope to adjust the overall length, without it sliding up and down of its own accord. You could also use the loop separately, for attaching other accessories via one of the additional supplied anchors.

A twist on the attachment method shown above is to leave the camera’s strap rings out of the equation altogether and to use the tripod mounting socket as the sole attachment point, as shown below. This can also work well with telephoto lenses that have a 1/4in threaded socket on a tripod mounting collar, and a variety of other accessories.

Peak Design Form Rope: Verdict

I’m a fussy customer when it comes to camera straps, and the ones that are supplied with cameras rarely satisfy my cravings. I usually go for fairly wide, flat straps with a bit of padding, so that they’re comfortable for long periods of time, for example when I’m shooting weddings, sporting events, wildlife, or just pounding city streets. My initial concern was that the Peak Design Form Rope would be relatively uncomfortable and tend to cut into my neck or shoulder, but I actually found it to be as comfortable and practical as it is stylish, and I do think it’s very stylish.

Plus points are that the Crossbody editions can be worn in a whole variety of ways, around the neck, over the shoulder, or crossbody, complete with an equally generous range of attachment options for your camera and/or other accessories. The quick-release anchors work blissfully well, and all the components of the kit are robust and durable yet beautifully finished, in an attractive range of color options. Sure, it’s relatively expensive for a camera strap, but your camera is worth it, and so are you.

Alternatives

The Peak Design Slide Lite is somewhat similar to the Form Rope Crossbody editions in that it can be used as a sling, neck or shoulder strap, but it’s based on an adjustable flat strap rather than a circular-profile rope.

The BlackRapid Blackline I Right and Left is a properly tricked-up camera harness that’s available to suit preferences for carrying to the left or right. The series also includes a double harness so that you can wear two cameras on either side of your body, but even the single option costs nearly three times as much as the Form Rope.