Soon after buying my Ricoh GRIII, I decided that the included wrist strap wasn't right for me. I did a brief search on Amazon and BH Photo but found that most camera wrist straps fell into some combination of three main qualities I didn't like:
The strap is either too thick or rigid. My main rationale for getting the Ricoh is to have a powerful but portable camera. I did not want a thick or stiff strap reminding me that I'm carrying a dedicated camera in my EDC.
The strap feels cheap and comes from a generic mass manufacturer. Having spent many hours shopping in technology market malls in Hong Kong, I can quickly point out the straps that are a dime a dozen and piss poor quality.
There's no mechanism to secure the strap onto the wrist. My biggest issue with the included strap is there is no fastener to secure the strap onto my wrist. When I've been shooting, I've had to consciously check that the strap hasn't slid off my wrist as I move my arm around. It's annoying and negates the sense of security I want from using a strap.
Through the magic of Instagram marketing, I came upon an ad for Simplr and I'm surprised they aren't spoken about more in the Fuji and Ricoh community. Simplr has a variety of neck and wrist straps and utilizes a quick release system that allows them to work interchangeably together. I decided to first try their wrist strap, the Simplr M1w. Here are a few thoughts:
The quality is superb with the strap material and fasteners feeling very high quality. I love the strap material because it retains its structure without feeling stiff like the Peak Design Cuff.
The fastener slides smoothly up and down the strap, smoother than I expected for this type of material. It's the right amount of resistance while keeping it easy to loosen and tighten the strap.
High quality plastic hardware
There's a level of craft and attention to detail you can feel and see with this wrist strap. The tag is tastefully branded and integrated well into the body. When I first saw the M1w, I was concerned about the plastic release system and hardware but now feeling it in person, I have no concerns that it's going to split apart or break easily.
While I'm currently satisfied with the JOBY neck strap I have on my Fuji X100f, I would be lying if I said I wasn't regularly browsing the rest of the Simplr strap lineup. If you're a new Ricoh GRIII owner and want an upgrade from what comes in the box, Simplr nailed it with the M1w.
How the strap sits when I’m shooting