Customer Reviews

Tamrac N-11 - Backpack Camera Straps - Black

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I do quite a bit of hiking, hunting, etc - all things outside where lugging around a large pack for the camera is possible, but doesn't make that much sense. As such, I've tried a wide variety of ways to make it easy to get that quick shot while also protecting the camera. I have pouches I attach to my backpack belt for my lenses and the camera itself. The problem was I found myself hanging the camera around my neck as I was hiking and my neck would get sore quickly.

I found this and decided for ~$20 it was worth the try. To be blunt, it is probably the best thing I've bought for hiking with the camera - including all my lenses. This attaches to the camera via clips which appear to be sturdy enough to last for a while. There are two clips to attach to "O" rings on backpacks. Mine didn't have those, but a couple of "D" clips used for climbing got to the same end result.

I tried this out in Zion National Park. We were climbing across rocks (didn't necessarily follow the path...) and this worked great. First, it places the weight on my shoulders, not neck (it did bump against my chest but not enough to bother me). Second, it is at the perfect level (there are adjustments that can be made - although minor) to grab quickly to get that shot of a fleeting bird, deer, moose, etc. Third, it takes seconds to disconnect and stuff into my holster bag - while also taking much less space since there's only a couple inches of strap on each side after it is unhooked.

I highly recommend this to anyone who hikes with a DSL camera!

Basically these help you have your cam at the ready whenever you are hiking/backpacking/etc. There is no reason to not have these if you are doing these things anywhere that elusive wildlife might be present. If you want to make sure you have a chance of taking a pic of the animal that showed up for just a moment, it won't help if you have to dig through your pack.

If you have your cam right there, you significantly improve your odds of taking a good picture. This thing holds my T1I with Canon's 100-400 L-Series lens near my chest with no prob. Durable enough to stand up to Big Bend National Park on multiple trips to South Rim without showing any wear. Get it. You won't regret it.

I like these straps as they sort of make up a "neck strap" system. In addition to these straps, I also have a bona-fide Tamrac camera neck strap. I like the quick-disconnects these straps have, and you can change out the straps with the disconnects.

When I put the camera in the backpack, I like to disconnect the neck strap and roll it up separately and store it in the backpack. The quick-disconnect system allows me to easily do this.

If I am keeping the backpack on when I need the camera, I will connect the backpack straps to the camera. The advantage is that they put the camera's weight on the backpack straps - not your neck. This is far more comfortable if you are out in the field.

However, a surprisingly number of Tamrac's backpacks have the D-rings that allow use of these straps. It seems as if fewer and fewer of their bags have them. Neither my current Evolution 8 or my old Adventure 75 have the D-rings.

However, I have retrofitted each of these bags by finding inexpensive NON-WELDED 1.5" D-rings at the local JoAnn Fabrics store. I can usually find a spot on the backpack strap to put the D-rings. The non-welded ones are needed as using a pair of vise-grips, I can bend the flat side of the D-Ring open just enough to slip it over the backpack's strap, then again using vise-grips, close the D-ring.

Even though the D-rings are not welded, they are stiff enough that they will not come apart under normal use.

This also allows use of the backpack straps on non-Tamrac bags as most backpacks will have a spot on the straps where you can insert the D-rings.

This strap extension, for the tamrac's Backpack are awesome. very comfortable, and easy to use. Your camera always are available for capture your moments in your trip.