Amateur Photographer verdict
The Bowman Summit is a high-quality hand-made strap that’s as stylish as it is versatile. Its adjustable length and integrated wrist loop let you carry your camera securely in multiple ways.- Uniquely versatile design
- Very nicely made
- Choice of lengths and attractive colours
- Doesn’t fit cameras with slot-type lugs
About a year ago, I reviewed the Bowman Peak Duo – a clever and unique slim leather shoulder/neck strap with an integrated wrist loop. Now the firm has expanded on the idea with the Bowman Summit: in essence, an adjustable-length version of the same strap. There’s also a new optional shoulder pad for carrying heavier cameras more comfortably. I’ve been trying them out.
Bowman Summit at a glance:
- From £52.95
- £27.95 for optional shoulder pad
- Adjustable-length leather camera strap
- Integrated wrist-strap loop
- Choice of four colours
- Two lengths available
- Optional shoulder pad
- bowmanleather.co.uk
The Bowman Summit adjustable duo camera strap is a high-quality product hand-crafted from nice, thick leather that doesn’t feel like it’ll break in a hurry. Length adjustment is via a single metal buckle, with a small leather loop to secure the free end of the strap and stop it from flapping around. Changing the length is fairly quick and easy, pretty much like adjusting a belt.
At its shortest, the strap works well for me when used over my shoulder or around my neck. Set longer, it’s great for cross-body use with the camera hanging down by my side (which is how I generally prefer to carry a camera these days).
Bowman Summit key features:
- Colours: You get a choice of four leather colours: Black, Chestnut, Dark Tan and Mid Tan. My review sample is Dark Tan
- Lengths: The Long (100-120cm) option works well for me as a shoulder or cross-body strap – I’m about 6-foot tall. A Short (75-90cm) option is also available
- Edge finish: There’s a choice of edge finishes, either square, or rounded and polished for a £14 premium
- Shoulder pad: This is 3.2cm wide and will fit any strap that’s 12-13mm wide. It slides freely and is easy to fit and remove
As before, the ‘Duo’ name indicates that the strap has an additional loop that you can poke your wrist through for extra security, when you want to carry your camera around one-handed. It’s a really neat design that, to a degree, gives the best of both worlds of a shoulder and wrist strap. However, it’s perhaps a bit less convenient here compared to the simpler Peak strap, especially when you have the extra bulk of a shoulder pad dangling around.
Adding the shoulder pad does, however, make a lot of sense if you’re thinking of using the strap on an interchangeable-lens camera with anything much heavier than small primes. The extra surface area makes heavier setups much more comfortable to carry.
If you want to remove the shoulder pad to reduce bulk, it’s as simple as unbuckling the two parts of the strap and sliding it off. With the single-piece Peak strap, you’d have to detach one end from the camera.
Camera compatibility
The strap attaches to your camera via traditional metal split rings. This means it will fit onto a wide range of current models from the likes of Fujifilm, Leica, Nikon, OM System and Sony. But it won’t with those that have slot-type lugs, which means most Canon and Panasonic cameras.
Bowman Summit – Our Verdict
I’ve used the Bowman Summit with a number of cameras, including the Fujifilm GFX100RF medium-format compact and the OM System OM-3. It looks particularly good on these retro-inspired designs and the adjustable length is handy for carrying your camera in different ways. Meanwhile the shoulder pad provides welcome extra comfort with heavier setups. If you’d like a high-quality, stylish and versatile camera strap, it comes highly recommended.
Related content:
Bowman Peak Duo – the perfect strap for small cameras?
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