3 Legged Thing Axis 34 review – is this the future of camera straps?

The 3 Legged Thing Axis 34 is one of a new family of camera straps from the British photo accessories maker that’s best known for its tripods and monopods. It’s 34mm wide and readily adjustable in length across a 101-163cm range, using two large metal clips. This allows it to be worn in various ways: around your neck, over a shoulder, or cross-body. But where it differs from other similar straps (most obviously the Peak Design Slide Lite) lies with how everything fits together using Quick Detach (QD) connectors.

3 Legged Thing Axis 34 at a glance:

• £56 (Kickstarter price)
• Multi-mode camera strap
• Uses QD connectors
• 34mm wide
• 101-163cm long
• Attaches to camera via tripod plate
• Available in four colours
• 3leggedthing.com

So what’s QD? It’s a chunky, robust metal connector that can be quickly attached or detached at the push of a button. This works using four sprung ball bearings, which retract when the button is pressed. When the connector is in place, they fit into a groove inside the socket, which allows the connector to swivel freely. This in turn allows the strap, and therefore your camera, to adjust to the most comfortable position.

3 Legged Thing’s Axis strap project is now available to support on Kickstarter, with all using QD connectors. The family includes a set of three similar multi-mode straps, with numbers in their name that denote their widths in millimetres. The Axis 34 we’re looking at here the mid-sized option, nestling between 24mm and 44mm variants. There’s also an Axis Pulse wrist strap, plus Sling and Double Sling straps, while Axis Anywhere is a short camera strap that’s designed to clip onto a backpack. (Note that Amateur Photographer may earn a commission if you support the project via the links in this review.)

3 Legged Thing Axis 34 key features:

• Quick Detach: 3LT’s Axis system employs Quick Detach (QD) connectors originally developed for military use
• Adjustable length: The strap length can be adjusted quickly across a wide 101-163cm range using a pair of large metal buckles
• Camera plate: An included Arca-Swiss plate screws into your camera’s tripod socket and has a single QD socket. 3 Legged Thing also makes other camera plates and Arca-Swiss L-brackets with QD sockets.
• 4-axis QD buckle: A key component is the ‘4-axis QD buckle’ which allows a connector to be plugged in from the left, right, front or back.
• QD Links: 3 Legged Thing says it is making QD adapters that can be attached to your camera’s strap lugs, available as a Kickstarter add-on for £13.  

How does it work?

The Axis 34 strap has QD connectors at each end, plus a unique “4-axis QD buckle”. One connector plugs into the buckle to form a loop, while the other plugs into an Arca-Swiss plate that screws into your camera’s tripod socket. 3 Legged Thing also makes an array of L-brackets with QD sockets to fit a wide range of cameras, so you could use one of those instead.

One advantage of 3 Legged Thing’s Axis design is that it doesn’t need connectors that hang off your camera’s strap lugs. It does, however, leave the camera dangling upside-down from its tripod socket. So whether you take to it or not will depend on how comfortable you are with this idea – clearly plenty of people are fine with it when using sling straps from the likes of BlackRapid. The firm will also be making ‘QD Links’ for fixing the strap to your camera’s strap lugs.

After several long walks carrying my Sony A7R V this way ( a camera that I seriously don’t want to drop), I’m confident that it’s perfectly secure. You just need to make sure everything is fixed together properly before letting go of your camera.

I preferred to use the strap cross-body style with my camera on my left, which works best by plugging the QD connector into the right side of the buckle. Occasionally, though, I switched to using it as a neck or shoulder strap. In this case, it found it most comfortable with the connector plugged onto the front of the buckle.

There are, naturally, a couple of caveats to the design. Firstly, the strap material has no kind of grip, so when I wore it over one shoulder, I was worried it might slide off. But there’s a variant with a shoulder pad that would probably work better for this.

Also, those QD connectors are quite bulky, sticking out by about 2cm beneath the camera plate. This means you may well need to remove the strap whenever you stow your camera in a bag. That’s not necessarily a problem, though; it just requires a different mindset.

3 Legged Thing Axis 34: Our Verdict

With its Axis system, 3 Legged Thing has come up with an interesting new take on how camera straps can work. It’s versatile, well-made, and quick to use, although it does have its own quirks. It’s perhaps most appealing to photographers who swap their camera on and off a tripod regularly, and like the idea of being able to remove their strap completely cleanly to do so. It may not necessarily convert legions of Peak Design strap fans, but if you like the look of the concept, in practice it works very well.

As always, with Kickstarter we must point out that technically, you’re not buying a product. Instead, you’re backing a campaign that may, or may not deliver anything at the end of it. However, 3 Legged Thing is a highly experienced manufacturing company that successfully delivered its first Kickstarter campaign for its Ultra Plates last year. Obviously, we also have a fully-functional sample of the strap review. So chances are that if you pledge your money, you should receive the goods.

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