Cotton Carrier camera harness system

birdstrike · Feb 1, 10, 8:42 pm

Travel & wildlife photography is my thing.

I was at the Embedded Systems Conference a couple of months back. The show photographer was schlepping a couple of massive Canon cameras and lenses on a harness I had never seen before. I asked him about it and he said it was a Cotton Carrier.

Long story short, I bought one and have hiked with it around the local hills for a couple of months. I haven't seen a better system to date. I'm going to South Georgia Island later this year and this will be my primary rig.

I think it will be perfect for dealing with pitching decks near the Antarctic convergence, zodiac landings in surf, and pretty much any terrain that could so without six pounds of gear swinging from a strap.

workandski · Feb 12, 10, 1:16 pm

I wish I'd seen that before I went trekking in Nepal. I was alternating between wearing my camera around my neck and pulling in and out of a backpack. Neither was fun.

I'm going to order one and try it out on the ski slopes. Thanks for the post.

Loren Pechtel · Feb 12, 10, 9:16 pm

Yeah. I saw an ad for it a few days ago. While I haven't found myself in a situation to want it for years it certainly looks useful if you're doing anything that will cause your camera to bounce around.

RCyyz · Feb 26, 10, 10:31 am

Cool - this looks like a nice rig that's not terribly expensive either.

workandski · Mar 5, 10, 1:08 pm

I bought one. It's a great concept but it's way to big for me. It has lots of adjustable straps but once I pull the straps tight, the loose ends are so long that the velcro closures are useless. I'm going to have someone cut the straps and move the velcro pieces, but they really should make these in several sizes. Once I get the straps fixed, I think I'll be very happy with it.

alexkhoo82 · Mar 7, 10, 11:25 pm

This seems a very good accessories for those photographers who loves walking around with camera in a reachable areas without any hassle.. Can anymore of the owners of this carrier please give more reviews on this?

birdstrike · Mar 9, 10, 7:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by workandski

I bought one. It's a great concept but it's way to big for me. It has lots of adjustable straps but once I pull the straps tight, the loose ends are so long that the velcro closures are useless. I'm going to have someone cut the straps and move the velcro pieces, but they really should make these in several sizes. Once I get the straps fixed, I think I'll be very happy with it.

How big are you? I'm 5'6" with a 32" chest, so I'm definitely in the XS range for clothes. I have, perhaps 8" of "tail" on one of the lower straps with 12" on the other. They both fold away and tuck under the elastic loops provided for that.

I also had to move the velcro straps down where they attach between the shoulder blades. Took about an hour to get right.

I order made-to-measure dress shirts since I can't stand the fit I get off-the-rack, but the Cotton Carrier adjusted quite well.

Did you watch the adjustment video?

Since I'm beginning to sound like a shill

, I have to say that I have no relationship with CC other than buying one after seeing another photog using it.

Edit to say I also used (removable) Loctite 425 to mount the adapters to the camera body. Otherwise they tended to work free.

gfunkdave · Mar 9, 10, 9:35 pm

I like the belt system that Kinesis makes - www.kgear.com. It's a bit spendy but is very comfortable for walking around since it puts the weight on your hips.

mybinocularharness · May 2, 10, 9:58 pm

I'm sure you should be able to find one that fits you well. So many options out there right now!