Gear Geek Review 1: The Cotton Carrier
I was searching for a solution that would allow me to walk "hands-free" with my camera. I needed a solution that would get rid of my neck strap and allow me to carry a fairly heavy pro series camera and lens combination for activities such as wedding shoots, hiking expeditions, and studio work. I searched the internets and came upon The Cotton Carrier. After reviewing the videos on www.cottoncarrier.com, I made my decision to try it out. The major deciding factor was the option to carry the camera (pro or regular body) either on my chest or at my hip. Another nice bonus was that the product was designed in my hometown, Vancouver, BC. Support local talent!
Unwrapping the cotton carrier was nice, actually. It came in a mesh draw-string type bag that I could re-use for other stuff or keep the extra side holster in for storage. There was very little packaging that I had to throw away. I don't know if this was done on purpose by the folks at Cotton Carriers, but I like it nonetheless. Assembling the pro-series hub to the body was really simple.
Looking at the overall workmanship of the product, I was impressed. The hubs look to be of good quality machining and the vest itself is light but well manufactured. The buckles are all in the right places and the system goes together really intuitively. How come I never thought of this? Damn.
Because I received the camera grip in addition to the carrier system, I replaced the circular compression disk with the oblong-shaped washer that comes with the grip. I placed this on the hub, and cranked 'er down onto my 7D. The thing felt solid when I slid it into place on the harness system. Adjusting the harness system was pretty simple as well. I have to say that it needs to be in place fairly snuggly on your chest to easily "draw" the camera from the holster. So, after practicing "The Draw" in the mirror a couple hundred times (insert reference to your favourite Clint Eastwood flick here), I was happy with the overall fit, feel, and functionality of the system.
So, I'm now all ready for my Elfin Lakes hike. The hike is over 600m in elevation gain and on the day that we went, snow was still present throughout the trail. Take a look at some of the resulting pics here.
In the field, the system performed as expected. I was hiking with another friend who had brought his camera along but had carried his camera in his backpack. While this is totally do-able, he didn't capture nearly the amount of images that I did simply because it was so easy for me to get my camera "into action" compared to having to haul the camera out of the backpack and then put it back in once finished. On this trip, having the camera slung around your neck would be a recipe for a few fused cervicle vertebrae! Using the Cotton Carrier, the weight of the system was evenly distributed and I felt nothing. The camera felt 100% secure at all times throughout the hike.
In using the Cotton system, it did take a while to get used to the feel of having a "snug" vest compressed around your chest. I worked around this by simply slacking off the fit around the chest for a little while at times when I needed more o2. When I wanted to snug the vest down, it was easily done and the camera was extracted from the system easily.
I was definitely cautious about buying the system because of some reviews that mentioned people dropping their camera when using the Cotton. I just can't see how this is possible. Besides being totally secure in the hub holster, there is also a tether that gets included with the system. I even found myself using the grip in tandem with the tether and this felt really really good. It almost felt like the camera was floating by my side. Amazing. I also read about the hub coming loose from the camera body on one forum. During my use, this definitely did not happen and the hub stayed put.
Final Rating
I give "The Cotton Carrier" 5 full claws out of 5. Good job guys!! See ya, neck-strap, I shall never use you again!
