I was given the opportunity to review a few Holdfast Gear products, and I am excited to share the results. For those who do not know who Holdfast Gear is, take a look. They are a company that produce handmade camera accessories with leather products, although they do have some fabric products as well.
“Each HoldFast product is crafted or assembled by hand in the heart of the United States, Oklahoma. I believe in our country, our freedoms, and our unique heritage of story-telling. And I am committed to creating economic opportunities for my fellow citizens.”
What sets Holdfast Gear apart from the competition is not just the pride they take in their products, but the materials they use. In the video below you will see the three products I reviewed, and hear my thoughts on each. The products include the camera leash, money maker and indispensable wallet.
So as you just viewed, I am digging these products, with some caveats. Let’s summarize:
Money Maker
- Super strong leather that has no problem supporting the weight of two heavy DSLR cameras.
- Holds two camera naturally, but has rings for hooking on additional cameras with the camera leash.
- The black is a little too bright for blending in perfectly, but not so bright that you really stand out in the crowd.
- After a while of shooting with one camera, the armpit area begins to hurt slightly. This is either due to incorrect sizing on my part or that the leather needs to break in a little. If it needs to break in, and the sizing is correct, then I will be sewing a soft black fabric around the leather in that one spot which will help soften the impact.
- The camera clip (the part that attaches the camera to the money maker) is small and do worry slightly about how strong it really is. But I did not experience any problems with it. Holdfast Gear tested it up to 150 pounds of weight.
Camera Leash
- Very strong leather that will hold the camera without a problem.
- Extremely strong clamp that can also easily be removed from a camera.
- Soft leather feels great the wrist.
- To play devils advocate, my only complaint is I cannot use the clamp with the standard Nikon triangle rings. I have to add the included circle ring in order to use it with the Nikon DSLR bodies.
Indispensable Wallet
- Super soft leather that you just want to keep touching because it feels awesome.
- It has an outside pocket for credit cards or business cards
- It has an inside pocket for credit cards or business cards
- It has two small pockets inside that can hold two compact flash or SD cards.
- To play devils advocate, my only complaint is that I am limited to how many memories cards I can carry. I’d prefer more slots for memory cards, but then the wallet would be much bigger.
Holdfast Gear Review Photos
Before I finish up, I think it is also worth mentioning how much care they took in shipping the products. Each item was individually wrapped in brown paper, and tied with a thin leather string. The box was filled with recycled and shredded paper as well. The paper can be recycled again or burned in a fire (I choose fire pit). The leather is now included in my bag of ties and clamps for when out shooting. You never know when those might come in handy.
If you decide to click over to the Holdfast Gear website and purchase any products, I DO NOT make any money from it. However, please do let them know where you heard of their products.
Thanks for reading and happy shooting,
Scott
The money maker photos were taken by my friend Gevon.
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