Today while out in Baltimore visiting a client, I had the chance to try out my new Ruck Strap, from Holdfast Gear.

Let me first say, I'm not a huge "neck strap" guy. I always keep a wrist strap on my Canon 5DMkII, and I keep the neck strap off since its normally not comfortable, and gets in the way frequently. However using the Ruck Strap, has really made me think twice about not using a strap.

I took out my trusty old range finder, a Minolta Hi-Matic F, that I found in a camera shop a few years back. The Ruck Strap is made of durable canvas with incredibly soft suede around the inside section for your neck. In also has an inside elastic band to old DSLR batteries, so when you're shooting you don't have to stop to run back to your bag if your batteries die.

However my favorite feature of the strap is the two small leather pockets on the outside of the strap. These pockets are ideal for credit cards, ID, memory cards, or in my case, my business card. Having a card on you at all times is pretty important, and having a strap that I can store them in, is definitely a good thing. I can fit about 25 cards in both pockets at once.

All and all, I'm very happy with the strap. As I said earlier, I've not been much a neck strap person in the past, but using the ruck strap, today has shown me that the tired old neck strap, can be updated to really be a piece of functional equipment as well as stylish.

Check out WWW.HOLDFASTGEAR.COM to get yours!!