Peak Design Cuff Review

If you’re out trekking the globe, chances are you’ll want to get a few photos from time to time. Which means you’ll likely need a camera, unless you have some other way of capturing moments in time—in which case, we’re all ears.

Unfortunately, hauling a camera along during your travels tends to be a feat in itself. How are you going to carry it? Get a padded case? Hang it around your neck? We have an alternative option for you—a simple, adjustable wrist cuff with an interchangeable clip system, crafted by the team over at Peak Design. And if you haven’t chosen your camera yet, you might want to check out our Best Camera Kit Guide, where we’ve taken the time to break down the options for you.

The Peak Design Cuff will help you avoid any carrying-related problems with your camera during your travels. Whether it’s a random case of butterfingers or an unsavory character that happens to like the look of your camera during your Arc de Triomphe photo shoot, it’ll keep your camera securely in your hands at all times.

While almost every camera comes with a standard, brand-a-blazing, neck strap, we usually prefer to upgrade to something a bit nicer. The black nylon likely has your camera’s brand and model number emblazoned across it in bright neon stitching, which is basically an advertisement of how much money is hanging around your neck. And outside of styling, the strap can sometimes get caught in longer hair, and maybe you’d just rather not have a three-pound block around your neck all day. If you shoot with a heavy duty DLSR, you know exactly what we’re talking about.

Ultimately you’ll need to know that a cuff suits you better than a neck strap. Neck straps can be great if you’re doing a lot of hiking or physical activity where your hands need to be free. It adds convenience of access to the camera when you need it, and freedom when you don’t. However if you’re able to dedicate a hand or writs to the cause, then a cuff might be the way to go. That pesky neck strap won’t fly around and get in your way. Having the wind kick the neck strap to flutter across the lens when you’re snapping the key shot, is no way to live your life.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have decided to test out the Peak Design Cuff.

Peak Design offers several products such as backpacks, pouches, clips and straps. The Cuff works through something called the Anchor Link, which is a small round clip found on most of Peak Design’s clips and straps. The nice thing about this system is you affix the anchors even if you have multiple cameras. Then it’s one strap for multiple cameras with a quick snap vs weaving another neck strap on and off.

Regardless of which strap type you want to use (cuff, neck strap, or leash,) the locking clip system is interchangeable, which is incredibly convenient. We love how Peak Design has handled this, as it makes packing your camera gear a breeze—just grab whatever straps you want and don’t worry about any adapters, modifiers, or other bits and bobs.

As far as using the anchor link, it’s quite simple. You just thread the round clips into your device or camera and connect to the various styles of straps as you please.

The Cuff offers a bracelet-type carrying option where you simply place the cuff around your wrist and tighten to secure. There is an anodized aluminum adjuster lock which holds the strap in place, once tightened. Yes, you read that right—an anodized aluminum lock on a camera strap. This thing is no joke, and will support up to 200 pounds!

In addition to the durability, we love the styling here from Peak Design. From the two color options—either black leather on black nylon or light brown leather on marbled gray nylon—you get simplicity in style. There’s no obnoxious colors or giant brand names flashing in your face. Simple, clean and elegant are the name of the game here.

And when you’re not clipped onto your camera, you can take advantage of the magnet system which allows you to wrap the cuff up around your wrist like a bracelet—no need to fidget to loosen the strap and store it every time you put the camera away.

The cuff system in itself is a work of art. The core of the cuff is a nylon-like fabric which comfortably sits around your wrist as a sort of lasso, with the plastic clip connector on the end. This sturdy but soft fabric strip is made by a company called Dyneema. Created over 30 years ago in the Netherlands, Dyneema cord is known to be fifteen times stronger than steel, yet light enough to float on water. With the bulk of the clip being plastic—and only the the size of a penny—you won’t be adding much extra weight to your overall carrying capacity.

When taking the strap on and off your wrist, we did notice it takes an extra second to loosen the cuff. If you have stiff fingers or limited hand joint mobility you might have some trouble removing the cuff. And while it might be a problem for some, we actually don’t think this is detrimental to the product—it allows you peace of mind that your camera won’t easily slide at the cost of a minute or two to remove when you’re ready to pack it up for the day.

Ultimately you’ll need to know that a cuff suits you better than a neck strap. Neck straps can be great if you’re doing a lot of hiking or physical activity where your hands need to be free. It adds convenience of access to the camera when you need it, and freedom when you don’t. However if you’re able to dedicate a hand or writs to the cause, then a cuff might be the way to go. That pesky neck strap won’t fly around and get in your way. Having the wind kick the neck strap to flutter across the lens when you’re snapping the key shot, is no way to live your life.