Review: Peak Design’s Upcoming Slide Lite and Slide Summit Camera Straps

Finding the perfect camera strap can seem like an overwhelming endeavor due to the sheer number of available options. Today, we are going to be taking a look at two different straps that are coming soon from Peak Design and may just help you in your search. The first strap is the Slide Summit Edition: a design variation of the company’s standard Slide strap. The second is the Slide Lite strap designed for smaller mirrorless camera systems.

The Slide Summit Edition is a near replica of the company’s existing Slide strap, but with two color scheme options: a navy strap with tan leather or a red strap with tan leather. The team at Peak Design says that the new strap “pays homage to the beautiful landscape of [their] native California.” The Summit Edition costs $5 more than the standard black strap, and we have to say that the tan leather and colored strap options are certainly beautiful.

Peak Design’s Slide Lite is similar to the original Slide strap but features a thinner 1.25-inch wide strap that is less bulky in design. Both straps still feature the company’s ‘Anchor Link’ quick-connectors for detaching the system when needed. We also appreciate the included quick-adjusters that allow for quickly changing the length of the given strap from 39-inches to 54-inches; they are simple to unhook, slide, and then lock into place.

Of course, Peak Design’s Anchor Link system does more than just allowing for the fast disconnect and reconnecting of your camera. Depending on whether you attach the second connector to the bottom or side of the camera, you can switch between a sling, neck, or shoulder strap. The process is easy, and we were able to switch between styles relatively quickly.

Both straps are designed from a seatbelt style material, but the large Slide Summit Edition features built-in padding whereas the Slide Lite does not. We aren’t sure how we feel about this decision as we would have liked padding in both straps, but due to the lightweight cameras that we carried around using the Slide Lite, our shoulders and necks did not feel any strain.

If you are used to wearing slings that can’t seem to sit still, then you may be interested in one of the available Slide straps. Both feature a rubberized pattern on the underside that aim at preventing the strap from sliding around your shoulder. While the solution didn’t keep the camera exactly put, it did make it a bit more manageable compared to some of the other available solutions.

We were also fans of the included ‘standard plate’ that mounts on the bottom of your camera. Unlike other straps that use anchor style mechanisms, the Slide series allows you to continue using a standard tripod without the need to disconnect it. And if you need to carry around a bulky piece of equipment, don’t worry, the Slide is rated up to withstanding 200 lbs.

If you have already tried out the original Slide strap, then there isn’t much new content here. The Slide Summit Edition, while beautiful, is simply a reimagined and more lively design than the original black model. The Slide Lite, however, is an excellent slimmed down option for mirrorless shooters. We hope to see a more lively Slide Lite Summit Edition in the upcoming future.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed using both of the new upcoming straps from Peak Design. Both the Slide Summit Edition and Slide Lite were easy to use, comfortable to wear, and durable for everyday work. You can pre-order the Summit Edition now for $65, and it is expected to ship August or September 2015. The Slide Lite will cost $45 and will be available for pre-order in the upcoming future.