sjms wrote:
m3rocket why is yours different from mine?
They sent me a new ConnectR-2 to replace the old ConnectR-1 that shipped with my RS-4. I'll let you know when I get it. This is really disconcerting though!
Good looking double fishermans knot. Are you a climber too? I'll be jumping on Zodiac or Mescalito this summer.
Kiron Kid
back in the '70s and through through the end of the '80s i was tripping through the Gunks, Cathedral Ledge in the East. J Tree and quite a bit in the North Cascades in Wa. Rock Mixed and Ice. did a few trips to the UK and Scotland. Bagged a few challenging peaks way back when. having a real job and a family has taken its toll on me. ice was my favorite. ah! the old days
this company just keeps getting worse. I foolishly bouhgt a RS4 a month and a half ago, spent $50 on that, and then bought the fastener upgrade $16, and just recently the Connector upgrade another $16 for a whooping $82 on this thing and it is still prone to failure and falls apart This is unbelievable. When i get home tonight I am going to write them a lengthy letter and possible send all this crap back to them.
My gear is worth to much to trust to these people.
I have the RS-4 with the old connector with the plastic tube to secure the hook. I have been using it since day one, 4 months, commuting to and from work, 5 days a week, 5D w/ grip, RSS L-Plate, 70-200 2.8 or 24-70. It has never given me problems.
I was going to get a 2nd strap for a MKII that I ordered and thought about the upgraded hook. Now I'm rethinking about that purchase.
Yeah, I don't know what to make of it. I've been using my Black Rapid for sometime now, with the older and newer hardware, and have yet to have any problems with it.
SJMS, I pretty much grew up at J-Tree, Yosemite, Tahquitz, etc. Climbing hard routes was a weekend and way of life for me. Coming out of retirement soon to cruise a couple more El Cap routes. Climb on!
Kiron Kid wrote:
Yeah, I don't know what to make of it. I've been using my Black Rapid for sometime now, with the older and newer hardware, and have yet to have any problems with it.
SJMS, I pretty much grew up at J-Tree, Yosemite, Tahquitz, etc. Climbing hard routes was a weekend and way of life for me. Coming out of retirement soon to cruise a couple more El Cap routes. Climb on!
Kiron Kid
if i tried to co me out of that retirement i'd most likely not live too much longer.
Got it today in the mail. Looks exactly like yours. I tried getting it to unscrew, but it seems pretty solid (didn't use a vise though). I just hope it holds up!
Looks like this is not a widespread problem. It still probably wouldn't hurt to test it out before you attach a camera to it though. You don't want to be one of the lucky ones
Has anyone ever had a strap of nylon or whatever cloth-type materials are used on most straps just snap unexpectedly? I haven't. They seem to wear down gradually and one can get a visual on whether it might need to be replaced or not.
I've thought before about picking up one of these BR straps, but the metal parts are what I didn't care for. This thread pretty much made me feel glad I've stuck with the OpTech Pro Loops and regular ol' Canon straps that come with the bodies.
well we do thank OPTech for being ever vigilent with their products. because if they weren't there are multiple points on theirs that if they again weren't due to poor choices or bad work and QC could catastrophically fail too. they do make a distinctly quality made locally produced product line. and yes having it done locally does make a difference in control.
Yes, nylon wears down over time due to abrasion and exposure to UV light. But, with nylon, you can visually inspect it before trusting your camera or life to it. That's exactly how Todd Skinner died. He saw that his harness had become very worn, but decided to climb with it anyways... I've got no issues with the quality of my R-Strap. it's been fine.
Here is a photo showing that this is, in fact, a threaded screw.
http://www.dreamscapestudio.net/ConnectR-2B.jpg
I am still waiting on a response from BlackRapid since Sunday. I emailed them again this morning as well. But they are on west coast time I think.
Holy crap, you're right. Sorry, I was definitely wrong, looked like a one piece hook. But I used a Leatherman and easily screwed it out. It IS a screw, and this is nothing I will trust in any longer.
Bad, bad job, BlackRapid.
After that, I tried to find out if the ConnectR1 is also srewed, but nothing moved when I used my Leatherman. Could be a screw, but also could be no screw, who knows?
I made my own "BR strap" using an extra Optech shoulder strap. Without going into specifics, the strap is attached to a Manfrotto QR plate screwed to the bottom of my L plate. Because of all the issues already discussed, I attached a "cat collar" from the dollar store to the L plate and to the D ring opening of the clip. In this manner, I am protected from failure of either my QR plate or the clip. The cat collar has squeeze clips for quick removal. I also thought about using slip locks, but that required cutting the locks every time I wanted to remove the strap.
I hope this gives everyone that has already purchased the BR strap an extra safety alternative.
Mario Moschel wrote: Crazy right? If the loctite things works as advertised I would be good to go. I will pick some up before the weekend. I love the system other then that. OH! I also do not use the connector into tripod socket. Using anything that can unscrew itself is just asking for trouble in my opinion.
This is unbelievable. When i get home tonight I am going to write them a lengthy letter and possible send all this crap back to them. 
