By Bill
In today’s world there are few good companies. Finding a good company that provides quality equipment for photographers is always a delight. Recently, I ran across Essential Photo Gear, a company that builds equipment made for photographers, because photographers design the gear. Imagine that.
I ordered some stuff from Essential Photo Gear and well, the order got screwed up. What was the response? “We will make it up to you.” And guess what, one day the UPS truck showed up with a package and inside the package was the Apex Tripod Belt and lots of neat stuff. My original order amounted to about $12 and Essential Photo Gear sent me stuff worth well over $100! Was I surprised? Yep. In fact, I was flabbergasted. So, I opened up the package, looked through all the stuff and then began to use it.
What the company had sent me was the Apex Tripod Belt™ – a great idea for the wildlife and landscape photographer who is dealing with lots of different type of equipment and needs a handy place to store it.
It looks like this:
What impressed me about the tripod belt is not just the idea of it, I’m always looking for a spot to put my gear, but how well the belt and compartments are made. It is quality stuff. And, durable.
The assembly comes with:
-The Apex Flash Bag™ is designed to hold a flash, flash bracket, and the Better Beamer along with a separate compartment to hold an extra Fresnel lens for the Better Beamer.
-The Apex Camera Bag can hold an extra camera body, cell phone(s), flash cards, light meters, batteries, and it also has a built-in adjustable divider, so you can customize it to fit your needs.
-The Apex Lens/Converter bag can hold small lenses and/or converters. It is 6 1/2 inches in height and 3 1/4 inches across.
-The Apex Bottle Bag holds most beverage containers such as pop bottles, cans, or water bottles. It is insulated to keep your hot drinks hot, and your cold drinks cold.
The assembly includes a bungee strap that clips on to one of the Apex Tripod Belt’s D-rings and then wraps around the tripod head usually just once (sometimes twice depending on the size of the tripod head). This secures the Apex Tripod Belt so that it does not fall off when you close the legs of the tripod.
Also if you don’t want to use a tripod, it works great around the waist also!
In fact, the whole assembly has multiple uses beyond what the folks at Essential Photo Gear suggest. The camera bag is great for a short trip when one does not want to carry a backpack or rolling case. It can double as a toiletry bag when not in use for camera gear. I use the “bottle bag” to cover my lens in bad weather. In other words, it is extremely adaptable.
Of course, it’s real purpose is for the photographer who uses a heavy tripod for either wildlife photography or for landscapes. Putting the belt around the tripod means that I can get to my filters, my extender, an extra camera body with ease. And, wow, that bottle bag is perfect for holding my Starbucks travel mug!
Bottom line is that the Apex Tripod Belt™ is a fantastic tool and one that I highly recommend.
But, I must say, I have found a great company, which is run by wonderful people who go out of their way to be helpful when you place an order or when you are searching for something special. I have bought other gear from them and all I can say is that it is a good company, a rare find in today’s world.
In fact, PTR is so impressed with Essential Photo Gear that we have become one of their partners and will be reviewing lots of their gear in the future. Go have a look at what they offer. You might just find something that will help you when in the field.
