For the past few years, several manufacturers were offering photographers different variations of Velcro straps to mount accessories on hot shoe flash guns. One of the straps was manufactured by LumiQuest and called Cinch Strap. It worked very well and allowed to securely attach any LumiQuest flash accessory, as well as many other flash modifiers, to a flash head. The company, however, has recently decided to take the matter to the next level and replace Cinch Strap with all new UltraStrap.
LumiQuest UltraStrap has an original design that consists of two layers (rubber and Velcro) stitched together. The Velcro layer is longer and forms several loops when not on a flash. When wrapped around a flash head, the rubber stretches to flatten the Velcro layer. The tension applied to the flash is around 3 pounds (1.4 kg).
The mounting straps use friction to stay attached to the flash. With the tension LumiQuest UltraStrap applies to the head, the friction force increases dramatically making UltraStrap one of the most reliable flash accessory attachment solutions. There is virtually no chance UltraStrap can slip off during the normal use.
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When attaching LumiQuest UltraStrap, make sure you stretch it all the way so that the Velcro layer flattens, otherwise, flash accessories may not attach securely.
Similarly to Honl Photo Speed Strap, UltraStrap has a logo tab at one of its ends. So, try to wrap the strap around your flash head in a way that puts the tab at one of the corners. Otherwise, the tab may interfere when attaching some of the accessories. Alternatively, you can simply cut the logo tab off and not worry about it at all.
The following images show LumiQuest UltraStrap next to LumiQuest Cinch Strap (left) and Honl Photo Speed Strap (right).
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To conclude, the new LumiQuest UltraStrap is a nice step forward from LumiQuest Cinch Strap. The unique design of UltraStrap allows it to provide a very secure mounting platform for any flash accessory that utilizes Velcro hooks. In our opinion, LumiQuest UltraStrap is one of the best (if not the best) Velcro straps on the market today.
