Harley Benton Guitar Strap Padded Black

I had purchased this strap with a Harley Benton SC500BK, and i do not regret buying this strap at all, considering how heavy the SC500BK is.

the strap supports the guitar very well, without putting any discomfort onto my shoulder, due to the VERY nice padding in the strap. the strap feels like a quality product, and not like a cheap nylon strap.

the sc500bk is a heavy guitar, and have NO issues at all with playability while using this strap.

all things considered, when playing a heavy guitar, a strap like this is mandatory, and considering the price i do feel like i got more than what i paid for, comparing it to other padded straps.

if the strap somehow broke down the line(which i HIGHLY doubt will happen), maybe 4-5 years, i would not hesitate to buy it again!

overall, i can highly recommend this guitar strap, its great for the price, and very comfortable with even the heavier guitars.

So I bought this particular strap as part of a venture into a larger 5-string bass - for a heavier guitar, I knew it best for my back and shoulders to spread the weight across a bigger area. I wanted a strap that was fairly large, thick and wide, could hold the weight of a fairly hefty bass, and also was of very reasonable value.

That's what this strap does - and does very well. The matt leather underside is definitely non slip and reliable (and pretty good quality), with the shinier top side being a little more refined. The white stitching effect on the top is a nice touch - it keeps it from being quite so boring and black.

The method of lengthening and shortening the strap is a little long-winded - you certainly can't just slide a buckle up mid-gig! That said, I certainly don't see any need to be adjusting the strap once it's at the right length. It's worth noting though, that if you are planning to swap out the strap between guitars of different shapes and/or sizes it might be worth getting more than one of these, or a version (or different strap entirely!) that has a sliding buckle - it will save you a lot of time and fiddling.

That said, the way the two parts link together is definitely a lot more reliable than a buckle - there's a guarantee of absolutely no slipping, and the fact that the strap is thicker and wider than most makes it difficult to design otherwise!

The leather feels of good quality and I certainly trust it enough to have my brand new bass attached to it!


Summary:

Pros:
Thick and wide construction makes it feel trusty
Secure and guaranteed non-slip fastening
Good quality leather
Comfortable
Good value

Cons:
Not easily adjustable - not great for multi-purpose use

This is a really sturdy strap , nice thick leather (at this price!) with padding. I use it for my Gretsch 5420 (large hollow body guitar) and it feels nice and secure. The strap length adjustment seems fiddly to start with , but is logical and it's never going to slip. If you needed to change strap length often this might get a bit annoying, maybe.

A few drawbacks - depending on which end you attach to which end of the guitar, either the neck end of it seems just too thick, and padding goes almost all of the way to the strap button, plus the bit where the adjustment happens sticks in my ribs a little bit (but not actually painfully) . turn it the other way the padding only pads my back, it doesn't reach as far as my shoulder, but the narrow bit goes to the neck strap button which looks better and might actually improve higher fret access depending where your strap button is.

it's a shame that both ends aren't narrow with the wider part with the padding covering the shoulder.

I'm slightly concerned about the padding, will it eventually disintegrate like old PVC, turning to black goo? If so, I'll most likely buy another one anyway, they're such good value.

I bought this strap for my new 5 string JB, whis is quite heavy (5,6kg), because I already have similar strap in different colour (Harley Benton Guitar Strap Padded Brown) and I am satisfied with that old one.
But this new black one, when compared with the brown one is much worse. I think, that in factory they forgot to add one layer of leather on the inner side of strap, because on the brown one, there is smooth surface on both sides of strap (except shoulder pad of course). Not the same on this black one - the inner side of strap is rough to the touch and crumbles small pieces of black fabric. Also it doesnt feel as sturdy as the brown one.
I have no courage, to use it with such heavy instrument, I don't trust that it can carry the weight reliably. According Thomann description it should have reinforced strap button holes, but it hasn't.
I will not send it back, because I will use it as a strap for one of my spare guitars, which I don't play often, but I feel a little disappointment with this purchase.
I hope that this is issue only with this one piece, not with all of the production line.

Considering its price, this strap offers great value. Yes, there are better guitar straps out there, but you'll need to pay significantly more to get one. For the price, this is the best I've used.
If you play a heavy guitar for long stretches of time, consider getting a high-end strap (which would be significantly more expensive). However, if you merely want something more comfortable than a simple cloth strap, yet don't want to spend a lot of money, this strap might be what you're looking for.
BTW, I needed to punch another hole in the strap to shorten it - it took a few minutes and I don't see this as a major downside.