Richter Guitar Strap SpringbreakI BKBK

c'mon, what on earth can be so special, in guitar strap, that comes at a price for which, these days, you might buy a whole solidbody guitar to hang to?

great as the hi-res pictures might hint, it's only when you have it in your hands that you get what's the difference between this, and the other 10 or 20 that you have (or have ever had).

this one's leather's supple and soft, but holds its strength and shape when even a heavy load hangs, and depends, from it, for starters.

the tanning process on its leather make it ideally slip-free, but – contrary to suede leather – this is friction-free only when the load is on it... nudge your bass' or guitar's neck upwards, and the strap slides in place no matter what you're wearing - cotton, wool or pile, it always does the trick like no other did before, in my case.

another unexpected feature of this strap is its weight, or better put: lightweight; it weighs far less than the other leather straps i have and have had, which (given the strenght and thickness of its leather) is quite surprising.

wait... you're asking why shall its lightweight be a welcomed feature? when you're gonna hang a 5kg bass off it, what can 30 or 50g ever mean, isn't that a negligible portion of the whole?

on your shoulder, sure: if you can stand 5000g hanging from it, you can as well stand 5100g, or 5050... but when you have your guitar or bass around, maybe a pricey hollowbody, maybe a feather-light gem from an ancient past, a stiff and heavy strap can easily damage the delicate purflings that are peeling away, or the old inlaly that's started to flake off, or knock the wooden bridge off its exact place... seen it all happen before, and if the guitar's yours, something you won't easily forget.

the other extra bits are there, too: no buckle, no rings, no rivets, neither metal nor plastic, all eyelets are sawn-through, so repeated handling won't undo whatever holds the layers together... even the need of a rubber grommet (or a specific locking device) to safety keep the strap to the guitar's buttons is somewhat less relevant, or bass', because of how neatly stitched the strap's eyelets are. and, in a wise future-proof vision, the way the eyelets are stitched, you can easily trim the excessive length with a razor blade, and the stitches won't undo themselves off!

is there still room for one extra treat? yes?
well, this smells great, too - that pleasant, old-style, leather waft that i remember from my youth days at shoe- and saddlemakers' shops is there - faint, indeed, but if you get your nose close by, you'll taste it!

if you can afford one, bottom line, this seems all the most perfect compromise between strength and comfort, class-looking optics and instrument's utmost safety, and it works wonders to make heavy instruments feel somewhat less demanding on your shoulders, without even being too wide for that.

bravo, Richter – i could have saved myself all others, if ever i'd bought this one before!