The photography gear startup Frii Designs based in Stockholm, a company known for its unconventional photography accessories, has announced the launching of an unusual camera strap design that uses interlocking pieces to go from loose and flexible, to stiff and sturdy, allowing it to become tripod-like with the flip of a switch.

Frii Designs’ founder Jonas Lundin said that the company designed the tripod to be the ideal travel companion. As photographers, the designers of the Conda love to travel light, but also often desire capturing images that necessitate a tripod.
“Our goal was to create a product that could function like a tripod, without making the user carry any extra equipment,” Lundin said.

Somewhere between a Joby Gorillapod and a shoulder strap, the Conda starts as a flexible shoulder strap that attaches directly to your camera via the tripod mount. The Conda features a flat padded section at the top – which sits against the user’s neck or shoulder – and an articulated section lower down. The flat part of the strap is stretchable, and its length is adjustable. The articulated section has a camera-mounting plate in the middle, with a lever on the back. When you need to use it as a tripod, simply flip the lever at the top and the Conda stiffens up for moulding into whatever shape you need.

It’s an interesting concept and certainly carves out a niche in a market that’s fairly saturated. Due to the components required to turn it into a mounting solution, it doesn’t necessarily look like the most comfortable shoulder strap — and certainly not the lightest — but if it means you don’t have to carry around even a small tripod or mounting solution, it might be worth the compromise.

Plans call for the Conda strap to be available in two models, the Standard and the Plus. The first tips the scales at 340 grams and can handle smaller cameras weighing up to 1.1kg, while the former comes in at 530g and is good for larger cameras up to 2.2kg.

The strap will fit any camera with a standard tripod thread using a knurled thumb screw, making the installation completely tool-less. According to Frii Designs, the strap has a unique length adjustment system to switch between neck and sling style.

The straps will be available in three different colors – black, titanium grey, or ruby red. They are made out of a custom made polymer, PET, and cotton.

In order to bring the Conda strap to market, the company says it needs to secure 1,000 backers to its Kickstarter. The basic strap will retail for $149 when it comes to market, but Frii Designs plans to offer it for $97 during the crowdfunding campaign. If the Kickstarter is successful, the company plans to ship the first units by March of 2021.

More info on Frii Designs’ website.