Camera manufacturers have long shipped their bodies with forgettable straps, and the hardware that attaches them has often been just as uninspired. Peak Design changed that years ago with its Anchor Links, and now Wandrd is trying to push the idea further with the Wandrd Magnetic Camera Strap system, which launched Thursday.
The centerpiece is a circular anchor called the Torus Link. It attaches to a camera’s eyelets and is rated to hold up to 198 pounds. Like Peak Design’s design, the Torus Link includes a wear indicator: yellow material appears beneath the black fabric when the cord is starting to degrade, and red means the link should be retired immediately. Wandrd backs the links with a two-year warranty.
How the magnetic connection works
Where Wandrd departs from its predecessor is in the shape and the joining method. The Torus Link is donut-shaped, with an opening in the middle. The strap ends in a CoreLock mechanism with embedded magnets that steer the link into place and pinch into that hole to hold the camera. Removing the strap requires pinching the top and bottom of the CoreLock rather than simply pulling it away, a deliberate choice that makes the connection more secure than a phone-style magnetic attachment.
Wandrd cofounder Ryan Cope told WIRED that the company’s team, made up of photographers, had been considering a strap design for some time and that magnets appealed to them for the way they guide parts together and add a measure of security.
In the field: speed and one-handed swaps
The practical benefit is speed. In a press briefing where a product had to be photographed, the magnetic system made it easy to detach the strap for an awkward low-angle shot and reattach it almost instantly. The whole exchange could be done with one hand, with the magnets doing most of the alignment.
Two Torus Links were used on one camera body—one on the right eyelet and one on the tripod baseplate. The preferred setup, however, turns the strap into a single-point sling: one end of the strap clips into a built-in Torus Loop on the buckle, creating a closed loop that sits across the torso, leaving a single magnetic connector to snap onto the camera. When the camera is unclipped for shooting, the strap stays in place across the body instead of sliding off the shoulder.
Materials and compatibility
The strap uses a custom tubular webbing that Wandrd calls liquid nylon, developed over two years. It has no padding by design, but the edges are softer so the strap does not dig into the neck during long days of wear. The absence of metal in the strap system also means less risk of scratching camera gear.
Wandrd is also selling a DIY kit for $29 that lets photographers attach the Magnetic CoreLock system to a strap they already own. The full strap kit comes in a 30-mm size for $69, a 15-mm Lite version for $49, and a wrist strap for $39.
Whether the system will achieve the same ubiquity as Peak Design’s anchors is an open question, but the magnetic approach offers a noticeably quicker way to move between shooting configurations.
