Domke 725-310 FA-031 U.S. Post Office Shoulder Pad , Black

I really love this product because, unlike other padded shoulder straps, the foam is thicker on one long side than on the other. The thicker side is worn facing your arm and counteracts the downward slope of your shoulders. Because of this the strap doesn't tend to ride down and nearly slip off when heavy loads are being carried. Made of heavy duty closed cell foam which will probably last forever, and I have never encountered velcro fasteners that are so tough to pull apart.

The padding was fairly comfortable but what I really liked was my camera bag strap no longer dug into my shoulders after walking around with it all day.The reason I'm giving it 1-star is someone recently stepped on it and left a shoe print on it. I washed it under tap water (no detergent) and used a soft brush and the shoe print came off quickly. I hung it to dry in the sun and now the foam material along the edges is so sticky that it sticks to my clothing. If I put the strap down and it touches something (dust, paper) it now sticks to the foam. It was not sticky before I washed it with water. It is too bad they didn't enclose the foam in some material.

I have carried shoulder slung bags of various kinds weighing 2-10 lbs and have always had the same problems; a) the strap tends to slide down your shoulder b) strap digs into your shoulder. This product solves both problems nicely. First, the pad is wedge shaped, being very thick on one side and very thin on the other. This allows the strap to sit in a "level" manner on your tapper shoulder. Second, the dense, rubberized foam is soft yet firm. It grips your clothing and resists slipping while also distributing the load over a broad surface area. Its well constructed with strong velcro used in the attachment tabs. It fits the Domke strap on my Chronicle bag perfectly. I will likely purchase additional pads to go on other non-Domke bags.

I recently went on a trip where I was walking miles a day on a tour. I used this shoulder pad on a Merrell messenger bag. It was filled with a padded camera compartment, DSLR, compact tripod, a 24 oz. water bottle, camera accessories (extra batteries, cords, etc), extra shirt/socks, and some food/snacks. It was quite weighted. The camera itself was around 3 pounds and over 5 with my tripod. With all my gear, I would say my bag was just over 13-15 pounds. I initially chose this, because I wanted to avoid using a backpack due to the hot/humid weather I was going to be in. I wanted to use a messenger bag instead of covering my back and sweating due to a backpack. I knew if I went this route a messenger back would do a number on my shoulder. To avoid this, I bought this shoulder pad hoping, including good gear choices to limit weight, I could avoid a backpack.We walked constantly in the heat. I don't believe my shoulder could have made this trip, much less 6 days of it, without this pad. At first, this pad seems a bit bulky due to it's thickness and backing. Since the weight is offset by laying on your shoulder and providing support and cushioning, it's a non-factor. After 3 days, my shoulder felt a little tired and sore. At this point, my pack was getting heavier, as I started packing more gear, including more water/fluids to keep hydrated. Although I could tell my should was getting tired, I couldn't imagine if this pad was not on there. I made it through 6 days without my shoulder getting much more tired than the 4th day.Summary: With an over-packed messenger bag, this pad worked wonderfully well. I don't believe I would feel my messenger bag in normal conditions of use (weighted with just my camera and tripod), but being tested on a trip, proved it's ability to save my shoulder and let me go longer. My only complaint is that it seems the velcro straps/base that connect this to the strap of your bag seems to be pulling away from the pad when pulling the velcro support straps tight. Fortunately, this has not been an issue since the pad/backing inherently kept together by the weight or your bag. I would have normally removed a star from this, but based on the price and the ability/comfort of this product, I'm giving it all up. I highly recommend this product if you require more padding on a messenger bag.

I bought it reading all the favorable review on Amazon. While is not a bad product but certainly it does not hold up to its review either. First of all, is this comfortable? Yes it is comfortable than having nothing. How comfortable it is? I would say 3 out of 5. And that's the justification of my rating.Little bit of context; I bought it for my camera bag where I carry one camera, one point and shoot camera, two or three lenses and couple of other camera oriented gear. Total weight about 10-15lb.Pros.1. It provides some extra pad (that's what it is suppose to do)2. The velcro is really strong and it can hold item really well3. The top part is rubbery, so the strap does not moveCons.1. The top rubbery part is attach to the bottom part with some kind of glue, and open and closing the velcro actually detach the top part from the bottom part.2. It is heavy and it is way bigger than than it seems from the picture3. The cushion itself is not very soft.4. The depth is not uniform, hence you can have your strap in a single way, unless you open up the velcro and flip it over

Wish the upper velcro area was more securely attached, mine is starting to "peel" off - the upper part is either double sided tape or glued on but the adhesive didn't hold very well, >3 months and it's separating, strap never seemed to stay secured while in use either, may have been better if the strap was secured more than just the two small areas of velcro.