Straps made by a straps-mom. Lyon Straps are new on the scene, but so far have been slinging straps left and right to folks who last minute need new pairs and are based in the US or CA. Overall, they’re a solid option for pretty comfy straps for nearly all skills.
Total score:
Price: 7.5
Comfort: 8.5
Safety: 8.5
Versatility: 8
Customer Service: 9
Aesthetics: 9
Okay, now let’s get into the nitty gritty!!!!
Price: 7.5 – at $295 including shipping these stack up to be somewhere in the upper-middle of the range of prices, if you’re shipping to the US (then you avoid import taxes and higher fees). Generally, I’ve only seen higher prices so far with Habitat Circus, and with looped straps (because, ya know, more fabric, etc). That said, for suede, microsuede, velvet, you’re almost always looking at the upper end of the price range, and in most cases, I think the extra cost is worth it.
Comfort: 8.5 – they’re honestly very close to Habitat Straps but with smaller keepers/safeties, more cross-stitching, and a feeling of looseness in the cover over the core. The smaller keepers might be an aspect that folks with much smaller hands like, though I had a pal who is a female aerialist try them, and she found the keepers to feel weirdly small as well. For reference, I have small hands for someone who is 6′ tall. The cross-stitching being longer by the handloops is only an issue if you’re flipping and twisting them to make auto-cinching loops, and then you’ve got a larger portion that’s really stiff. The looseness of the cover on the core just felt a bit weird when grabbing it, but is super minor.
That said, like I say in the video, these are some of the comfiest straps out of the box I’ve used so far (Habitat is up there as well), and they really do feel pretty solid for spinning, waist rolling, ankle locks, etc. The keeper size makes them feel a bit weird with more dynamic load.
Safety: 8.5 – Straps are made from nylon core, with a polyester suede covering, sewn with a high tensile strength bonded nylon thread. All straps are pulled with weighted tension before leaving their facility (this is something I super appreciate after having a strap fail on me that could have been avoided with weighted tension pulling). The straps are 3rd party load tested as well! The stitching looks pretty solid in most places with only a few loose threads (but truly minimal here). The more slippery the strap, the more I’m stressed about slipping through, but this only matters with super high load dynamics.
The only other reason they’re an 8.5 is that I just don’t have enough longitudinal data to refer back to since they’re new. But I’ve got a good feeling about their straps!
Versatility: 8 – I don’t think I’ll find a pair of straps that will ever be top rated for comfort while being top rated for versatility unless I commit to using rosin or wetting my hands any time I want grab above the handloops of really comfy suede/velvet straps. The area where they lose a bit on versatility is that they’re harder than Habitat Straps to hold above the loop. Otherwise, these straps are great for waist rolling, spinning, and are pretty great for most swinging. The smaller keepers and the more slippery cover make me feel less psychologically comfy with super dynamic movements on straps (big beats, drops, and dislocs) but they’re still good for swings if you pay attention to any loop slipping.
Customer Service: 9 – they’re made by a straps parent, and so it clearly shows that they care about safety and quality. Shipping was fast and flexible, and overall, they were quite responsive. I don’t have lots of data about other experiences with them and they’re relatively new, but fingers crossed it stays that way!
Cleanability: 9 – Cleaning is simple, cold water mild soap, hang, or lay flat to dry.
Aesthetics: 9 – again, I love the color purple. We’ll see if/how it fades.
Overall, these are solid straps that I’d recommend for most skills at a reasonable price point for anyone purchasing in the US/Canada.