• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Straps or Harness? (1 Viewer)

bentleyg

bentleyg

Grahame
Can't seem to find this in past threads so I'll ask the question. Who uses or has used binocular harnesses and what are they like? Toying with the idea of buying one of the several on the UK market. All this sunshine has had me out and about without a coat to stop my bins swinging! Tried an experiment with a spare strap round my back and that certainly stopped them swinging, but not totally convinced that they won't be too restrictive, even with the slide action the pucker ones seem to have. Any comments one way or the other will be gratefully received.
 
bentleyg said:
Who uses or has used binocular harnesses and what are they like?
Click to expand...

Well, I use a harness, it was sent to me by a friend in the USA who said I just had to use it. You have to be prepared to adjust the straps depending on whether you're wearing lots of layers of clothes or just a T shirt, and you have to be pretty limber to get into it (or a bit more savvy than me).

If you go birding anywhere hot, then it is absolutely worth the effort as it keeps the straps off the back of your neck. Even the stretchy neoprene ones can get uncomfortable in hot weather.
 
Most people seem to know about the Crooked Horn binocular harness which seems to be very popular. I have never really liked the Crooked Horn system because, if you put it on tight enough to keep the binocular from swinging, then you have to push against the straps the whole time you are glassing. And if you adjust it so that you don't have to push against the straps, then the binocular swings around too much.

My dad and I started using The Bino Manager from Innovative Products Inc. and have found that it is far and away better than the Crooked Horn harness. It is more comfortable, provides better protection, and requires no straining against the straps when glassing. It also involves a quick-connect system that is easier to use than the Crooked Horn's. You can see them at:

http://www.archerywarehouse.com/binoaccess.htm

I like this harness so much that I simply won't carry my binocular with a traditional neck strap anymore. I don't even have to do hardly any adjustments when wearing heavy clothes in Winter.
 
robinm said:
My wife uses one of these http://www.kiteoptics.com/products.php?la=en&subbase=4&subsubbase=&id=39 and wouldn't be without it.

They don't seem to have a UK dealer - we bought it at the BirdFair a few years ago.
Click to expand...


Thanks for this (and the others) comments. As they're cheap enough decided to buy one and find out for myself. Getting an Opticron one mail order from Sherwood photo. It looks very similar to your Kiteoptics one.
I'll post again in a week or two to say if I'm still using it.

Thanks
Grahame
 
I use a Viking one, about £20, bought at RSPB shop. Very successful - I'd had problems with my neck before, and had had to curtail birdwatching expeditions because of pain, which just isn't experienced now.

The only problem I've found is the exact opposite of the one you have. It was obviously designed with larger builds than mine in mind. It's fine when I have lots of layers on, but when I'm just wearing a t-shirt, I've tightened all the straps up as much as possible, and they're still rather long, so it does tend to swing around a bit. But I easily put up with this for the comfort.
 
bentleyg said:
Can't seem to find this in past threads so I'll ask the question. Who uses or has used binocular harnesses and what are they like? Toying with the idea of buying one of the several on the UK market. All this sunshine has had me out and about without a coat to stop my bins swinging! Tried an experiment with a spare strap round my back and that certainly stopped them swinging, but not totally convinced that they won't be too restrictive, even with the slide action the pucker ones seem to have. Any comments one way or the other will be gratefully received.
Click to expand...

I use both a neck strap and a harness depending on how I'm dressed. With a Tee shirt or light shirt, its the harness, with a heavy shirt or jacket, it's the strap. I use a Tamrac neck strap with their quick release system and modified a Swarovski harness with the Tamrac quick release system for attaching to my bins. I like both, again depending on what I'm wearing. In the summer, almost never remove the harness, in the winter almost never remove the strap unless take a vacation to a tropical or semi-tropical climate.

Jaeger near Chicago
 
I purchased a Bino Manager at Gander Mt this week and it seems to be a quality made product. I havn't taken it out in the woods yet, but just using it around the yard, it works super fine. All of the positive reviews sold me. I do like it better than the regular harness.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 18 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

C
Stealth birding Quick release binocular harness/strap question
Replies
3
Views
914
yarrellii
yarrellii
D
Recommendation for a binocular
Replies
6
Views
514
MiddleRiver
MiddleRiver
chill6x6
Birding after surgery...
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
hopster
hopster
hopster
Focus to infinity for short-sighted users
Replies
7
Views
782
eronald
E
jafritten
How to carry heavy binoculars in the field and on long hikes
2
Replies
27
Views
6K
GeorgeL
G

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top