Bin too heavy? Try this. (1 Viewer)

[KorHaan]

Hello everyone,

I'm always looking for ways to make my fullsized bins less cumbersome around my neck. Trouble is, I don't want to wear a bino harness because it's kind of a fuzz to put your coat on and off.
The functionality of broad neckstraps is overrated IMO; I've tried dozens and they don't work for me. My FL's still feel too heavy.

So I invented the counterweight on my neckstrap. To begin with, I hung the binocase on the neck end of the strap, with some weight in it. This worked well, but it looked like I'd grown a hump and it got in the way on my back while carrying a rucksack.

Then I came up with a buckle tied to the neck end of the strap, this was definitely an improvement as a counterweight. I used a so called karabiner, a buckle used by mountain climbers, available in every outdoors sportshop.

See the attached thumbnail: BUCKLE

Though reasonably comfortable ( the buckle of 125 grams on the neckstrap made my 740 grams FL's feel like 615 grams ) this bino carrier needed further improvement, and I came up with something else: the bino yoke.

See the attached thumbnail: BIN YOKE

I know it looks ridiculous, and one will have to face the more traditionally thinking birding mob, but guess what: it immediately worked! An old wooden coathanger and two pieces of strap attached made my bins virtually weightless; I noticed they were there, on my chest, but with my DIY yoke the weight is effectively distributed where it should be: round the shoulders.

Next weekend I will be visiting a binocular festival with Zeiss, Swaro and Leica stands, and I'm gonna wear this yoke thing. Can't think of the reactions, but I will post again after the festival and let you all know.

Greetings, Ronald

 

[John Butler]

Hi Ronald.

A very inventive idea and you have obviously spent a lot of time on this project and if it works for you, then great. Who knows, it could be the greatest invention since the "Finnstick" method of relieving the weight of bino´s.

On a lighter note (sic). Why not leave the hook in the coathanger. Then when you go into a birdhide, you can hang yourself on a convenient point and take the weight off your feet, as well as your shoulders.

 

[Tero]

Sounds good. The finer binoculars weigh too much. I think this is because people want to get something for 1000 dollars, not just plastic.

 

[KorHaan]

Hi Ronald.



On a lighter note (sic). Why not leave the hook in the coathanger. Then when you go into a birdhide, you can hang yourself on a convenient point and take the weight off your feet, as well as your shoulders.

LOL

Hope there will be kind people around to help me down. Must find something to unhook myself... Boy, is birding getting complicated these days!

Greetings,

Ronald

 

[KorHaan]

Sounds good. The finer binoculars weigh too much.

Hi Tero,

You're right. Wish I had thought of this coathanger strap many years earlier, I once had a very good Russian 7x50 porro that was indestructable. After 8 years of use I sold it in the Ivory Coast where it had gloriously withstood all weather influences of the damp rain forest during 6 months.
It weighed 950 grams and I wanted something less heavy. Back in the Netherlands I bought a 7x42 Optolyth Alpin Classic, lightweight 460 grams.
It fogged up the very next day when I was out birding in the rain. Went back and got a new one on guarantee. Left it on the plane at Fiumicino Airport near Rome, foolishly, on an intermediate stop on the way to Senegal.
Ordered a 7x50 Optolyth Alpin Classic ( 620 grams ) a few days after arriving in Senegal. Wonderful bins for such a hot, dusty country. After a year I went back to Holland and the very next outing in pooring rain... they fogged up.
These lightweight porro's are just no good in wet environments.
Have had dozens of bins after, most of them good but too heavy. So now I've developed a bit of a stoop, and some back trouble.

Greetings, Ronald

 

[mook]

Hi Ronald,

BIN YOKE.....I like it! No reason why this device wouldn't appeal to the well heeled 'bird spotter'.....how about a Chanel coathanger for your (crystal-encrusted) Swarovskis, Hugo Boss for your Leicas, Prada for your Zeiss....??? The pose factor is limited only by ones taste (and wallet size!).

Cheers,

Mook.

 

[Nick-on]

Hi Ronald.

On a lighter note (sic). Why not leave the hook in the coathanger. Then when you go into a birdhide, you can hang yourself on a convenient point and take the weight off your feet, as well as your shoulders.

:clap: very droll

 

[Alurap]

Why not hire a "binocular caddy" to carry the, a complete assortment of optics, for you? .... 8X32 Lecia, 8X42 Zeiss FL's, 10X42 Swaro elites, 7X42 Zeiss classics, 8X32 nikon SE (gotta have a porro or two onhand) and he may as well have a scope or two (a 60MM and 80MM) with a variety of eye-pieces...at the ready.


"Oooh, scope caddy....the 10X42's pronto!"

Hi Ronald,

BIN YOKE.....I like it! No reason why this device wouldn't appeal to the well heeled 'bird spotter'.....how about a Chanel coathanger for your (crystal-encrusted) Swarovskis, Hugo Boss for your Leicas, Prada for your Zeiss....??? The pose factor is limited only by ones taste (and wallet size!).

Cheers,

Mook.

 

[Henry B]

Why not hire a "binocular caddy" to carry the, a complete assortment of optics, for you? .... 8X32 Lecia, 8X42 Zeiss FL's, 10X42 Swaro elites, 7X42 Zeiss classics, 8X32 nikon SE (gotta have a porro or two onhand) and he may as well have a scope or two (a 60MM and 80MM) with a variety of eye-pieces...at the ready.


"Oooh, scope caddy....the 10X42's pronto!"

Don,t forget the tri-pod.:hi:

 

[ThoLa]

Why not hire a "binocular caddy" to carry the, a complete assortment of optics, for you? .... 8X32 Lecia, 8X42 Zeiss FL's, 10X42 Swaro elites, 7X42 Zeiss classics, 8X32 nikon SE (gotta have a porro or two onhand) and he may as well have a scope or two (a 60MM and 80MM) with a variety of eye-pieces...at the ready.


"Oooh, scope caddy....the 10X42's pronto!"

Would a placidly frugal donkey not be less expensive in the long run,
serving basically the same purpose.

Unless one sets off for a bird-watching sea-cruise, of course.

Tom

 

[David Smith]

Your idea won't take off. There is a much cheaper answer already on the market in the UK. They cost £1.00 for 20 and they call them Bin' bags. I find they are a bit on the big side but I persevere.

 

[mook]

Oh no.....now we're starting to get Google ads for 'bins' as wells as 'Bins' - see beneath posts.

I had to read your post twice David before I comprehended.....thought you'd replied to the wrong thread!

Funny though.....

Cheers,

Mook.

PS. Those charity bags that are constantly dumped through the letter box are even cheaper....they're branded too & come in various colours!

 

[MacGee]

Ronald, I tried your counterweight system experimentally and it did seem to work, though I think I used too heavy and too large a weight. When I raised the bins to my eyes the weight pulled the strap too far down and I had the webbing parts scratching my stubble. There was also the certainty that I would eventually forget about the weight and concuss myself or maybe decapitate a passing child.

I met a man in a hide who had his bins on a long strap and carried them in the case on his belt. But his were a lot lighter than mine—or even yours.

I recently had a similar idea to your yoke idea, except that my yoke was a neoprene strap that stretched across the shoulders and part way down the back. Now that you've introduced the counterweight concept, I might incorporate some extra weight into the bit going down the back.

I did try your coat hanger idea, but the wood pressed on the vertebra at the base of my neck. Painful. I'd need to cut away the centre so that it formed an arch to accommodate the bony projection. But since I'll never have the courage to go out in public wearing it, it doesn't seem worth the effort.

Keep up the good work.

Michael.

 

[KorHaan]

Very funny, thanks all for the suggestions and remarks.

Donkeys do have a habit of stopping in the middle of a walk so I'd have to hire a donkey driver as well; a camel might be a better option, high vantage point and room for a couple of crates of beer. Or an elephant ( too expensive ).

Or may be a well trained big dog ( Danish ) with saddlebags for the whole lot?
I even made a comic strip once on this.

Greetings, Ronald

PS : I just had a good idea about something completely off-topic, but interesting for binocular owners who wear spectacles. I'll produce drawings and post Little Ron explaining things. But first have to think it out a bit more.

 

[KorHaan]

Ronald, I tried your counterweight system experimentally and it did seem to work, though I think I used too heavy and too large a weight. When I raised the bins to my eyes the weight pulled the strap too far down and I had the webbing parts scratching my stubble. There was also the certainty that I would eventually forget about the weight and concuss myself or maybe decapitate a passing child.

I met a man in a hide who had his bins on a long strap and carried them in the case on his belt. But his were a lot lighter than mine—or even yours.

I recently had a similar idea to your yoke idea, except that my yoke was a neoprene strap that stretched across the shoulders and part way down the back. Now that you've introduced the counterweight concept, I might incorporate some extra weight into the bit going down the back.

I did try your coat hanger idea, but the wood pressed on the vertebra at the base of my neck. Painful. I'd need to cut away the centre so that it formed an arch to accommodate the bony projection. But since I'll never have the courage to go out in public wearing it, it doesn't seem worth the effort.

Keep up the good work.

Michael.

Michael,

I forgot to mention the hazardous nature of the counterweight, thanks for that. Indeed was I reminded it was there every time I bent over to pick something up.
Maybe that was the reason I started to think about a yoke.

Your neoprene strap yoke combined with a counterweight is a splendid idea, do give it a try. You never know how well this might work.

The wooden coathanger I use does press a bit on my lower neck vertebrae but thanks to my stoop I experience little discomfort. However, there's always room for improvement, so instead of cutting away a piece in the center I could apply some cushioning on the ends to elevate the center into a more ergonomic and comfortable position.
I'm sorry to hear it's painful for you, I'll start thinking of something else than a coathanger, something rigid that doesn't look too odd and also does the job.

Oh, and I went out in public today with the yoke, to my local patch, where I met three birding companions who were surprised but didn't mock me. That's a relief. Once you put forward the meaning of the structure there's little opposition, is my tentative conclusion.
Only thing that bothered me a bit was that I was wearing a rucksack that pushed up the wooden yoke a bit, putting some more pressure where it shouldn't be.
It certainly was more comfortable though than a neoprene neckstrap, since it was a hot, humid afternoon and my neck didn't get sweaty. Advantage point here!

Greetings, Ronald

 

[David Smith]

The counterweight idea sounded good so I tried it. It works to some extent but I did have problems. I put a 5.0 Kilo counterweight on the back but this was little too much so I added an extra 3.0 Kilos to the front. This again was a little too much so I added a further 1.0 Kilo to the back. As I say it gave me some initial problems but if I ever manage to stand up it should be OK

 

[ThoLa]

The counterweight idea sounded good so I tried it.

The dedicated birder never leaves the house with just one pair of binoculars anyway.
So why not knot 2 of them together on a pair of cords. 7x42 on the ventral side, 10x42 on the dorsal. If you need the other one, you just give the one on the front-side a heartily push to make it swirl to the back (like a bola). The other one will in due course be set in motion. With a little bit of training you'll be able to grasp it from midair when it comes zooming along on the belly-side.
Great show and certainly less ridiculous than wearing a coat-hanger.
T

 

[John Butler]

The dedicated birder never leaves the house with just one pair of binoculars anyway.
So why not knot 2 of them together on a pair of cords. 7x42 on the ventral side, 10x42 on the dorsal. If you need the other one, you just give the one on the front-side a heartily push to make it swirl to the back (like a bola). The other one will in due course be set in motion. With a little bit of training you'll be able to grasp it from midair when it comes zooming along on the belly-side.
Great show and certainly less ridiculous than wearing a coat-hanger.
T

Hi ThoLa

I have just tried the method you suggested and found a serious flaw in the system.

My 10x42´s weigh much more than my 7x42´s.

After using the 10x42,s for 2 minutes I then swung them around to my back with a flourish so that the 7x42´s would come into play. Unfortunately, the heavier weight of the 10x42´s meant that gravity took over and they slipped further down my back as they passed around my body. Instead of the other bins coming immediately to hand (as I had anticipated), this had the effect of raising the lighter 7x42´s to such an extent that I was clouted on the nose by the turned-down eye cup of the 7x42´s, resulting in a fracture of the nose and a hasty visit to the casualty department of the local hospital.

Now, with the very large bandage dressing that was applied to the injury in place, I find it very painful to use either pair of binoculars, although the lighter 7x42´s cause a little less discomfort.

Are you sure that you tested this method before giving out this advice?

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Hi ThoLa

I have just tried the method you suggested and found a serious flaw in the system.

My 10x42´s weigh much more than my 7x42´s.

After using the 10x42,s for 2 minutes I then swung them around to my back with a flourish so that the 7x42´s would come into play. Unfortunately, the heavier weight of the 10x42´s meant that gravity took over and they slipped further down my back as they passed around my body. Instead of the other bins coming immediately to hand (as I had anticipated), this had the effect of raising the lighter 7x42´s to such an extent that I was clouted on the nose by the turned-down eye cup of the 7x42´s, resulting in a fracture of the nose and a hasty visit to the casualty department of the local hospital.

Now, with the very large bandage dressing that was applied to the injury in place, I find it very painful to use either pair of binoculars, although the lighter 7x42´s cause a little less discomfort.

Are you sure that you tested this method before giving out this advice?

Surely by resting the binoculars on the bandage you can take some of the weight off your arms now which must be a bit of compensation.

Has anyone tried attaching their binoculars to a modified Bob Dylan style harmonica bracket? I'm thinking wire coat hangers here.

Ron

 

[stronzo]

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