pimpelmees
Well-known member
Who uses the harness with only the rings attached to the binocular ? Is there damage to the eyes where the rings have to go trough, or is anyone using the rubber accessory between the eyelet and rings ?
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Rick young harness (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter pimpelmees
- Start date
I really never use the ring unless it's just for a "quick fix." I always just use a zip/wire tie from the clip to the binocular.
Somewhere on the internet is a picture of a binocular that has the strap lugs worn almost completely through from the owner’s use of metal snap rings. Because of this potential for damage, I always use rubber (probably not real rubber, but that’s what I’m calling them) strap connectors between the lugs and the RYO harness fittings.
I came across this product recently and was surprised to see bare metal rings used as attachment hardware. Rick Young claims it's optimal for reducing roll and will "only" cause cosmetic damage to the attachment point, but they sell a separate accessory to alleviate this. I think you'll still get cosmetic scratches on the body though.
rickyoungoutdoors.com
Binocular connection straps
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On bins with small lugs like the Zeiss VP 8x25 and other pocket models I now use the zip ties as pictured by Chuck/cill6x6 in post #2 above with the RYO harness. Works very well, quick and easy and widely adjustable. On bins with larger lugs I use the short leather strap attachments.
The product pictured by Bob, post # 4, looks interesting as an alternative to the leather strap type. Has anyone used these and if so, are there any real advantages?
Regarding Phil's post #3 , for some reason I initially decided to use the metal ring on the VP but kept an eye on things and after a few months noticed some definite cosmetic wear that appeared to have progressed to slight physical damage to the (tiny) lug as well. Switched over the the zip ties.
I may be too hung up on this but IME it is better to minimize the number and length of attachments with the RY harness to minimize swing and sway as I believe the RY site mentions.
Mike
The product pictured by Bob, post # 4, looks interesting as an alternative to the leather strap type. Has anyone used these and if so, are there any real advantages?
Regarding Phil's post #3 , for some reason I initially decided to use the metal ring on the VP but kept an eye on things and after a few months noticed some definite cosmetic wear that appeared to have progressed to slight physical damage to the (tiny) lug as well. Switched over the the zip ties.
I may be too hung up on this but IME it is better to minimize the number and length of attachments with the RY harness to minimize swing and sway as I believe the RY site mentions.
Mike
I've basically used about every means available to connect a binocular to a harness LOL. About every harness too. I started out using the little strap to ring to clip with the RL harness. It was a tedious task for me to do this especially buying, selling, trying new binoculars etc. I also tried the RL binocular connection straps above which ramped up the tediousness. Those things are kind of expensive too. So somewhere along the way I tried the zip-ties. I haven't look back since. Easy to remove and easy to install. So far this method has been 100% reliable and no noticeable wear to the binocular lugs.
PCH BIRDER
Well-known member
Chill or Steve or anyone else -- could you give me a link to the "zip-ties" you're using...thanks.
Steve C
Well-known member
Take your pick.
BryanP
Little known member
This ^^ plus any local hardware store should have em. They have different names in different markets. Back home in my region of Canada we call them zapstraps but I've seen the name cableties, hoseties as well as zipties.
From my experience using them for outdoor applications I've found black to be the most resistant to uv rays, any other colour disintegrated within a very short time.
Some of the brands even have load ratings for their various sizes. As well, some are designed to be reusable, in other words you can undo them.
I've tried them on my bins and found the little “nub” the bit you cut off short can be too sharp even when using sidecutters to do the job. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things of course.
Cheers,
Bryan
From my experience using them for outdoor applications I've found black to be the most resistant to uv rays, any other colour disintegrated within a very short time.
Some of the brands even have load ratings for their various sizes. As well, some are designed to be reusable, in other words you can undo them.
I've tried them on my bins and found the little “nub” the bit you cut off short can be too sharp even when using sidecutters to do the job. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things of course.
Cheers,
Bryan
PCH BIRDER
Well-known member
Thanks to Steve and BryanP! I thought you were talking about some kind of exotic "metal zip tie" that I wasn't familiar with -- I must have read the comment wrong -- Yes, I am very familiar with Zip Ties and I will give it a try as soon as my new RY ultra-light harness arrives and I need to attach it...Seems like a very simple, great idea!
😀👍
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BryanP
Little known member
No worries!
My SF”s came supplied with a set so Zeiss must think its a good idea.
Cheers,
Bryan
for almost 20 years I've used the little metal rings on my premier 8x32s as attachment points for my harness clips. but unlike the picture in post #2 above, the rings didn't attach directly to the binocular frame. instead, two zip ties were passed through each frame mounting point and metal ring, so that the zip ties held the rings to the frame. zip tie tension was just loose enough to allow the rings to flip up to down freely. that's the way I set up my new kowa genesis 8.5x44 glasses, and they much heavier than the nikon.
I don't know that I'd trust zip ties to replace rings but, that said, I have an old (1967) Leica M4 camera whose lugs are well worn from decades of being carried on a strap with metal split rings. I solved that issue some years ago with a half case that's got it's own strap securely built in. Of course, the Leica is a fair bit heavier than most birding bins.
