What's the best way to attach the strap and the rainguard to Nikon Monarch M7? (1 Viewer)

[coolbird]

I recently bought Nikon Monarch M7 8x42. For the most part I followed the official tutorial for the Nikon camera strap.

It's my second pair of binoculars and I've realized only now that the rainguard can be attached to the strap too. I did that to the best of my abilities, however I keep thinking there has to be a better way to do this, I just couldn't really found any good video on that on the internet.

The problem with my current setup (see attached pictures) is that when it comes to the left part of the strap, the part that comes back under the keeper (annotated with blue arrow and a circle) makes it so that the rainguard strap lug has to go through three "layers" of the strap. This is a little bit too thick. Sometimes when I put on the rainguard and then stretch the strap by letting go of it and just letting it hang on my neck, the rainguard comes off because it's being lifted up by those three layers of strap.

Other times I'd make the buckle be too close to the binos so that when looking through them the rainguard would be too close to my face which is somewhat uncomfortable.

Anyway, I'm just not very good at this and I worry that by experimenting more I'm just going to screw up my current setup which is not the worst after all. It just makes me think that perhaps there's a better way to do this, so here I am asking other, more experienced bino owners if there's some secret technique I don't know about.

 

[Sc0tty]

I recently bought Nikon Monarch M7 8x42. For the most part I followed the official tutorial for the Nikon camera strap.

It's my second pair of binoculars and I've realized only now that the rainguard can be attached to the strap too. I did that to the best of my abilities, however I keep thinking there has to be a better way to do this, I just couldn't really found any good video on that on the internet.

The problem with my current setup (see attached pictures) is that when it comes to the left part of the strap, the part that comes back under the keeper (annotated with blue arrow and a circle) makes it so that the rainguard strap lug has to go through three "layers" of the strap. This is a little bit too thick. Sometimes when I put on the rainguard and then stretch the strap by letting go of it and just letting it hang on my neck, the rainguard comes off because it's being lifted up by those three layers of strap.

Other times I'd make the buckle be too close to the binos so that when looking through them the rainguard would be too close to my face which is somewhat uncomfortable.

Anyway, I'm just not very good at this and I worry that by experimenting more I'm just going to screw up my current setup which is not the worst after all. It just makes me think that perhaps there's a better way to do this, so here I am asking other, more experienced bino owners if there's some secret technique I don't know about.

 

[GeorgeL]

I use a separate, thin, 1mm nylon cord to tether the rainguard to bin loop, independent of the bin strap. No binding, rainguard hangs down freely, and completely out of your face.

 

[yarrellii]

Hi, @coolbird . Welcome to Birdforum, I'm sure you'll find plenty of good advice and opportunities to learn from what other forum members do or think, it' a great place to share our ideas/passion/use of binoculars.

I can easily sympathise, because I've gone through your question in the past and tried different ways of attaching the rainguard to the strap. Honestly, adopting the default solution provided by manufacturers (the one you're using, and the one shown on the video) I felt the rainguard was always in the middle, and the whole process was a little fiddly. In the end, probably in the line of what GeorgeL does, I use a separate small cord (in my case, I got it from a Zeiss Conquest HD, but I'm sure you can get something similar in smartphone shops). It's a two-piece system; one part attaches to the rainguard (by simply doing a loop through itself, no knot involved), and the other one is attached wether to the strap or to the binoculars, have a look:

First: to the strap.

Second option, to the metal loop on the body of the binoculars

After using the second option for a while, now find I prefer the first one, and it's the one I use with all my binoculars. For me, it has several advantages. It's really easy to install/detach the whole system from any binocular, you just have to undo the small cord loop on the strap side, and you are ready to install it in other binoculars. Second, and most importantly you can move it along the strap to the desired height, where you pull in order to "strangle" it and keep it in position. And, what I really love about this system is that sometimes, if I'm stationary, or simply taking a walk and there's no sign of rain/dust or oder menace, I simply unclick the rainguard and keep it in my pocket, this makes the use of binoculars a breeze (the same goes if I'm in my car or at home, or watching the night sky reclining on a chair, where rain guard is not needed). However, if it's a rainy day, or I'm walking through a forest (where drops, dust and other debris might fall into the eyepieces), I keep it on at all time. When a bird flies by, I simply rise the binoculars and, with a tiny help, the rainguard falls off, but stays safely attached to the binoculars. This way, when in use, I don't find the rainguard is particularly annoying (obviously, I rather not have it, that's why I use this system when weather allows).

I hope I have given you some inspiration to reach a solution that works for you with what you have at hand.

 

[coolbird]

Thank you @GeorgeL for the suggestion and @yarrellii for the fantastic write up. This setup seems to be secure and pretty comfortable! I'll see if I can maybe reuse parts from an old lanyard.

I've seen this video, but this particular pair of binoculars has the keeper and the buckle in a reverse order compared to my Monarch and I was just too lazy to undo the whole thing. Besides, when the author lifts the binos up at the end of the video, I just cannot imagine that rainguard not getting in the way. But maybe just making the loop bigger would help there. I might try it on my other pair which has both strap elements in that exact order.

 

[Brink]

Anybody know where to get a strap like yarellis? Also, are you using Swarovski covers on your eii?

 

[jring]

Hi,

since you have a fairly long distance with the strap doubled or tripled, you could also thread only the innermost layer though the hoop on the rainguard (I personally prefer to do so on both sides) - this will allow it to move freely along the strap for a few centimeters and it will be drawn into the correct position when the bins are hanging from the strap.

The drawback of attaching it on both sides in this way is that it will be in front of your face when used. I personally don't care, and think the ease of putting the rainguard on and off makes up for it.

Joachim

 

[coolbird]

you could also thread only the innermost layer though the hoop on the rainguard

Oh yeah, that’s true, idk why I didn’t think of that. 🤦‍♂️ Thanks!

 

[yarrellii]

Anybody know where to get a strap like yarellis? Also, are you using Swarovski covers on your eii?

The little cord/buckle system is from Zeiss, it comes with many of their binoculars (Terra, Conquest, SF, not sure about HT).



Funnily enough, I find the Zeiss objective covers to be basically useless, but the little attaching system is really useful. I'm not sure if you can get it from Zeiss as a separate item, but them, you can probably find similar things from shops selling necks straps for badges, keys, etc.

As for the rainguard, in the Nikon EII 8x30 I'm using the one that came with a Zeiss Conquest HD, I find it's a good match. Not too tight, not too loose. I really like how it fits the EII. In my EL SV 8x32 (on the bottom of first image) I'm using the rainguard of a Vortex Viper HD 10x50, that I also find it's a good match (I think the Swarovski rainguard on the ELSV, the one with a hinge is simply overkill and doesn't add much in terms of usefulness, if anything at all). Have a look at my setup for the EII.

I use the rainguard from a Zeiss Conquest HD (as well as the little strap/cord to attach it to the main neck strap). I use my favourite neck strap, the Swarovski CCS, not only does it have a fast and easy way to lengthen/shorten the strap (so you can change from bandolier to neck) but it also features a simple attach/detach button system, that saves you the trouble of looping the strap through the hooks on the binocular, I really like it. Finally, I use the case from a Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 that is able to carry anything from light 8x30's (like the M7, Opticron Traveller, etc.) to bigger 8x32 like the EL or compact 7/8x42's like the Leica Ultravid, and it has a belt loop, so you can wear it on your hip really comfortably and in an understated way. When I want to use that case for stubby porros like the EII, I simply put the binoculars on their side.

 

[coolbird]

since you have a fairly long distance with the strap doubled or tripled, you could also thread only the innermost layer though the hoop on the rainguard (I personally prefer to do so on both sides) - this will allow it to move freely along the strap for a few centimeters and it will be drawn into the correct position when the bins are hanging from the strap.

I went for a walk with this setup today and wow, you were right, it works surprisingly well! The rainguard was hanging at a comfortable distance and it didn't come off when the strap was stretched on my neck. I feel like this is the way to go!

See the attached pic for how the left side of the strap looks like now.

 

[Michellelg]

I went for a walk with this setup today and wow, you were right, it works surprisingly well! The rainguard was hanging at a comfortable distance and it didn't come off when the strap was stretched on my neck. I feel like this is the way to go!

See the attached pic for how the left side of the strap looks like now.

I just purchased Monarch 7 binoculars and found this discussion helpful - I managed to attach the strap and will try to see some warblers today. Thanks.

 

[[email protected]]

Hi,

since you have a fairly long distance with the strap doubled or tripled, you could also thread only the innermost layer though the hoop on the rainguard (I personally prefer to do so on both sides) - this will allow it to move freely along the strap for a few centimeters and it will be drawn into the correct position when the bins are hanging from the strap.

The drawback of attaching it on both sides in this way is that it will be in front of your face when used. I personally don't care, and think the ease of putting the rainguard on and off makes up for it.

Joachim

I agree with jring. Just thread only the innermost layer through the hoop on the rain guard, although I prefer to attach it on one side only, preferably the left side of the binoculars. It works best for me.

 

[Mike Crawley]

I have a couple of good friends who use paracord to attach their rainguard. And one guy who uses a couple of zip ties (one on the rain guard looped through one on the neck strap. And finally one who uses a small very light weight carabiner.

Having recently bought a pair of Zeiss Terra 8x32 binoculars with the system yarellii mentioned, I took the objective guard out of the cupboard (they never go on the binoculars) and removed the fixing tags. I have fitted one on each of my 10x42 and 8x32 Swarovski ELs. I'll take them out tomorrow and see how it works.