Ultra-Light Binocular Harness a Winner
The Rick Young Outdoors Ultra-Light Binocular Harness is the lightest, fastest, most versatile, tangle-free binocular strap/harness on the market.
Weighs one ounce.
Tangle-free, single point adjustment center.
Quick detach clips for range finder, binocular, camera.
How I Met the Ultra-Light Binocular Harness
In the old days, after a hard day of elk hunting, my neck would be out of whack from sliding down mountains and jumping off logs with my binoculars bouncing on my neck, the weight dispersed only by a thin leather strap. And sometimes that strap wasn’t all that strong…I once walked down a log in Colorado’s Rawah Wilderness Area while stalking elk. The bark slipped and I flipped backwards, landing pretty hard. I shook it off, kept hunting, and soon glimpsed elk. I reached for my binoculars and they were gone. That danged binocular strap had snapped during my fall. This started my seemingly endless search for a better way to carry my binoculars. And I think I’ve finally found it.During the Idaho Sports Show in Boise I noticed something new. It was the Ultra-Light Binocular Harness from Rick Young Outdoors. At a glance I discounted them as being too thin. The 1/8-inch elastic cord material looked like it would eat right into my shoulders. Luckily, the second time I walked by that booth, Rick Young himself waved me in and asked what I thought of his Ultra-Light Binocular Harness.I told him my concerns, that the strap was too thin and would cut into your shoulders. Rick then caught me off guard when he asked “have you tried one on yet”?Sheepishly, I had to reply “no.”
I Actually Test The Ultra-Light Binocular Harness -- And Fall in Love
“Then here,” he said “Try one on.” I did and wow! It weighed just one ounce and felt comfortable. Not at all what I expected. The narrow, stretchy cords were not cutting into me.Right away I knew I needed an Ultra-Light Binocular Harness, but not just for my binoculars. It would also work for my camera, as Rick quickly demonstrated. You can wear the harness several ways, carrying your binocular or camera low or high on your chest, bandolier style under your arm or behind your back. You can even use one of the loops under your lens or binocular barrel to cradle it and stop nearly all movement. Turns out a binocular harness on my camera makes perfect sense. As an Outdoor Writer I’m always packing a camera, usually on a neck strap. It sways around , clanks on everything, and is just plain awkward to carry. Attached to Rick Young’s Ultra-Light Binocular Harness, problem solved!Here are more details on how this harness works: Basically it’s like a traditional strap harness that goes over both shoulders except it has just one connection point. Nothing to twist and tangle. It has individual clips that mate to ones you add on a split ring to your binoculars and camera. They’re quick disconnect clips (extra sets are just $5.00.) That way you can put a set on your camera and another set on your binoculars and then just unclip the harness in a hot second and use it on either one, eliminating the need to buy two harnesses. Slick idea.
Single Point Adjustment Button Is Heart of the Ultra-Light Binocular Harness
Image shows man using two hands to adjust the length of his Ultra-Light Binocular Harness
A really cool feature is that single point adjustment system. It's the key to the whole program. This is a small, nylon, sliding lock device through which the cables run. It rides high on your back, behind your neck. To shorten the harness and raise your binocular or camera, just push this lock button and pull the tail end of the cord. There’s no need to remove your binoculars or the harness to slide those traditional friction bars and try to balance each side’s length. Just one pull of the Ultra-Light Binocular Harness cord and just like that you’ve repositioned how high or low your binocular rides.This quick, single-point adjustment system has proven quite convenient and useful. Imagine you have to crawl on all fours to stalk an antelope. You know your binocular is going to sway and maybe even drag in the dirt. Slide the harness to bring your binoculars up high on your chest and problem solved. When you get to a point where you need to glass again, a mere push of a button releases the cord so you can pull the binocular down where it’s most comfortable and useable. You’re back in the glassing business. This is absolutely the best harness for active hunters.This 3-minute video on the Rick Young Outdoors page demonstrates all the slick ways you can make the Ultra-Light Binocular Harness work for you. Tom Claycomb is a Texas farm boy mistakenly locked in a grow man’s body, but he doesn’t let that interfere with his hunting and fishing.
