ULTRA-LIGHT HARNESS, BY RICK YOUNG OUTDOORS, $29.95
I’m not really a fan of harnesses, but this one is different from the bulky webbing contraptions that may come to mind. I discovered it in Panama – an American birder was using one. At just one ounce in weight (28g) the U-LH is ultra-light. It’s made of shock cord so isn’t bulky and adds little to a binocular’s volume when wrapped around them. And it’s versatile. Rick Young Outdoors is a Us-based hunting store. But the U-LH also works on birding binoculars... It attaches to the binocular’s strap lugs with split rings, which carry push-in clips that the shock cord runs through. The blurb says you can use it in five ways. It works well as a harness. It has a single adjustment point – just squeeze and pull the cords through, and you can do this yourself while you’re wearing it. Make sure you have the correct length of cord going over each shoulder, or your binocular won’t move on the cords as well as it should. My binocular didn’t bounce around too much, but if you really want to tie things down use ‘Overwrap Lockdown’ mode – with a cord stretched over each objective barrel. Do this and you could crawl without your bins dangling. It could be good for cycling, too. The binocular moves smoothly on the cords, and as the cord is elasticated, a bit of elastic tension may improve the steadiness of your view. The cords do sometimes touch your face and there is some movement noise – but it’s not too bad. I thought ‘harness’ was the best mode but it also works well enough as a very easy to adjust neck strap, and, if you lengthen it enough, ‘Side Saddle’ – with your binocular worn across the body. The final mode is ‘Side Pull’ (see illustration). For me, this didn’t really work. Whatever mode you use, there’s much less material in contact with your body than a wide neck strap or a traditional harness – so less sweat issues. The U-LH is a bit inconvenient when you’re not wearing your bins and just grab them to use – but it’s not designed for that. You’ll need to attach your rainguard (and lens cloth maybe) directly to a binocular strap lug or the U-LH split ring. I did manage to get the cords a bit twisted too – but sorted it out.