MR quick draw bino harness

[MT_Wyatt]

Anyone trying one?

Ordered up one of these from Black Ovis (thanks gang for the Rokslide code and quick ship) to try out. I've ran an S4 and have used the Kuiu system since they came out with it. I've always liked the Kuiu system.

Having it in hand, I thought I'd offer a couple thoughts, and I have some questions I'm sending the Black Ovis crew, will post what I find out. Lots of good stuff going for it, couple misses in my opinion, that I really don't get.

Here's what it is. What I don't get or like in separate post.
- magnetic attachment is like what Simms uses to attach hip bags to their backpacks. There's a small stretch piece built into the lid strap so it's easy on/off.
- there's (2) rows of Molle, so I threw my MR bear spray holster on there for a visual. Fits ok.
- small zip pocket on the front is low profile, nice add.
- Side stretch pockets are a nice size, very well done.
- the foam that gives it structure is their higher density stuff, so it will take a little "breaking in" to get it to fit well. As shipped, it needs some glass in it for a while to force it to be its full volume.
- the actual lid has a stretch portion on the hinge point, the pic below shows my finger poking through it to illustrate. This is nice because you get some side coverage, and it makes tucking the lid back into the pouch super easy. Really like this feature.
- hardware is all duraflex like the Kuiu harness.
- harness connects to pouch in 4 points, with a nice extra strap connection for binos that is detachable.

 

[Kane Morishita]

Thanks for the post. Will front pocket accept a rangefinder (Leica)
And what size binos will the accommodate ?
Thanks

 

[MT_Wyatt]

Ok here goes what I don't get, or like. I'd love to have one of the MR guys hop on here and discuss the design, just to clarify what they were going for and found in testing. Sure would help their marketing. I went into it really wanting to like their harness. Not so sure about that still. I'm posting this to put some info out there on it, because you simply can't tell a lot of this without holding and messing with it. I'm not trying to bash these guys at all, just highlighting what I see.

- I'll start with the most confusing/blatant thing that really leaves my head scratching, and frankly makes me a little angry. The bino attachment straps have no hardware. None. No tri slide, no web keeper, no retention hardware for the bino strap ring on the bino. I don't get this one. Maybe they forgot to put that piece on at the factory?.........I do expect the ability to actually attach my binos to the pouch.

- for a company that uses web keepers for all their straps, I don't get the idea in not providing a way to clean this up. I don't want that crap dangling all over the place. Kuiu below, for comparison with some webbing management. I guess the intent could be that the user just deal with it, but why not throw a friggen tri-slide on there? Same story on the upper pouch strap. Take one look at the Eastman's giveaway photo for this harness - there's webbing loose/flopped everywhere. One day in the wind that that crap will get old real quick.

Here's the upper strap situation. Tried routing that strap through the ringed slide the bino straps connect to....but since MR has their webbing sewn in finished loops, you can't double it through there to manage all of the extra strap (why sew a loop? I could only assume so you can Velcro web keeper it. It would be nice if that was included). Not going to lie, this one is dumbfounding to me. When you wear the harness with that strap routes through the upper ring it just flops over on you, which is quite annoying.

The black magnetic thing is cool, but it's hard plastic. It's noisy. You can really try hard and do it quietly, bit it'll grab and really make some noise. Just something not to do around animals. Compared with the Kuiu forward fold design, its tougher to get binocs out 1 handed. Not a huge deal, but it's certainly louder due to the extra material and design.

The stiff foam on the front of the pouch REALLY makes it stick off of your chest quite a ways. At the bottom they are very close to the same size, but since the Kuiu is softshell only on the top half, and has a drawcord adjustment on the lid, the top of the harness is about half of the thickness. My finger is pointing to this transition in the pic below. The flip side is the MR offers better protection for your glass.

The lower strap attachment on the Kuiu is a rigid no stretch hypalon (I think) vs the MR unit, which uses a stretch loop. MR makes bomber stuff so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but I see that loop as a weak point. Time will tell, for now that comment is just to highlight the difference, since you can't tell from websites.

In making an adjustable depth lid for the harness, the side stretch material sacrifices coverage. Not the end of the world, but that's how it naturally rests with my glass in there. My inter pupillary distance is small, so I've got a solid extra inch of width inside of the harness with an old pair of 10x42 monarchs in there.

Finally there's the actual harness. It wears comfortably, but be aware all it is is mesh and cordura. It'll be loud till broken in. It's actually the poorest sewn thing I've ever seen from MR, loads of fabric bunching, even under tension. Doesn't seem to fit the quality of work on the rest of the harness. Bonding those two materials to an inner substrate or something would seem to help clean that up. That's whiny aesthetics, not really a functional impact. Actual shape and size is extremely similar to the Kuiu rear harness fabric portion.

If anyone else has thoughts or insight please add. If anyone would like to get into a long protracted argument with regards to MR's move offshore on the hunting line, or make a point about US made gear, or any other negative commentary in that vain, feel free to start another thread. Please keep that stuff clear of this one.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

Thanks for the post. Will front pocket accept a rangefinder (Leica)
And what size binos will the accommodate ?
Thanks

I don't think it will. Not deep enough. No idea on glass size, sorry. Hopefully the Black Ovis guys will hop on here and throw some photos up with different glass to show. That's something that should be published by the manufacturer......given I didn't even see a vid on the new hunting line stuff from the shows, not sure what the heck is going on with them?

Pouch width is 6" and the back panel (tallest part against the body) is 6.75" and the depth front to back is about 2.25" or so.

The lid is a floating connection that you can adjust the depth on in the front, so it's made to accommodate some taller glass. Monarchs look absolutely tiny in it.

 

[LostArra]

Good evaluation. I appreciate the photos.

I've about come to the conclusion that if you want a pack on your chest to carry stuff including your binoculars you might have to accept some compromise. The perfect universal system does not exist. And it may never exist because the priority of features for each person is different.

I'm not wild about magnets on any gear after a compass issue in a snowstorm.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Kevin Dill]

Very good evaluation and report...thanks much.

I have tried a number of bino harness setups from various manufacturers and have yet to find one that didn't have me feeling like I suddenly grew a set of 38DDs. Every harness/pouch combo I've tried just projects too far off my chest. I'm just not happy with the extra bulk out there. The reality is that I really don't benefit much from that level of padding and protection. I don't why, but I keep thinking someone will make an ultra-low profile bino harness which does the whole security, weather protection and easy access thing while not projecting an extra 2+ inches in front of my binoculars as I normally carry them.

 

[handwerk]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together, great info!

 

[elkguide]

Thanks for the review.

 

[doverpack12]

MT_Wyatt thanks for the information. Since you were comparing this to the Kuiu harness and that is what I use and have used since they came out. Which will you be using this year or do you need more time to decide? Are there any advantages over the Kuiu for you? After reading through you information I cannot find a reason to move away from the kuiu harness. Maybe being able to attach bear spray or a handgun below the harness with the molle connection? Bear spray doesn't seem bad other than a little awkward to remove from horizontal on the front of your chest. A handgun just seems like that will be too much weight to add to a harness.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

MT_Wyatt thanks for the information. Since you were comparing this to the Kuiu harness and that is what I use and have used since they came out. Which will you be using this year or do you need more time to decide? Are there any advantages over the Kuiu for you? After reading through you information I cannot find a reason to move away from the kuiu harness. Maybe being able to attach bear spray or a handgun below the harness with the molle connection? Bear spray doesn't seem bad other than a little awkward to remove from horizontal on the front of your chest. A handgun just seems like that will be too much weight to add to a harness.

The bear spray attachment is 1 reason I wanted to try it, and I agree, a handgun would be getting unruly and heavy. advantages to the MR system are much better side pockets, having an extra zippered front pocket, being able to tuck the lid back for frequent access, and the fact the pouch has all 4 harness attachments with an extra set of bino straps that you can disconnect.

I'm trying to get in touch the folks at MR and Black Ovis because I honestly think the factory forgot to attach some hardware on the bino straps. If they didn't, to me the decision is pretty easy......the lack of webbing management just kills me, I'll mess with throwing web keepers on it to clean it up - my point would be, if you're going to bring the harness to market, address that stuff up front!

As to which one - haven't decided. Kuiu clearly thought about managing extra webbing. It's a very clean design that adjusts quite well with the shock cords that tighten the hood.

 

[blackovis]

The bear spray attachment is 1 reason I wanted to try it, and I agree, a handgun would be getting unruly and heavy. advantages to the MR system are much better side pockets, having an extra zippered front pocket, being able to tuck the lid back for frequent access, and the fact the pouch has all 4 harness attachments with an extra set of bino straps that you can disconnect.

I'm trying to get in touch the folks at MR and Black Ovis because I honestly think the factory forgot to attach some hardware on the bino straps. If they didn't, to me the decision is pretty easy......the lack of webbing management just kills me, I'll mess with throwing web keepers on it to clean it up - my point would be, if you're going to bring the harness to market, address that stuff up front!

As to which one - haven't decided. Kuiu clearly thought about managing extra webbing. It's a very clean design that adjusts quite well with the shock cords that tighten the hood.

I will check on the tether issue tomorrow and get back to you. There definitely should be a triglide or something there to attach the tether back to itself.




Sent from my LG-K371 using Tapatalk

 

[blackovis]

Sorry for the delay in response. I spoke with MR about the tether issue and was informed that the tail of the tether is intended to loop back through the buckle to attach the binoculars... Not the response I had expected or how I would prefer that to be accomplished either. It's tough to get that threaded through but it will go and leave you with a secure loop. I let them know that there are much better ways to design the tether and hopefully they will fix that at some point. I still need to discuss the rest of the webbing management issues and I will report back my findings asap.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

Sorry for the delay in response. I spoke with MR about the tether issue and was informed that the tail of the tether is intended to loop back through the buckle to attach the binoculars... Not the response I had expected or how I would prefer that to be accomplished either. It's tough to get that threaded through but it will go and leave you with a secure loop. I let them know that there are much better ways to design the tether and hopefully they will fix that at some point. I still need to discuss the rest of the webbing management issues and I will report back my findings asap.

Yeah that's incredible, I sincerely appreciate you keeping on this. Those buckles don't really have space to double thread, I agree, especially given they are permanently sewn on the teather side. What's funny is the product photos on everyone's websites certainly don't show it routed that way. Not going to lie, this harness is going to be returned, because that attachment method is a joke. Having a giant loop like that on your chest just adds a giant potential to grab onto stuff as you cruise through the timber, etc, especially without a sliding retention ring to keep that stuff flat. We're talking about less than $5 or hardware I bet, that would VASTLY improve the final product. Poor execution on their part in my opinion. I'm still hoping someone from MR hops on here, explains the thoughts behind this thing, and negates the issues I've highlighted.

For those of you following I'll post some pics later this week of the Maven B2's in this harness, have a demo pair arriving tomorrow.

 

[Kotaman]

Thanks for the review. I almost ordered one of these, but couldn't see the benefit over my Alaskan Guide Creations harness. Looks like it needs some "refining". I'm anxious to get my hands on the newly revised Sitka harness when it comes out. If my AGC was a hair bigger to better accommodate my Leica HD-B's, I'd be in love, but the search for perfection marches on.

 

[realunlucky]

Kota have you seen the marsupial pouch?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Kotaman]

Kota have you seen the marsupial pouch?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Yes, it looks pretty good, but I haven't seen one in person yet. Anyone have one? I'm hesitant to buy another until I see the new Sitka Harness.

 

[realunlucky]

Yes I am testing one right now. There is a thread on here a couple guys have them

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[realunlucky]

Yes, it looks pretty good, but I haven't seen one in person yet. Anyone have one? I'm hesitant to buy another until I see the new Sitka Harness.

I tried a bunch I like the details of the marsupial so far but only had it a couple days so far

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[MT_Wyatt]

This is what back threading through the tether detachment point looks like.....it is physically possible. It forces the webbing into a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the buckle since it's doubled.

 

[frankrb3]

Thanks for the honest review and all the great photos. I'm looking at this harness as well (mostly because of the molle for bear spray on the bottom) and the hopes that my GPS will fit in a side pocket(Garmin 64). Any chance you can post some pics with it on your body with the bear spray and maybe a rangefinder or gps in a side pocket for comparison. Thanks a lot and hopefully mystery ranch sees this and addresses the web management issue that I agree is just unacceptable.