Unbiased Outdoor Vision Bino Harness Review / Continued Bino Harness Search

[trom2k]

Bummer. Hope to see you guys next year.


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[treillw]

So I'm resurrecting this thread for a few reasons:
1. I got busy and never backed up my thoughts on the harness mentioned in the original post.
2. It's spring bear season and I still haven't purchased a bino harness and now need to make finding a replacement a priority.
3. I had a recent unpleasant customer service experience with Outdoor Vision.
4. I like the OV bino harness.

Let me be clear on something, I have nothing against this company. In fact, I think it's the best bino harness on the market, with a minor fixable flaw. If I didn't think it was worth fixing/talking about and there was a similar product, I would have moved on already.

Fact: The magnet noise is an issue to me and there are others who won't buy a magnetic harness because of noise.
Fact: There are other issues associated with magnetic closures which cause people to purchase harnesses with different closures.
Question to GPatti of Outdoor Vision: Why not make a version of the harness with a loop closure, or at least acknowledge that it's a valid point without dismissing the issue?

Supporting Argument:
GPatti - your video shows the harness opening and closing perfectly. This is not what I experienced. My experience was that I would open the lid and it would randomly snap closed as all six magnets in the opening position were attracted to each other, resulting in a loud and unpredictable noise. I will attempt to post a video of this that I took before returning the harness. In regards to your comment about glassing animals that are "within spitting distance", the reality of hunting is that you don't always know where the animals are! There have been multiple times where I had animals "within spitting distance" that I could not see and they popped out and surprised me. Is it unrealistic to assume that I could not pull my binos out while in the timber to see what the mysterious looking object is 50 yards away and there be an animal close by that would hear me? Things like this happen more often than I'd like and having a bino harness that knowingly makes noise just increases the probability of an animal hearing me. Even if the harness doesn't sound that loud to us in our world filled with similar noises, it will stand out like a sore thumb to an animal that has significantly better hearing and lives in an environment where this type of noise never occurs unless a human is around. Especially when you add in the fact that they got stuck with an arrow or their cousin Timmy died the last time they heard that noise.

People also don't like magnets because of interference with navigation devices. There is a market for an alternate closure on the OV harness. Here is another problem with magnets. This past season I spotted an awesome bull elk in a park. I figured out which way he was headed and then started running the mile and half to him as fast as I could - with backpack, gun, and all my gear. If I would have had the OV bino harness, I would have had to have one hand on the harness for that whole run because the magnets are not strong enough to keep the binos from bouncing around while running.

I'll admit it, I'm picky. I'm an engineer and if there is a better way of doing something, I'll do it. I'll pay the large extra cost for the better product to gain a small advantage. I only get to hunt a few days a year and I bust my butt every time I go out. Knowingly leaving things to chance doesn't agree with me, especially if you have once in a life time tags.

So again my question is why not expand your market (or at least acknowledge it) if you know people have issues with it? It's not a drastic change; I would do it myself if I had paid better attention during home economics class

I talked to GPatti before posting this original thread and my concerns were dismissed, as they were in his response to my thread. Maybe if other people who shared my view chimed in, we'd have another great product to choose from. Nobody's opinion has to be the same; some people will like the magnets - that's why they make black jeans and blue jeans. But it's hard to say that somebody is wrong for preferring black jeans or wishing a certain manufacturer made black jeans.

Customer Service Issue:
Somewhere around the time of the original post, I returned the OV harness for a refund. I emailed the company, got authorization, sent the product back, and thought all was well. I always check my credit card statement to see if returned products were properly credited. I gave them some time, then had my credit card number stolen and had to go through all the fun with that, life got busy, and a few weeks ago I finally got around to seeing if I ever received the OV credit. Nope. I emailed them and they said that the refund was overlooked and I would get the money back shortly. I did get the money back and all is well, but the oversight is upsetting. If I wouldn't have checked, I would have been out the money. Moral of the story: always check that refunds are issued properly. At least they didn't argue that they never received it, as I feared would happen. I would agree with others that initial customer service was good, but can't say the same for after the sale.

 

[GPATTI]

In response to treillw:

1) The magnet feature is the design of our product. As you state, there are black and blue jeans. To each his own. Never did I suggest that you were "wrong". I simply responded to the comment with a video, so that readers could observe the sound and functionality for themselves, with actual audio & visual. And, yes. Some people do not like the magnets. Fully agree! Others love the design.

2) With regard to the magnets attaching to themselves, since that time, as part of continuous improvement, we have added structured sides to the hood to eliminate this. But, I will add that this was primarily from them attaching during shipment and when in bulk inventory. Further, we have new "box" type packaging coming, which will also protect and preserve during shipment.

3) On the comment about sound in spitting distance. Everyone has their own experiences, hunting methods, etc. I certainly have no right to judge or comment on what you have personally experienced. My sincere apologies.

2) We never dismissed your concerns, but unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of making modifications each time we get comments on our product. We do indeed take field input and base our end design (or design improvement) accordingly. ANY end user input is key, and we value it very highly! In fact, the final design happens to be based on end user input. Since the input you provided was less than 1% of the feedback we received, it was a business decision at that time, not to modify our product, or add a new product. Perhaps we may in the future, but as a new company, getting our feet planted initially vs. running various directions was in our interest. Simply put, as with any business, we realize that we cannot, and will not be everything to everyone. This we understand. Personally, it is VERY difficult for me not to jump when asked. But new products involve new design/engineering, patterning, raw material sourcing, additional inventory to maintain, etc. On the flip side, however, having another option in line with your interest, could also grow our business. So, it is indeed noted and I thank you for it.

3) Yes. We made a mistake on the credit, but immediately took care of it, as you stated. And, it could happen again. Mistakes happen, but I commit to doing everything in my power to ensure that it does not. This was a black eye that we take very seriously. First and foremost, above any amount of money, is our reputation and integrity. Again, my sincere apologies on this. Since you are categorizing this as "unpleasant customer service", please let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future to make up for it.

All the best,
Geoff

 

[Grady.J]

Has anyone ever handled the Hunt Hard Eagle Eye bino harness? There seems to be pretty much zero info out there on it. Looks to be a full coverage, forward opening with a couple of side pockets, and maybe a zippered front pocket?

Eagle Eye – Bino Harness – Hunt Hard Gear

 

[Squirrels]

Only read a couple post to be honest. I have an OV and I absolutely love it. Customer service is top notch, very helpful. I’m not one that wants an 8lb chest rig. It has just enough pockets and not to many to get heavy. Fabric is great, forward opening is a must and I like the magnets. Keep up the good work.


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[wymtnpounder]

Only problem I have had with the OV harness is if you don't have the rain cover on, snow/debris will fall on the lenses when you open it kind of a bummer.