I cannot use a normal neck strap for binos due to some very interesting curves in my cervical vertebrae due to poor posture.
Three weeks ago I took the plunge and ordered the Binotopia chest harness kit from Nimrod Pack Systems based in Cashmere, WA.
I bought the Binotopia kit which included the chest harness and the Bino Top cover for the eyepieces for $40 with $24 postage (! - not Nimrod's fault, US Postal prices; hooray for the Royal Mail!)
I'd looked at a number of other systems but the vast majority were fully elasticed which would cause too much bounce as I walked. The Nimrod system has normal webbing shoulder straps and elastic side straps. The eyepiece cover is attached by poppered webbing to the straps. The binos attach to the webbing via male and female clips allowing you to use the strap system for more than one pair of binos.
I've now worn the chest harness in the field for three separate whole days. All have been whilst working in the field in my "real" job as a landscape archaeologist. The binos stayed put on my chest whilst setting up tripods and total stations, grovelling through undergrowth and jumping over ditches. The cover protected the eyepieces from crap including the debris from my lunch! I was completely unaware of any weight from the binos and they fitted perfectly under my daysack.
I am extremely pleased with this chest harness, the quality of its build and value for money and would strongly recommend it to anyone whose currently enjoying a good exchange rate and has to pay less postage than I had to!
Thanks for the information about this harness, Glosbirder. I was so impressed with the design details that I ordered one immediately after reading your recommendation.
I phoned in my order and asked about options other than camo, which is the only thing shown on the website and not my favorite. I was told it can also be ordered in green, so I should have a green one coming sometime next week.
Henry
edit: here's a link to the harness on the Nimrod website.
http://nimrodpacks.com/hunt/N9.html
how is it different from other binoculars harness? I got mine from fleabay for dirt cheap. But it does not have any brand name.