Bino Harness Battle 2023 - Catamount vs Kuiu 

Thanks for reviewing our gear! Looking forward to getting our new stuff into your hands for further reviews in the future.

Spot on from you Jay. My kuiu experience on the bino harness is exactly what you've covered. Lid closes just enough to be a nuisance and I've always puzzled on the micro small front pocket you can't store anything in. Range finder holder definitely small. Thanks for the honest review.

Great review, thank you.

I have an agc, kuiu, 2 alps, adak, and mystery ranch. My cousin has fhf, browning, sitka. My favorite is the kuiu, probably because i hate a large front pocket. I keep a mini bic lighter, fire starter, water purifying tabs (the ones that come in a foil pack, and a glass cleaning cloth in my front pocket on kuiu. My rangefinder fits pretty good into the pocket on my right and i keep my phone and garmin mini and tiny headlamp in the phone pocket on the left. If you flip the kuiu lid over it will stay better but ends up flipping back usually. The kuiu material does seem to rub together and make some noise once it gets sweaty. I have put lots of miles on it and the zipper is still holding up well.

And that folks is how a review is done! Bravo! Helluva job Jay!

Your suggestion to run Kuiu phone holder with my AGC harness is a gem. 🙏. Your comment regarding working with someone to develop a harness - you already are (for those receptive enough to listen). Well done.

Good stuff here. Thanks for bringing the Kuiu accessory pocket to my attention. I have a AGC harness that I really like but I haven’t been able to find accessory pockets I’ve been happy with. I’m on my 3rd or 4th rangefinder case now. Have a Marsupial gear pocket mounted to my pack shoulder strap that holds a cell phone real tight. However I ordered 2 of those Kuiu pockets.

Awesome review Jay, wicked to see all the gear videos you are pumping out man! Hadnt seen the kuiu phone holder before but had just ordered marsupials new one, interested to see how it works

Hi thank you for sharing your experiences with the harnesses you used. For my part, I started with an AGC Hybrid which I loved. I continued with the Marsupial which was a charm apart from the magnetism which I hated. your video made me discover the catamont and I pulled the trigger. I'm going to pair it with my marsupial case for my cell phone and their bottom pocket. In my opinion this setup will be a home run. I will give you news, happy new year, chris from quebec

I like your analytical and technical review style. I ran the AGS with the cub pocket and switched to the kuiu pro. Two additional notes you did not mention on that harness are the fact that it is water proof material and the the front has a shapable wire. With that said I think your are selling yourself short with your creative mindset. Here is what I mean by this. I have a ton of crap in my kuiu harness. Your focus dial issue should be easily resolved by bending the front of harness. The lid has the ability due to its rigidness to be folded inside out and it opens this harness right up. As far as storage. In the bottom of my harness is a mylar blanket, whistle, balloons, fire starter, water tablets, mini bic, brunton compass, 25’ flagging tape rolled up, 25’ micro cord, and alcohol wipes. From there 1 piece of the foam. Then my binos set up high in the harness. Leupold bx4 10x42. The front pocket is worthless but I do keep all tags in a tag wallet. The side pockets contain a lense pen and calls. The other has a smoke bottle and the upper elastic can be flipped up to contain it how you want. Then I run a kuiu range finder holder with the same leupold you do, it is snug. The other side I have a amazon water bottle holder for a 20oz smart water. The bottom is naked because velcro does not belong on the hunt. So hopefully you understand where my above comment comes from. Hopefully explaining how my harness is packed and outside the box thinking helps in you finding what you looking for in a harness. Btw I think I will swap the ranger finder pocket for the phone holder. Thanks.

I run the kuiu one and agree with lots. I love how high i can make it sit as im like you and like it higher. The thing is a bit tricky to keep open like you were saying but i found a way to kind of mash it down some but if youre walking lots it closes for sure. I must have a small RF as mine seems to fit fine in my RF pouch. I have the XL and can fit my wind checker fine but theres too much space for my regular 10x42 binos so they move a bit inside. The front pocket im able to stuff tags in but thats literally it.

19:40 ditto on the RF pouch from Kuiu. I have enjoyed nearly all aspect of mine EXCEPT for that. Really have to stretch that shock cord out when you secure the pouch and that cord will have to be replaced one day probably.

As far as the front pocket on the Kuiu. It is really useless...but I put single use Barricade wipe for my gun barrel and 2 lens cleaning wipes. But yea it's useless really lol. You're not stockpiling stuff in there but it's nice to have in the field rust/lens protection if needed. Even if I don't have my pack nearby

Great review as always. I'm not in the market for a new harness since my Marsupial fulfills my needs, but it was an interesting comparison nonetheless. That choice to put velcro on the Kuiu is baffling.. how does an idea like that get all the way through production in a hunting company without anyone saying how bad of an idea it is?

Im not sure how they compare for size but I have an older vortex 1200 rangefinder and initially the kuiu pouch was very snug. I had purchased it at the end of the season and never really got to use it. The rangefinder stayed in the pocket and by the following season it became much easier to slide in and out to where I really have no complaints about it anymore. With the phone holder if your running another pocket on the other side, unbuckling the harness kind of becomes a pain because u always have to reach behind a pouch and then weave the strap out. I wish the pouches could be attached as they do and the buckles could be moved to the outside edge of the pocket. With the binos catching on the front of the harness, that piece is meant to be bent and shaped to fit ur binos. With the focus catching on the lid, just adding foam to bring the binos up so the adjustment knob doesnt fall below it solves that issue. The front and side pockets are a joke. Blows my mind that either was designed and tested by any hunters. The side pockets will snap shut when u pull out a bottle. I almost returned the harness due to this. My solution was to unroll the inside of the pocket, take a paper clip and spread open the elastic band covering. Then I took a zip tie and trimmed it down and rounded any edges. Then I slipped that into the covering so the pocket wont close and the opening is just slightly smaller than my wind indicator bottle.

Do you know that the front lip on the Kuiu harness is adjustable? I ended up selling the Kuiu. I run a mutt bino setup now, Marsupial pack with the FHF Air harness. Love that setup!

You have the NL 12 or 10s??? Nice review sir 🫡

Please do Ebelestock vs Marsupial!

@32:55min Hallelejua, amen AMEN! these stupid worthless “pockets” are mind boggling.. As you said at the very least add stretchy material or gusseted fabric. My goodness this is a frustrating issue. Again, the AGC packs are superior here, just wish they fit tighter. #WEwantPOCKETS!

The Kifaru looks like a jumbled mess imo, no offense, just my opinion. Just got the FHF Pro M harness and not happy how tightly it fits my NL 12x42s, even though they recommended the size I bought. Also not happy with the open air design on the sides, didn’t realize it was designed like this when I bought it. Choices are limited when you dont want magnets. The AGC Kodiak is probably my favorite so far.

marsupial vs kifaru are the two current bests in my opinion

Marsupial review?

Been searching for months, cant believe I have never even heard of Catamount brand… Crazy choice selection, still no clear winner.

Kuiu is so loud its where the strap connects to the actual harnesses. Whatever that material is, is so loud and horrible i like the harnesses itself but when your on a stalk and its so loud just from you breathing and that little bit of movement. Sorry i had to say no, i need every advantage possible and that doesn't work.