Last year Kifaru got my attention with their 44 Magnum G2 backpack. That’s a great piece of gear and it’s not the only one from Kifaru I’ve come to rely on. More outstanding bits of kit from a great American company are the Kifaru Deluxe Bino Harness and the Steelhead Chest Rig, especially when they’re combined.
Kifaru calls the part that actually holds the binoculars themselves a “Bino Bucket.” Kifaru’s version is larger and thicker than many others, clearly intentionally so. The material is double-ply and padded throughout, giving your glass lots of protection.
Of course, that protection comes at the cost of size and weight. If minimalist or “ultralight” gear is what you are looking for, look elsewhere. That said, at a pound with just the bare harness and bucket, that isn’t breaking your back or hard on your shoulders, especially with the included Mesa harness.
The bucket itself comes in three sizes. The largest will fit the Leupold Santiam 15X56 or the Vortex Razor HD 18X56. That 18X Vortex is pretty tall and fills up every bit of height in the large bucket, but it fits just fine. The vast majority of 10X binoculars fit in the medium or small sizes. Kifaru has a great set of charts on their website that shows popular models and sizing.
One particularly well thought out feature is how the hood of the Bino Bucket opens up. The entire bucket flairs out at the top, allowing you to pull the binos out smoothly without making noise. You can then just pull the hood out of the way and hook it around the bottom of the bucket, keeping it open. If you’re going to be stationary for a while, say sitting on an open glassing point. That’s a handy feature.
That hood is attached by purely mechanical means. There’s no magnet, no hook-and-loop enclosure. It simply has a semi-rigid lip that hooks on to the body-facing edge of the bucket. That keeps things quiet, keeps magnets away from a compass or electronic equipment, and is a popular method for several new buckets of this style. The only drawback I’ve found is that it makes the harness difficult to open if you’re on your belly, say laying prone and trying to look over some grass or a hill at your prey.
The whole thing is made of 500D DWR-treated Cordura and features padding for your optics throughout. It’s solid. You’ll also find MOLLE-style attachment points on the bottom and each side.
With the Deluxe harness, you also get an accessory pouch and a rangefinder pouch attached to either side. That will be particularly valuable for some western states bow hunters who want a bigger, higher magnification binocular set and a separate, single-hand-capable rangefinder. (I’d given up carrying a separate rangefinder until I saw the new Garmin Xero L60i, which I will almost certainly have to have.)
The Deluxe Bino Harness also comes with their Mesa Harness. This is a little beefier all around and includes a larger padded yoke. Each strap includes additional slots for more pouches and gear. It doesn’t twist or tangle easily when it’s on and generally does a very good job of keeping the Bino Bucket right where you want it. It also comes in three sizes and both the bucket and harness come in three different colors.
Now, what’s really cool is that the Bino Bucket clips off with four simple clips. Snap that Bino Bucket off and snap the Kifaru Steelhead Chest Rig in its place and you can get to fishing. On my last black bear hunt in Idaho, that’s exactly what I did. After bagging a bear, I headed for the real fun…trout fishing Henry’s Fork of the Snake River.
The Steelhead Chest Rig is a great piece of kit for any fly fisherman, but it’s also an absolute answer to prayers for fly nerds in bear country. That last bear hunt was the only time I’ve been actively targeted by a grizzly (she tore a guy up a few days after I left in the same spot where I reported her), but I’ve seen grizzlies while fishing many times. The Steelhead Chest Rig is exactly what I was looking for (other than a grizzly tag).
It’s made of all the same stuff as the Bino Bucket, with the only difference that it includes water-resistant YKK zippers as well.
Inside, the whole thing is nicely laid out. Like many fly fisherman, the only thing that limits how much tackle I carry is the size of the container I’m carrying it in. So is there enough space? For anything you reasonably need? Yes, absolutely yes. Is there enough for everything? No and there never is. There’s pouches zipped up for what you need to stay in place, pockets for what you’ll want to get at a lot, and a big spot in the middle for you to toss everything else, including your flies.
MOLLE-stye straps on the bottom are a great place for a holster or a med kit. You’ll find Velcro-style attachment points on the front and top as well.
The rear pouch closest to your body opens wide (it opens fully flat) to reveal a single large compartment padded and lined with a material that Velcro-style attachments will hold on to. There are also tabs and straps for alternate attachment points for holsters. You can attach a lot of flies to those sides, and one pretty sizable pistola.
That pouch is big enough to fit a wide array of handguns, all the way up to N-Frame Smith & Wesson guns, Anacondas, Redhawks and the Taurus Raging Hunter series with 5.12″ barrels. No handgun is really “enough” for a charging grizzly, but any of those will help. A lot.
The only thing I don’t like about the Steelhead Chest Rig is that both of the zippers on the two large pouches are the same. So the zipper that opens for the tackle looks and feels the same as the zipper that opens for the gun, and they’re next to each other. I’m not very smart when I think I’m about to be eaten by a 600-pound death machine, so I can see myself screwing that up real quick. The fix for me was to simply keep the zippers on opposite sides and to tie a thick lanyard around the holster zipper so it looks and feels different.
Put together, Kifaru has produced a great package. The Mesa Harness, Bino Bucket and accessory pouches all work together well as the Deluxe Bino Harness, and the Steelhead Chest Harness works perfectly as a fly rig with an integral pistol compartment.
As a huge bonus, everything is made right here in the USA. It’s not cheap, but you get every bit of what you pay for.
Specifications: Kifaru Deluxe Bino Harness
Sizing: Small: 9.9 oz – 7”H x 6”W x 2.5”D
Medium: 10.5 oz – 8”H x 6”W x 2.75”D
Large: 11.8 oz – 8.5”H x 6.5”W x 3”D
Harness Options:
Mesa Harness: 6.7 oz – Fits chests up to 55″ – One Size Fits Most (SM–3X) shirt sizes
Regular Harness: 2.6 oz – 48” straps – Fits Small to XL shirt sizes
Large Harness: 3.1 oz – 60” straps – Fits XXL and up
Price: $239.00
Kifaru Steelhead Chest Rig
Three-zone layout: tool-ready front, organized core, and concealed rear compartment
Quick-access tool pocket with dummy cord tabs and tapered sleeves
Internal retractor garage and drying patch-ready Velcro loop
Gusseted zippered mesh pocket with ID/license holder and key clip
Rear Quick Draw pistol compartment with dual zipper access and Velcro lining
Spacer mesh harness with net tab and breathable backing
D-rings and webbing loops for net, zinger, or tool attachment
Weight: 1 lb 8 oz
Volume: 335 CI (approx. 5.5L)
500D DWR-treated Cordura® construction
Spacer mesh harness for breathability
Water-resistant YKK zippers
Price: $289.00