I have heard a lot about the new TZ OSS15 Bino Harness System that the guys over at Tenzing released at ATA and after poking around on the web and watching a couple of videos I decided I wanted to get my hands on one to see what all the commotion was about.  I’ve had a Badlands Bino Harness for the last 5 years and while the system is great, I was really looking for something more minimalistic, lightweight and quiet and the OSS15 fit that category perfectly.

The first thing I noticed right off the bat was that it didn’t stick out so far as some of the competitors so when I drew back my bow with it on, I had more than enough room with my jacket on to relax comfortably into my anchor point, unlike with my Badlands where I feel like it gets freakishly close to my strings at full draw.  The strap system was a little different but after pulling my bino’s in and out a couple times, that feeling went away completely and I actually preferred the system over my old one.  It did take a little bit of breaking in when it came to getting my Vortex Bino’s in and out of the OSS15 since the material was still so new and a little more rigid it then what I was familiar with and took a little more effort to get it in and cover the eyepieces. After a day of use the fabric softened up and became a breeze to slide in and out, so if you get one and feel like it’s too stiff right out of the box, give it a day to soften.

 The major issues that I was having with some of the competitors bino harness systems that I loved about the OSS15 was having the ability to add my Vortex Ranger 1000 to the side of the harness by using the pocket clip on the rangefinder.  While it does pretty much take up the whole use of the pocket that I clip it on, having my Ranger right where I want it and not only that but securely fit to my harness out-weights the use of using it as a pocket anyways.  I jumped up and down, bent over, even did a couple of somersaults while my wife sat and laughed and there was no way it was coming off.

Here is a list of the features that I loved and also some places where it could use improvement on.  Bear in mind that I also used my Vortex 12X50 Diamondbacks:

PROS –

• Minimalistic and fits against my chest perfectly, hardly notice it after an hour
• Lightweight, quiet and durable material
• Having the ability to securely clip my Ranger on the side bungee pocket is awesome and extremely helpful
• New bino strap system is super simple and easy to use
• Tethered lens cloth on the bottom is quiet and efficient but does take a little bit of stuffing to get it back in
• Gives my Binos the perfect amount of protection and can hardly see any way that elements will get in them
• Being able to unclip my bino’s and connect the clips into a handle when not in the harness was pretty .convenient, even though I’m not sure when I’d really use it

CONS – 

• Material was a little stiff at the beginning and took some breaking in to get the optics in and out easily
• I had to cinch the shoulder straps all the way down to get them where it sits comfortably (I’m also a short guy at 5’ 10” so taller guys will fit perfect)
• While the tether system on the lens cloth is awesome, I’d like to see some sort of feature allowing the same functionality out of my Rangefinder
• Getting the waist straps adjusted while on was a pain and resulted in me having to take it off, adjust it, and put it back on.  Repeating the process for about 5-10 minutes.

Overall, my Badlands is getting kicked to the pile of hunting gear that grows dust and I’ll be putting the TZ OSS15 Optics Suspension System to some serious use this year.  It fits great, has more than enough features that you will ever need out of a bino harness.  If you’re looking for a sweet harness system for your bino’s this 3D or Hunting season and you don’t want to break your wallet in the process, then pick up one for yourself and give it a go.