I now have four "bino pack" options and can give you some thoughts on differences between them.
First, I have the Vortex "harness strap". I absolutely LOVE this thing. It's incredibly comfortable - I barely notice it's there, even under other pack straps. It's elastic with a decent balance of "give" vs. not actually bouncing around while you walk. And the way the clips attach to the harness, they slide easily up and down so you can glass quickly, then drop them and get moving.
I also have the Vortex "uni-daptor" which I now keep permanently attached to my binos because it's so low-profile. I used to scout and hunt with a Primos tripod trigger stick (the quick-detach one) but it was heavy, bulky, and noisy. I've now attached the uni-dapter "cup" to my hiking stick by epoxying a bolt into the top of the stick. With this setup I can drop my binos onto the top of my stick in half a second to give me some monopod-style support, all without taking them off my harness. It's just great.
The downside to this setup is lack of camouflage. To try to fix that I added a second piece, a "Binohide" cover that's technically compatible with any harness-style system. To be honest, I really don't like it. It's clumsy to cover and uncover, the attachment method puts side pressure on the lenses so you lose your width adjustment every time, and it's a lot of fussing about with something with your hands - not that subtle. It was cheap enough I didn't bother returning it, but I hardly use it anymore.
From there I moved on to option 3, an Alps RMEF Foundation Ridge Stalker X. This adds a case to the mix, but it's so small I wouldn't call it a "pack". The weird thing is there are even side pockets on it but they're so tiny and flat you can't even store the smallest of windicator bottles on it. That said, I don't totally hate it, and it's a compact alternative to the bulkier "bino packs". If you just want a simple bino case but in a more hunter-friendly format (natural color, silent closure, etc) this isn't a bad option.
Stepping up from there I upgraded last year to an Eberlestock NoseGunner (which I actually bought used here on this forum!) I absolutely love this thing. The harness is much bigger than the Vortex straps, and seem like total overkill - until you start loading it up. The NoseGunner allows you to field-carry a pistol in a slot on the front pouch, although in practice I've found it clumsy to draw from it. It has silent magnetic closures and a ton of room inside, plus the usual "stuff" you'd expect (attached lens cleaning cloth, side pockets with mostly-waterproof-zippers, etc.)
But the part I've really come to love is the rear MOLLE panel. That seems like a gimmick on most products, but I found that by attaching a Wisport Coyote to the back panel, I replaced my entire day pack. There's enough room in there for a small emergency kit, field dressing kit, snack, poncho, and a big bottle of water, and it makes my "day pack" weight INCLUDING the binos only 4lbs! (Excludes water and snack.) For a mid-day scouting hike where I want to go fast and light this is a perfect fit for me.
I realized after writing this that the forum now tries to make Amazon links "smart". The formatting looked really weird, but I figure this forum makes a buck or two off it so here you go anyway:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012OGHEHE/
forum.eastmans.com
