Muley Freak Bino Harness Review: 6 Years of Hard Use

I bought my Muley Freak Traverse 2.0 with my own money in 2020. Muley Freak didn't pay me or send me anything for this review, and there are no affiliate links here. All opinions are mine.

Last updated October 27, 2026. Tested for 6 years (2020–2026) of western big-game hunting.

One note before we start: this is a gear review, not a hunting tip. No harness will help you find more animals. If you're on the fence about spending real money on a binocular harness, though, here's what six years of hard use taught me.

How I Found Muley Freak

I found Muley Freak in 2019 at the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah, and bought the Traverse 2.0 in 2020. I'd just decided to take hunting more seriously, and that meant upgrading my binocular harness.

One feature stopped me at the booth: a strap built into the bottom of the harness to carry a handgun. None of the other harnesses I'd been looking at had that. Muley Freak was a young company back then. It got started around 2012–2013, so it didn't have the decades of history some brands have. I bought one anyway, and six years later I've formed a real bond with this piece of gear.

Can You Carry a Handgun on a Muley Freak Harness?

Yes. The Traverse 2.0 has a webbing-and-Velcro strap underneath that holds a handgun on your chest, with no separate holster needed. It's the feature people compliment most when they see mine.

A lot of hunters who carry a sidearm in the field don't have a good place for it, so it ends up just kind of… somewhere. I know several people who have lost pistols on the mountain. A dedicated spot on your chest that's already part of the harness solves that.

Does the Muley Freak Harness Hold Up?

Yes. After six years of being laid in the dirt, opened and closed constantly, and thrown in the back of side-by-sides and trucks, my Traverse 2.0 still works like it did on day one.

My expectations for gear are low these days. I expect most things to be cheaply made and not last long. Muley Freak is the exception, and I expect to get a decade or more out of this harness. Unless I upgrade just for the heck of it, there's no reason to replace it.

Is a Fully Enclosed Bino Harness Worth It?

For dusty western country, yes. The Muley Freak harness is 100% enclosed, so dust and debris stay off your optics. Your binoculars stay protected whether you're sitting and glassing or crashing through brush.

Does Elastic Retention Hold Up Over Time?

Yes. Six years in, the elastic on my Traverse 2.0 still holds the lid closed as tight as it did new. This is the most unique part of the design: there are no magnets at all.

Most people's first worry about elastic is that it will stretch out. That was my exact question before I bought it, and I suspect it's yours too. I'm not telling you this to sell you something. I'm telling you because six years of constant use answered it.

Is the Muley Freak Harness Quiet?

It's virtually silent, because there are no magnets to click and no Velcro on the lid to tear. That matters more than you'd think. As I put it in the video: "I'm already loud enough in the field. The last thing I need is a magnet clicking." When I'm walking up a hill I'm already huffing and puffing, and any extra noise near an animal is a disadvantage.

Storage and All-Day Comfort

The Muley Freak harness has storage in the front and rear, and it's comfortable enough that I forget I'm wearing it. I use the pockets for tags and anything else relatively flat.

I don't like wearing things for long, but I could wear this harness all day. It sits well on my chest, and I think that holds true across body types. Small guy, big guy, or sitting behind glass for hours, it works.

Muley Freak Traverse 2.0 vs. Game Changer R: What Changed?

The Game Changer line is an evolution of the Traverse 2.0, not a redesign. Muley Freak no longer makes the Traverse 2.0, so the specs on this page are for the current Game Changer R. Most of what I've said about my Traverse applies to it too. To me, that's proof the original concept was solid. If a company has to throw a design out and start over, the first version wasn't good enough. Muley Freak didn't have to.

Retailers list a more rigid structure, a contoured lid, quieter Vislon zippers and refined sizing on the Game Changer R.

The biggest difference is bottom retention. My Traverse uses a webbing strap with Velcro: put a handgun in it, and it's retained. The Game Changer uses MOLLE webbing instead, so you can add holsters, hand warmers or even a hydration quiver pack on the back.

I like the simplicity of the single strap, because I didn't have to buy a separate holster. But I understand the change. Everyone packs a little differently, and that flexibility is what makes the Game Changer unique.

The Accessory Pouches Fit the Old Harness

The Game Changer accessory and rangefinder pouches fit my six-year-old Traverse 2.0, so I upgraded without buying a new harness. I ran the harness bare for a long time, then added one pouch on each side. They've been absolutely awesome.

The accessory pouch is zippered. The rangefinder pouch uses a similar elastic system to the harness, and I'm fine with that, since I grab my rangefinder far more often than I dig in the accessory pouch. Both come off easily, and they're slimmer and a bit more refined than the original, which I count as a plus.

That backward compatibility tells me something about how this company thinks. If you buy the Game Changer bundle, both pouches come with it.

Is the Muley Freak Harness Worth the Price?

The Game Changer R bundle costs $239.99 on Muley Freak's site at time of writing, and I think it's a purchase you make once. That's real money upfront, and there are cheaper harnesses. The question is whether they'll last as long. Muley Freak sometimes runs deals on accessories, so watch for those.

Cost per year: a $240 harness that lasts 10 years works out to $24 a year. My Traverse is already at year six.

Who Should Buy It, and Who Should Skip It

Buy it if you want a simple, quiet, durable harness you won't replace, or you carry a handgun in the field.

Skip it if you're on a tight budget or only hunt a few days a year.

How Muley Freak Compares

The brands that come to mind are FHF Gear, Marsupial Gear, Eberlestock and Badlands. Some have been around about as long as Muley Freak; others have been around for decades. I haven't run those harnesses for six years, so this isn't a newest-brand-beats-everybody claim. It's one man's experience.