I recently took a dark sky vacation to Arizona. I wanted to bring my 15x70 Garrett Optical binoculars, but they are 5.5 lbs., and I can't hand hold that with any kind of steadiness. I had previously built a
zero gravity chair mount, but I wouldn't have access to a zero gravity chair.
I was pondering compact and, of course, inexpensive solutions, and came upon this post on Stargazers Lounge. The observer uses a mini-tripod with one leg removed, resting the other two legs on his shoulders. This seemed like a great idea, except you still have to keep your elbows raised, which introduces both unsteadiness and fatigue.
Taking that idea a step further, I devised a very simple apparatus that I call the Bino Body Mount, which solves the problem of having to raise your arms by adding a 90 degree handle to each side of a basic wood frame. You don't have to buy a mini-tripod, just a cheap 1x2 furring strip (my go-to wood for this kind of thing), a binocular tripod adapter, a 1" 1/4-20 stud knob, two star knobs, two hanger bolts, a flat washer, two fender washers, two neoprene washers, four wood screws, and two tennis balls (well, three really because they come in 3-packs). See parts and tools list at the end.
The mount breaks down flat for packing by removing three knobs. It's very lightweight, and can be used standing or sitting in any type of chair. Your arms stay at your side to provide comfortable support when standing and rest on the arms of your chair when sitting. As you recline further back toward the zenith, the shoulder bars transfer more and more of the weight to your shoulders, resolving the problem of raising your arms and tiring quickly. The Bino Body Mount also improves the view and fatigue factor with any size binoculars because you don't have to hold them in front of your face with your arms raised.
For Comet C2023/A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), I sometimes used the mount standing because it was relatively low to the horizon and I really didn't need a chair. It worked great. I wouldn't recommend standing and looking anywhere near the zenith with binoculars, whether handheld, on a Bino Body Mount, or on a tripod. That's just painful and awkward.
For objects near the horizon, you can sit up and rest your arms on the chair arms.
Note: That's a Bino Bandit around the eyepieces. It's a neoprene eyepiece light shield that I highly recommend despite it's relatively high cost because it works so well.
You're not going to get rock steady views with this, but surprisingly close, and your arms and neck won't get tired. My brother and I spent many hours on our Arizona vacation using these, and they worked great with almost no fatigue. You will primarily see a jiggle from your heartbeat. You can look around anywhere in the sky that you could just handholding the binoculars. You can loosen the knobs to tilt the bino bar at whatever angle works best for you. You can adjust focus with one or both hands.
At this point, I am using the Bino Body Mount for all of my binocular astronomy observations, regardless of whether I'm traveling or not. It's simple, it's lightweight, it's compact, it's inexpensive, it's easy to build, and it works very well.
Build it
The critical measurement is the distance from the tripod threads in between the barrels of your binoculars to the end of the eyecups, what I call the "thread-to-eye" measurement. The correct distance places the binocular eyepieces exactly where they would be if you were handholding them. This doesn't need to be super precise- within 1/2 or 1/4" is fine. You can tilt the bino bar when observing to make up for any slight error.
If you have multiple binoculars with different thread-to-eye distances, as is the case with my Meade roof prism binoculars, you just drill a pair of holes in the shoulder bars at the correct distances and you can easily reposition the bino bar as needed. Or you could just make two mounts!
See the parts and tools list at bottom of the post.
Step 1:
Measure and cut
Measure and cut a 1x2 furring strip into five pieces. You can make them whatever lengths that work for you, but I made the two shoulder bars 12" long, which accomodates most porro prism binoculars with an approximately 4" thread-to-eye distance. On a second Bino Body Mount, I cut the bars 13-1/2" long for my Meade roof prisms, since the measurement is about 6" for them. The bino bar (the crosspiece that holds the binoculars) is 11". The two handles are 12". One six or eight foot furring strip will be plenty and leaves some extra in case of "constructor error."
Step 2:
Bino bar
Drill a roughly 11/64" hole in the center of both ends of the bino bar (the 11" piece) and insert a 2" 1/4-20 hanger bolt into each, using the "two-nut" technique (thread two nuts on the end, tighten them together, then screw in by turning the upper nut, screw out by turning the lower nut). The threaded end of the hanger bolt should stick out far enough to accomodate the 5/8" width of a furring strip, another 1/8" for a neoprene washer, 1/16" for a flat washer, leaving about 1/4" for the knob to screw onto. So leave about one screw thread of the wood screw part showing and you should be fine. You can always adjust it.
Drill a 1/4" hole in the middle of the bino bar. This will hold the tripod adapter using the 1" stud knob and flat washer.
Step 3:
Shoulder bars
Drill a 1/4" hole in each shoulder bar where the bino bar crosspiece hanger bolts will be inserted. This should be the measurement above plus about 6 inches. So for a 4" thread-to-eye measurement, drill the hole about 10" from the end of the shoulder bar that will rest on your shoulder. Put a neoprene washer between the bino bar and the shoulder bar, then on the outside of the shoulder bar, a 1/4" flat or fender washer and the knob.
Step 4:
Test the fit. People's bodies vary, so if the above calculation doesn't work, make an adjustment by drilling a hole a little closer or further from the end. This is the important part, so make sure you get it right and it's comfortable for you. Adding tennis balls will give you a little more distance, and putting a thicker pillow behind your head or wearing a hood will give you a little less. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close enough to work for you.
Remember you can make minor adjustments by loosening the side knobs and changing the bino bar tilt slightly. I like to have the binoculars tilting slightly downward compared to the shoulder bars (see images above), except when observing near the zenith. In that case, I like to have the binoculars pretty much pointing straight out parallel with the shoulder bars, especially when observing in a chair that doesn't recline very far.
Cut an X or hole in two tennis balls and stick them on the ends of the shoulder bars so they fit snugly and won't fall off easily. This is harder than it sounds. Tennis balls are tough! I used a large folding knife to poke an initial hole, then cut the rest until it fit snugly on the end of the 1x2. See
this video, or if you have an electric carving knife,
this video. I always wear heavy leather gloves when working with sharp things near my hands that could slip.
Step 5:
Handle bars
Attach the handle bars on the outside of the shoulder bars about 7" from the ends that rest on your shoulders with two wood screws per side. You can also add tennis balls to the handle bars for the ultimate in
opulence.
Step 5:
Finishing touches
With fender washers under the two side knobs, a flat washer under the bino mount knob, and neoprene washers on each end of the bino bar (to help keep it from slipping without having to overtighten the knobs), test it all and if no further adjustments are needed, sand and paint the wood pieces.
The final assembled Bino Body Mount (with my 15x70s mounted).
Front view showing placement of the neoprene washers.
The pieces disassembled for packing in a suitcase. This mount has longer shoulder bars with two sets of holes to accomodate both my porro and roof prism binoculars. No tools required to assemble and disassemble. Just unscrew three knobs.
What's better than one Bino Body Mount? Two Bino Body Mounts! One for me and one for my brother. I hope you enjoy yours!
[1/27/2025 update] Some tips on use:
- Always carry the apparatus by holding the binoculars. That way, if you forgot to tighten something or it got loose, it's the mount that will hit something, not your binoculars.
- Apropos the above, periodically check that the three knobs are tight.
- Some tilting of the binoculars from side to side on the tripod adapter is desirable so that if you are looking off to the side a bit it will stay lined up better with your eyes.
- When observing near the horizon while sitting, I like to rest my palms on the side knobs with my fingers curled around the ends of the handle bars, tucking my elbows in for support
Parts list
1x2 furring strip (6 ft.)
Binocular tripod adapter (example)
1" 1/4-20 stud knob (most come in multi-packs- good for lots of projects)
Two 1/4-20 2" diameter threaded five-star knobs
Two 1/4-20 2" hanger bolts
Three 1/4" hole flat washers
two 1/4" neoprene washers
Four 1-1/4" wood screws
Two tennis balls
Tools:
Tape measure or ruler
Power drill with 1/4" and 11/64" (or close) drill bits, and phillips head bit (or screwdriver, or both)
Hand or power saw
Two 1/4" hex nuts and two 7/16" combination wrenches or pliers (to screw in the hanger bolts)
Sturdy pointed knife to make holes/cuts in tennis balls
Sandpaper, tack cloth, paint, and paintbrush
Nice to have but not essential:
Mitre box (to make straight cuts)
Clamps (to hold the wood for sawing and drilling)
