Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Kifaru’s Mesa Harness Is Forgettable in the Best Way

Sometimes the best upgrades aren’t the flashiest (or most expensive). Take Kifaru’s Mesa Harness, for instance. It provides a balanced and structured fit for Kifaru’s Deluxe Bino Harness or the Steelhead Pack.

This might not seem like a huge upgrade on paper. After all, it’s a harness. But, if you’ve spent any substantial time in the field with a chest rig or bino harness, you know a lot of back straps can feel like an afterthought. Others tend to lean heavily into the minimalist camp, sacrificing comfort for weight, which provides minuscule returns at best.

With these setups, your binos tend to drift lower as the day drags on, creating hot spots or an uneven load. Not to mention, the back straps usually end up in a tangled mess, especially if you’re layering.

Think of the simple yet structured Mesa Harness like seat warmers and coolers in a car. Are they necessary? Maybe not, but they make riding more enjoyable in extreme conditions, and you know what you’re missing once you sit in a car without them.

In short: Kifaru’s Mesa Harness provides a practical and comfortable upgrade to your chest rig at a budget-friendly price.

Kifaru Mesa Harness Review

Testing the Kifaru Mesa Harness

I spent the tail-end of turkey season and this summer scouting with the Kifaru Mesa Harness. I set it up with both the Steelhead Pack and the Deluxe Bino Harness to evaluate how it handled under different weight and distributed loads. The oppressively hot, humid conditions here in south Mississippi have served as the testing grounds, so here’s what I’ve learned.

For the Steelhead Pack, I treated it as a minimalist turkey rig and loaded it down with all the calls and gear I’d use for a day of run-‘n’-gunning. With multiple calls, a knife, and other random gear, the Steelhead never felt like a millstone around my neck. 

I also spent multiple archery sessions wearing the Deluxe Bino Harness with the Mesa, and it operated similarly. While I did sweat a ton, there were no obvious hot spots. Since it does a great job of distributing the weight, it’s unnoticeable in the best way.  

Comfortable Contoured Shape

Opposed to most bino harnesses that feature minimalist straps, the Mesa has a padded harness that eliminates tangled straps and provides a comfortable fit. It naturally contours to your traps and upper back while evenly distributing the weight on your chest. Yet, the padded harness adds minimal weight to your overall setup, so the tradeoff you might get with minimalist straps just doesn’t add up.

Quick Connections

One of the best things about the Mesa is its modularity, both in the ample MOLLE attachment point along the straps and the slotted buckles. These allow you to swap between Kifaru’s Bino Harness and the Steelhead pack. However, the quick-detach buckles also make it easy to dump the harness in the field.

While the Mesa Harness pairs best with Kifaru products, the slotted buckles make it possible to connect it to other bino harnesses with 1-inch webbing. Theoretically, if you already have another chest rig, you could use the Mesa Harness as an upgrade as long as the webbing fits.

What the Kifaru Mesa Harness Does Best

The Mesa’s structure not only makes this a comfort upgrade, but it also eliminates the headache of twisting your back straps. While it’s not the sexiest thing you’ll buy this year, the Mesa provides comfort, organization, and stability to your chest rig.

I also appreciate the MOLLE attachments on the straps, which allow you to store the excess length on the adjustment straps if you don’t want to cut them. This solves the age-old problem of having loose, floppy straps just hanging about. It’s a thoughtful detail that speaks to Mesa’s quality.

As far as general hunting gear goes, the $60 tag on the Mesa Harness offers an upgrade at a budget-friendly price. If you’re already a fan of the American-made company, the compatibility of the Mesa Harness with other Kifaru products should appeal to you.

Where the Kifaru Mesa Harness Can Improve

While the mesh provides some breathability, the harness still gets warm. For what it’s worth, I’ve been testing this harness through the hottest and most humid time of year in the deep South, so I expected to sweat.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a treestand hunter or you spend all September glassing for elk, you should consider the Kifaru Mesa Harness as a worthy investment. You’ll quickly forget you’re wearing it after too long, but then again, that’s kind of the point.