Coaxsher RP-1 Scout Radio Harness
October 16, 2008
Now that the gear industry has clued into the presence and purchasing power of us ladies (Isn’t the oft-quoted statistic that 50% of outdoor gear is purchased by women just the most obvious statement in the world? After all, we ARE 50% of the population. Is it that surprising that we go outdoors?), it’s time to clue them in to the presence of women in outdoor professions like search and rescue, ski patrol, and backcountry guiding. One of the goals of Geargals is to find professional patrol/guide gear that is made for and works for women, and to feature outstanding examples of this type of gear. Unfortunately, as many readers may note, said outstanding examples are hard to find and are therefore rarely featured on the site. So I am very excited to have found the Coaxsher Scout so that I may share the joy with all of you.
A few weeks ago I spent about 6 hours on a search and rescue training exercise, wearing my standard radio harness the entire time. I won’t go into details about the discomfort that caused (oh, what the heck, you all know I will, so just stand by), but as soon as I got home that day I started researching radio harnesses for women. It will not surprise you that no one makes a radio harness just for women, but by a lucky chance Coaxsher happened upon a design that not only makes it easier to wear a radio harness while carrying a backpack, but also makes it easier to wear a radio harness while carrying a backpack and being female.
Standard radio chest harnesses are typically square and flat. Women’s chests typically are not. Therefore when these two situations meet, the results are terrible to behold. The chafing, the squashing, the shifting – add a backpack and an avalanche transceiver and life is just not fun for the ladies. I was so desperate for a better way to carry my radio that I toyed with the idea of turning an old ballistics vest into a radio harness. Sure, it’s heavy, but at least it was shaped right. Luckily I found the Coaxsher Scout so I can save my ballistics vest for the end times (which are coming, like, any day now, I’m so sure).
The Scout is packed with features that make life grand for the wearer. The streamlined shape, part of the design to make the harness more compatible with a backpack chest strap, also turns out to be quite ergonomic for those of us with female anatomy. The radio itself sits a little lower than on a typical harness, freeing your lady lumps from the Chest Harness Squash. Ah, blessed freedom. The diagonal carry of the radio takes a little getting used to, and on cold weather days you’ll have to unzip your jacket quite a ways to access radio controls, but it’s a small price to pay and by no means a criticism of the harness. Carrying the radios a little lower on the torso also virtually eliminates the dreaded harness bounce, which I am convinced is the source of most of the pain I’ve experienced in the past. When your radio harness shifts, it rubs, and a few hours later it will be instilling some serious discomfort. The Coaxsher Scout stays put even when I’m running, which is quite an achievement for radio harnesses.
Someone at Coaxsher was really having a good day when they designed this harness. They put all four adjustment points at the front of the harness, so when you put it on, you can cinch it right up then and there. No more taking it off, adjusting, guessing, putting it back on, grumbling about how uncomfortable it is, but living with it anyway – with the Scout, you can easily shorten and lengthen any strap at any time. Of course, if you’re rather small, like me, you’ll have to trim the straps since they are a tad long (I find it ever so amusing to lengthen them all the way and then imagine the size of the person they would fit) but there is plenty of room to adjust down for the smaller wearer.
Other features of note are the dual radio sleeves, the PEN HOLDER (finally!) and the full-size pocket. The harness is by design kind of small (which, incidentally, helps it fit small people), but the features are so well placed that I can comfortably carry two radios, a pen, a small notebook, and a few other small items in the harness. I sadly had to give up carrying things in my cleavage behind the harness – my old harness was a squasher, and I had all this space (okay, a little space) there, so why not carry things in it – but the massive increase in comfort with the Coaxsher is far and away worth the sacrifice. No more chafing, no more shifting – trust me, ladies, if you’re an outdoor pro and you carry a radio, drop $30 on this piece of equipment and you’ll be much happier.
I am thrilled to have found this harness and I really hope that this review gets to the eyes and ears of those who make SAR and guide gear – there is definitely a market for pro gear for women, and gender-specific gear is sorely lacking for our half of the population. Do you know how many of us there are? Lots. Let the thought of selling lots of stuff inspire you to design stuff we want to buy.
