Tripod and heads for new scope

[bugle4one]

Hello everybody,
I'm one of the lucky guys who complained enough to my girlfriend over the past couple of years about the price of Swarovski spotting scopes, that she happened to roll into Cabelas and saw the amazing deal and bought one for me for Christmas (I think I better ask her to marry me soon).

Now I need help to buy all of the accessories. I bought a neoprene cover for it (recently) because I haven't heard anything bad about using one. So with that said, I need a tripod and a head for it. I want some feedback regarding the pistol grip heads, carbon fiber vs aluminum legs, and any other feedback I can get from those who use your scopes a lot. I recently heard not to get the pistol grip because dust and dirt will ruin the head. Its not exactly a rainforest in souhern Idaho so I want something that will last a few years. I appreciate the feedback and opinions!

 

[go4steelhd]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-02-13 AT 09:09PM (MST)[p]Great scope! As for the tripod I have used both carbon fiber and aluminum. The only real difference is the weight. A heavy tripod is better on a windy fall day. The light one is shaky in the wind, but easy to pack. So there's not a cheap all around tripod that I have tried. The outdoorsmen has some great light weight tripods I have one for back packing and its great. I will get there tall model some time to. They have a pistol grip head and it does not collect dust. It's steady and very quick to find game with. I would go with some sort of fluid head if you don't choose to get it.

 

[PCPython]

You can't go wrong with a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod. Not cheap but very good quality. I also use a Manfrotto pan head and really enjoy it.

 

[GLEDEASY]

The outdoorsman tripod gear definately takes the cake for packability with what I've used so far. That being said it does cost more.

I had a Manfrotto cxpro3 tripod that I really liked. It was light, stable, and you could find a nice used one for <$200.

I've not used a pistol grip head that I've really liked yet. I've not tried the outdoorsman ball head, but intend to do so sometime. That being said I would look for a descent panning/fluid head.

Sounds like you've found a keeper if she knows and is willing to buy you a scope like that.

 

[dack77]

If you want one to pack, take a look at the Slik Pro 624CF Carbon Fiber. It packs down to a very small size and is less than 2 pounds. Extended it is close to 4 feet. If you are comparing it to the Outdoorsman tripods it's in the same size range as the medium tripod listed on their site but compresses down smaller and weighs less. Weighing less isn't always a good thing though. I've never used or seen an Outdoorsman tripod but no one ever says anything bad about them so that says a lot about their quality. You would not go wrong with one that is for sure.

For the head I use a Manfrotto 700RC2 fluid head and it works great. Very lightweight. I really want to try one of the grip ball heads because of the simplicity but I haven't gotten the urge to throw down any more cash to replace something that is fully functional for me.

 

[bigwop69]

manfrotto carbon tripod!!! i had the 128 fluid head, its nice but heavy. got the Outdoorsmans pistol grip with panning attachment. love it!!!!! look at hardcoreoutdoor.com. Wade shows great info and pics of tripods