Tripods for spotting scope

[Tom264]

RRS Ascend 14……..

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

We have a NIB never opened Vortex Radian Carbon Fiber Ball Head that are going to sell in the next week. We bought several and always give one of everything we buy to Jill's dad. He never used so going to sell. Probably more Tripod than you want, but this is what we use for our spotting scopes.
We have to pick it back up before we post, but if interested send us a PM.
This is the TriPod

Radian Carbon Tripod + Ball Head

Radian Carbon Tripod + Ball Head

vortexoptics.com

Thanks
Len & Jill

 

[eoperator]

I went through 1/2 doz tripods about a year and a half ago settling on a slik 703 (similar to slik 733) with a good panning ball head. The 3 section tripods are tall in the pack but faster to setup and a bit stiffer/lighter than 4 or 5 section. Tripods without the center extendable section are much stiffer for heavy optics and shooting but I like to have it for quick adjustments and high enough to glass with binos standing. Bigger heavier tripods will do better with an 85mm standing in the wind but are heavy. A good arca ball head with the outdoorsmans bino adaptor will be functional with binos, spotter and rifle, fluid heads are nice for glassing but limit shooting usefulness. There are tradeoffs for everything dealing with tripods you will have to prioritize the functions you want and pick accordingly.

 

[Stugots]

Look for them used on Facebook Market Place of even Craigslist. That's how I've scored a couple quality tripods.

 

[fnlights]

Has anyone got to compare the Sirui ST-124 to something like the Slik 734? Either way I am going with the VA-5 head, but I am not sure which legs are best. I plan on using the tripod for a spotting scope, bino's, and maybe shooting from

 

[zerosprk]

Right now, I'm running an Outdoorsman Tall tripod. I don't have a lot of experience with it so far, but it appears about as solid as a brick wall. YMMV.

 

[yobuck]

I know you want it light, and there are many great light tripods. I would suggest a fluid head. If you spend hours glassing, the fluid head is worth the extra weight. They are so much smoother and it is much easier on your eyes and easier to correctly cover an area while glassing. Please give as much thought to the tripod head as you do the tripod itself.

Fluid heads are definitely smoother to use.
But some of the regular heads are much smoother than others, even when they are the same exact head.
And they can be a bit jerky when compared to a fluid head.
But does this mean they arent usable?
No it dosent, and for side to side movement, (panning) you dont have to use the head at all, just loosen the tripod stem a bit.
I have over the many years ive been using tripods for glassing, bought lots of them on Ebay.
The Monfrotto brand offers lots of different models.
Even the smaller ones easily support our twin spotter binoculars, and can be bought used very reasonably.
They can also be found without any head, allowing you to buy that separately.
$100 will probably get you a very good tripod on Ebay.
As an example, a couple years back i was browsing there and found a monfrotto walking stick. Which is a 3 section heavy duty leg of a tripod, with a rubber grip and a stud for connecting a spotting scope, or even a device for supporting a rifle. The starting bid was 10 dollars, no body bid on it, except me, and i bought it for 10 dollars in new condition.