anyone have field experience with the Spartan Davros pro head for glassing and shooting?

[jpndave]

Did you ever get your questions on this answered? Just did a search and this thread popped up. I have the Davros Pro and love it. The just announced a Gen 2 which I will now need to get...

 

[manitou1]

After hunting elk, antelope and mulies this season with the system I have found that I wish there was some "friction" when rotating things on the Davros head. Spins like a well oiled bearing, only easier!

 

[mtwarden]

V2 would explain why they didn’t have any of the Pro heads in for the last couple of months

^ Do you think the new head might address that?

 

[manitou1]

The optics mount and the rifle mount just spin on the magnetic "nipple", so I don't see an obvious remedy. Not a liability when mounting a firearm on the Davros but I have come to not appreciate it when using optics.
It is useable, but not preferable for me.

 

[mtwarden]

The optics mount and the rifle mount just spin on the magnetic "nipple", so I don't see an obvious remedy. Not a liability when mounting a firearm on the Davros but I have come to not appreciate it when using optics.
It is useable, but not preferable for me.

The heavy duty optics adapter has some kind of lock on it, not sure if it still spins????

 

[manitou1]

Yep... spins like a top!

 

[jpndave]

This one mitigates the spin for optics only. The Gen 2 Davros Pro has some tension adjustment which would be nice for fine tuning the ball.

Heavy Duty Optics Adapter

Turns your Sentinel or Davros head into a super-stable optics & camera platform in seconds. The magnetic attachment system gives instant fitting and has an adjustable lever system for extra security. Lightweight and durable, the Heavy Duty Optics Adapter comes with a standard ¼ inch camera/optic...

javelinbipod.com

 

[manitou1]

This one mitigates the spin for optics only. The Gen 2 Davros Pro has some tension adjustment which would be nice for fine tuning the ball.

Heavy Duty Optics Adapter

Turns your Sentinel or Davros head into a super-stable optics & camera platform in seconds. The magnetic attachment system gives instant fitting and has an adjustable lever system for extra security. Lightweight and durable, the Heavy Duty Optics Adapter comes with a standard ¼ inch camera/optic...

javelinbipod.com

Yeah, those are what I use and have them on both my spotter and binos. Spin like a weathervane.
I will readdress this and see if there is a way to tighten those up that I somehow missed.

 

[jpndave]

Yeah, those are what I use and have them on both my spotter and binos. Spin like a weathervane.
I will readdress this and see if there is a way to tighten those up that I somehow missed.

There is a short video clip in that link where he shows locking it at 0:27 in.

This lever

 

[manitou1]

Yes, I use the lever to lock it also... bit I did notice in the close up pick that the lever can be screwed in/out for adjustment, much like a trekking pole latch. I am going to go pull the spotter and tripod out of my pack see if this remedies the issue. If it does, this will add new life to my system and make it more useable... excited!

 

[manitou1]

Ha, problem solved! You cannot "spin" or screw in the lever, but there is a small allen screw on the oppsite side that can be screwed in and it tightened up nicely.
I was getting ready to scrap using this but it is now more user friendly.
Awesome!

 

[4th_point]

I'm really interested in this setup, not a lot of firsthand info that I'm finding.

Thanks!

Hey mtwarden,

I'm a big fan of the bipod and magnetic attachment. I also have the Davros Pro and a bunch of adapters. I bought it all during the Black Friday sale last year.

I've used binoculars and spotting scopes with the heavy duty adapter. As mentioned above, it is like a cam skewer in that you can adjust screw tension which changes the clamping force. Just note that the adjustment for a snug fit can vary a bit from one magnetic post to another.

I also have the Gen2 Davros, but have less time with it in the field. It definitely pans better than the Pro and the friction adjustment is set and forget, but you can still lock the ball.

The Pro is not as good as a fluid head for a spotting scope, but Spartan never claimed that it was. The Gen2 is definitely an improvement, but still advantages/disadvantages compared to a fluid pan head.

One thing that might be worth considering is the ARCA adapter that allows you to adapt the Spartan magnetic system to your existing ballhead or even panhead. I think it's only $20. You could try that before committing to a Gen2 Davros.

Jason

 

[mtwarden]

Great info Gents- much appreciated !

@manitou1 glad you were able to fix that

 

[manitou1]

Great info Gents- much appreciated !

@manitou1 glad you were able to fix that

Feeling a bit dumb for not checking that, but am glad it worked out.

 

[BigVick04]

Hey mtwarden,

I'm a big fan of the bipod and magnetic attachment. I also have the Davros Pro and a bunch of adapters. I bought it all during the Black Friday sale last year.

I've used binoculars and spotting scopes with the heavy duty adapter. As mentioned above, it is like a cam skewer in that you can adjust screw tension which changes the clamping force. Just note that the adjustment for a snug fit can vary a bit from one magnetic post to another.

I also have the Gen2 Davros, but have less time with it in the field. It definitely pans better than the Pro and the friction adjustment is set and forget, but you can still lock the ball.

The Pro is not as good as a fluid head for a spotting scope, but Spartan never claimed that it was. The Gen2 is definitely an improvement, but still advantages/disadvantages compared to a fluid pan head.

One thing that might be worth considering is the ARCA adapter that allows you to adapt the Spartan magnetic system to your existing ballhead or even panhead. I think it's only $20. You could try that before committing to a Gen2 Davros.

Jason

Have you had some more time on the gen 2 head? Any other thoughts on it would be appreciated since it’s new and I haven’t been able to find much info on it other than the website.

I was pretty set on switching from the outdoorsmans adapters to arca rails on my optics and add them to my rifles to be able to start shooting off the tripod when necessary. But It would be nice to switch to the Spartan system if the new davros head will work well with optics and shooting. Their bipod would also save me a lot of weight vs the atlas I’ve been lugging around the last few years.

 

[4th_point]

Have you had some more time on the gen 2 head? Any other thoughts on it would be appreciated since it’s new and I haven’t been able to find much info on it other than the website.

Only with binoculars. Unfortunately my midsize spotting scope has been in for warranty for the past two months. I do have a bigger scope but I use that with a fluid head.

If you have specific questions, post them here and I'll see if I can help.

 

[mtwarden]

what attachment are using for your binos?

I see they have a new bino attachment

https://javelinbipod.com/products/binocular-adapter

and you might be able to use the light duty adapter in combination with your existing Outdoorsman adapter????

 

[4th_point]

I use an Outdoorsman stud on my binoculars. And the Spartan heavy duty optics adapter mounted to the Outdoorsman adapter.

 

[4th_point]

I've never used the Spartan light duty adapter. Have been tempted to get one, but I have a couple of the heavy duty ones.

 

[mtwarden]

Ahh- I was going to get HD adapter for my spotter and leave it on it. Was thinking I might get by with the lighter one for my binos (pretty light 10x42's)