Aziak Ridgeline Tripod, Shooting Review.

[atmat]

The Spray Tray is such a fun board. The Milligram split and the Singular are my daily drivers though for bigger lines.

I ride the Kill Switch quite a bit. It’s a fun board.

 

[stan_wa]

Op,
It seems to me that the aziak backcountry would be better all around I personally can’t stand glassing without a center post as I’m glassing up and down the hill
I find that I have to adjust the height using the center post about every 2 grids

And I find it fussy to get the legs just right if my center post is held constant. Do you find yourself missing the center post ?

Does having just 2 leg sections make that much of a stability benifit over the 3 or 4 leg sections.

Also sleads, snowboard and a gun what a cool
Set of pics

 

[walk2112]

View attachment 858026

A little off topic, but any reservations glassing up/aging sheep with the baby Swaro?

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

A little off topic, but any reservations glassing up/aging sheep with the baby Swaro?

It's all within reason. If it's within its capabilities and light conditions, then it's as good as any alpha spotter.

 

[wind gypsy]

This with beefier inverted legs and a ballhead that's inverted ala Anvil/MA-30L + a panning base would be my ultimate hunting tripod.

The inverted legs matter less with a 2 section of this length but would still be nice.

The thing about the anvil/inverted style ball head i took for granted was that the arca clamp and ball clamp levers are always in the same orientation regardless of where you're pointing because the ball clamp is integrated with the arca clamp. I recently got a leofoto LH-40LSC head and quickly realized that I took that for granted when the ball clamp was static but the arca clamp wasn't so its less intuitive in time constrained situations and you have to locate the ball tension knob rather than just know its on the left side of the clamp. The inverted design is going to be stiffer too because there's not an additional lever coming off the ball to whatever you have clamped in - the weight is much closer to the pivot point.

I think my solution to this is going to be a leofoto SO-282CMX that is shortened with either a MA-30L + panning base or the MH-35LRC head that has a panning base. I have both on their way from ebay to give a shot.

 

[Macintosh]

@windgypsy that makes sense. I got a ridgeline, it's maybe not the "perfect" tripod for me, but seemed worth the try. I'm tall so it's on the short side for glassing, but so far works OK, and I think will work really well with a lw pan head as b reynolds is using. Where your comment hit the mark for me was in the orientation of the locking levers, with the additional caveat that on a slope it also requires getting the correct legs extended. I quickly realized that my practiced deployment really depended on setting the tripod with the lever located for my left hand, as well as getting leg length +/- right to facilitate that orientation. My solution was a visible wrap of tape on one leg as a "grab spot", ie if I always grab the taped spot, it guarantees the tripod gets set down and legs extended in the correct orientation. I'm still very much practicing and experimenting with this, but so far seems pretty darn good and quite fast (for me) to deploy.

 

[ChrisAU]

Op,
It seems to me that the aziak backcountry would be better all around I personally can’t stand glassing without a center post as I’m glassing up and down the hill
I find that I have to adjust the height using the center post about every 2 grids

And I find it fussy to get the legs just right if my center post is held constant. Do you find yourself missing the center post ?

Does having just 2 leg sections make that much of a stability benifit over the 3 or 4 leg sections.

Also sleads, snowboard and a gun what a cool
Set of pics

I have the same concerns, I love the center post on my Aziak Backcountry. I have a Tricer DZ on my Backcountry to provide the same functionality as the Ridgeline, but I’d love the weight of the Ridgeline and a lightweight pan head if it had a center column.

 

[StuckoYota99]

I have the same concerns, I love the center post on my Aziak Backcountry. I have a Tricer DZ on my Backcountry to provide the same functionality as the Ridgeline, but I’d love the weight of the Ridgeline and a lightweight pan head if it had a center column.

Have you shot off your aziak backcountry?

 

[ChrisAU]

Have you shot off your aziak backcountry?

Not extensively but I have used it for a few rounds in a couple range sessions. No issues to report. We are trusting 5 ounce two legged bipods with rifles these days, a 1.5-2 lb three legged tripod is much stronger than those.

 

[K_pem]

Hey Ben,

Love the idea of a 20oz tripod w/ a 4-5oz pan head option setup for covering everything but like others I'm hesitant to think the Ridgeline is that much better than just running the Backcountry tripod and not carrying the panhead but utilizing the pan feature on the ball head when running the ATC on it.

Is there some other benefit of using the Ridgeline vs the Backcountry that I'm missing? The combinations would weigh about the same (23.7oz for the BC vs ~24.5oz for the RL w/ LP pan) and achieve about the same height w/ the short center post on the Backcountry; but the adjustable center post would be ideal for a piece of kit that's primary purpose is for glassing off of.

Whats your take?

 

[HuntWyld]

Hey Ben,

Love the idea of a 20oz tripod w/ a 4-5oz pan head option setup for covering everything but like others I'm hesitant to think the Ridgeline is that much better than just running the Backcountry tripod and not carrying the panhead but utilizing the pan feature on the ball head when running the ATC on it.

Is there some other benefit of using the Ridgeline vs the Backcountry that I'm missing? The combinations would weigh about the same (23.7oz for the BC vs ~24.5oz for the RL w/ LP pan) and achieve about the same height w/ the short center post on the Backcountry; but the adjustable center post would be ideal for a piece of kit that's primary purpose is for glassing off of.

Whats your take?

I’ve owned both and the ridgeline is more stable because it has fewer leg sections, no center column, and the inverted ball head is built into the apex which brings center of gravity way down. Add a good pan head to it and now for the same weight as the backcountry you have a system that is more stable and easier to glass/shoot from as long as the height limitation is a non issue.

 

[K_pem]

I’ve owned both and the ridgeline is more stable because it has fewer leg sections, no center column, and the inverted ball head is built into the apex which brings center of gravity way down. Add a good pan head to it and now for the same weight as the backcountry you have a system that is more stable and easier to glass/shoot from as long as the height limitation is a non issue.

So, it is significantly more stable then? Enough to justify sacrificing slightly on the glassing experience at least, since everything else is essentially equal.

That's the only factor I struggle with is having a tripod for shooting that I use for glassing vs the inverse. I plan to always have a bipod with me anyways, so is it redundant to hinder my glassing experience given the presumably lower odds of even using the tripod instead of the bipod anyway?

 

[HuntWyld]

So, it is significantly more stable then? Enough to justify sacrificing slightly on the glassing experience at least, since everything else is essentially equal.

That's the only factor I struggle with is having a tripod for shooting that I use for glassing vs the inverse. I plan to always have a bipod with me anyways, so is it redundant to hinder my glassing experience given the presumably lower odds of even using the tripod instead of the bipod anyway?

I would argue the glassing experience is better with the ridgeline and the LP. More stability is easier on the eyes for long sessions and the ultralight ball head on the backcountry is not even in the same league as the LP for glassing. The only benefit to the backcountry is the extra height and overall collapsed length is smaller.

 

[satchamo]

I’ve been shooting off a ridgeline here a fair bit and I’m sold on it. It’s crazy how stable it is for how light it is. You can run the ball lock lever with your opposite hand while shooting and I’ve just been pinching down on it as I find my hold just to stabilize the gun because racking another round on a loose ball head is a bitch.

Its not a tall tripod but for a hunting it has everything Ill ever need at a minimal weight punishment.

I plan to pick up a wiser pan head to mount into the arca plate on the ridgeline for my “do all” setup. No it won’t be perfect without the center column for glassing but shooting off normal pan head tripods is terrible in my experience so I’ll give up a little for a much better shooting platform.

 

[K_pem]

I would argue the glassing experience is better with the ridgeline and the LP. More stability is easier on the eyes for long sessions and the ultralight ball head on the backcountry is not even in the same league as the LP for glassing. The only benefit to the backcountry is the extra height and overall collapsed length is smaller.

Interesting take. I don't know that the increased potential 8" of extra height (48" ish of the Backcountry over what I'm guessing is 40" ish of the Ridgeline w/ the LP on top) is all that usable from a shooting perspective honestly, maybe if you had to take a semi-standing shot?

From a glassing perspective, the thought that i could maybe kind of stand-up/lean over and glass behind an angled spotter with the Backcountry tripod fully extended (I'm 5'9") on occasion crossed my mind. But for majority use case the max height of the Ridgeline w/ the LP on it while sitting would be more than enough for me seated.

The collapsed length is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned (I'm used to carrying a bigass Sirui w/ VA-5 anyways), but the quick height adjustability of the center post definitely seems like a sacrifice.

Decisions, decisions...

Are you guys carrying a lightweight bipod as well or is the Ridgeline your one and done? I currently have the Tricer RP but seems kind of redundant to carry the added weight of a tripod like that AND a tripod setup for shooting such as the Ridgeline.

 

[HuntWyld]

Interesting take. I don't know that the increased potential 8" of extra height (48" ish of the Backcountry over what I'm guessing is 40" ish of the Ridgeline w/ the LP on top) is all that usable from a shooting perspective honestly, maybe if you had to take a semi-standing shot?

From a glassing perspective, the thought that i could maybe kind of stand-up/lean over and glass behind an angled spotter with the Backcountry tripod fully extended (I'm 5'9") on occasion crossed my mind. But for majority use case the max height of the Ridgeline w/ the LP on it while sitting would be more than enough for me seated.

The collapsed length is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned (I'm used to carrying a bigass Sirui w/ VA-5 anyways), but the quick height adjustability of the center post definitely seems like a sacrifice.

Decisions, decisions...

Are you guys carrying a lightweight bipod as well or is the Ridgeline your one and done? I currently have the Tricer RP but seems kind of redundant to carry the added weight of a tripod like that AND a tripod setup for shooting such as the Ridgeline.

I do carry a sitting height bipod for quick shot opportunities that are beyond freehand capability (hatch, Tricer, etc.) but I still prefer to shoot off of my RRS tripod for anything positional if I have time to setup. The ridgeline was just to supplement the RRS when I don’t want to carry a 4 plus pound tripod.

 

[ChrisAU]

I’ve owned both and the ridgeline is more stable because it has fewer leg sections, no center column, and the inverted ball head is built into the apex which brings center of gravity way down. Add a good pan head to it and now for the same weight as the backcountry you have a system that is more stable and easier to glass/shoot from as long as the height limitation is a non issue.

I have used the Backcountry for a couple years now and love the center column - I'm constantly making micro adjustments for comfort depending on the angle I'm glassing at. I'm really apprehensive about losing that, though I guess adjusting one leg for height while glassing with binos is something I could get used to.

 

[K_pem]

I do carry a sitting height bipod for quick shot opportunities that are beyond freehand capability (hatch, Tricer, etc.) but I still prefer to shoot off of my RRS tripod for anything positional if I have time to setup. The ridgeline was just to supplement the RRS when I don’t want to carry a 4 plus pound tripod.

Yeah I have no plans of carrying a 4 pound tripod haha.

My thought was if I go to the Ridgeline, I’ll dump the RP and pick up something light weight and more basic like the MTN Gear or a Spartan.

 

[satchamo]

Yeah I have no plans of carrying a 4 pound tripod haha.

My thought was if I go to the Ridgeline, I’ll dump the RP and pick up something light weight and more basic like the MTN Gear or a Spartan.

Personally i'd forgo the bipod. If you need a quick shot throw your pack down. If you have some time, the ridgline will do most of what a bipod can. But we all have our styles so don't take me for gospel but maybe if you get a ridgeline, practice with it for a while and see if the bipods still necessary?

 

[K_pem]

Personally i'd forgo the bipod. If you need a quick shot throw your pack down. If you have some time, the ridgline will do most of what a bipod can. But we all have our styles so don't take me for gospel but maybe if you get a ridgeline, practice with it for a while and see if the bipods still necessary?

Fair enough. I guess I’ll have to do some more shooting to figure out what works and seems functionally practical.

But first I have to decide on the tripod.