Best in-field system to switch from bino to spotter

[JPederson5]

Hey guys,

In the past, 100% of my time spent glassing has been freehand with binos and hiking to the next ridge to do the same. I'm new to both glassing through a spotter and glassing through binos off a spotter. I've worked the last year or so to develop an optic system that I think will work good for my style of hunting. I picked up a pair of Maven B6 10x50 binos, Kowa 774 spotter, and Sirui Backcountry tripod with VA-5 head.

Ideally, I'd like to either freehand scan with binos or attach to tripod in bigger country to scan and locate animals. Once something is located, be able to quickly detach binos and reattach spotter to get a closer look. With all the different attachments out there, does anyone have any pointers on what I'll need for both optic pieces? I haven't received the spotter or the tripod yet to play around with them. From what I've read, that part will be taken care of, I'm more interested in finding the best system to be able to quickly attach/detach my Mavens to the VA-5 head while still being able to put them in my chest harness.

I'm a big hands-on guy and like to try different things in person to see what works best. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of access to different systems here so was hoping a few folks could weigh in. Any input is sure appreciated!

 

[Altoonabcm157]

I’m not very familiar with that head but if the QD plate is the same dimensions as arca then you can get the really right stuff cinch Mount and easily swap back and forth between the binos and spotter.

 

[sickles107]

I thought rrs cinch was the answer, though it does not fit very nicely in my bino harness.

 

[eaglemountainman]

JP5,

Mount a Sirui TA-70A plate to your spotter. Mount an
RRS Cinch- LR Elite to your binos. Change outs will be fast and slick.

I don't know what harness sickles107 uses, but my binos slide in and out of an AGC harness effortlessly and never get hung up like a stud will. Three of my buddies use the same system with no complaints.

 

[svivian]

I would look at Aziak

 

[sickles107]

JP5,

Mount a Sirui TA-70A plate to your spotter. Mount an
RRS Cinch- LR Elite to your binos. Change outs will be fast and slick.

I don't know what harness sickles107 uses, but my binos slide in and out of an AGC harness effortlessly and never get hung up like a stud will. Three of my buddies use the same system with no complaints.

I have 10x slc in an alaska guide harness. The rrs just seamed to stick out enough to be tight. Potentially catch and be a mild pain in the ass, and possibly wear the inside of the harness. Not a big deal but i didnt like it. At first look the aziak looks a bit slimmer but I have get to get my hands on it. Back to the tried and true outdoorsman stud holder, that is bound to get left on a glassing knob someday when switching to spotter.

 

[WI in the west]

I have a va5 had. I use an out outdoorsmans bino adapter with the palte on it and a spotter woth a plate on it. Swapping seemed quick to me. I prefer using para cord for my binos wgen i put in my chest harness so
I can slip my head out. I hated using the buckles that come woth bino harnesses.

 

[eaglemountainman]

sickles107

Huh...surprised to hear that. I have Kowa Genesis 10.5X44s, so they're a shade bigger than typical 10X42s. I keep them in an AGC Alaska Classic and there's plenty of room.

Hope you can locate an Aziak, and it works out for you. It looks like a tool is needed to install it, versus the cam on the RRS. Good luck.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Second the aziak cinch. It is lower profile than the RRS cinch but you need to order the correct size. The mavens should be listed on their website for size.

Either cinch will fit right into the arca swiss plate holder on the va-5 and you can switch back and forth with minimal effort.

 

[Wheels]

I have a VA5 also, I put an Outdoorsmans QR adapter on the plate that comes with the head and use the Outdoorsmans bino adapter and an Outdoorsmans plate on the spotter. Makes changing back and forth quick and easy.

 

[JPederson5]

lots of good info here guys, thanks so much! I had come across that Aziak as well and looked like the most minimalist approach. Once I get my spotter/tripod stuff dialed in, I think one of these systems you guys have highlighted would be awesome. Whichever route I go, I'll need some time playing around with switching stuff out so I feel comfortable before season is here.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to become an expert.

Just loosen the VA-5 jaw knob, press the red safety button and slide your optic off. Slide the other optic on and tighten the jaw knob.. Done.

 

[BBob]

Just loosen the VA-5 jaw knob, press the red safety button and slide your optic off. Slide the other optic on and tighten the jaw knob.. Done.

If you mix and match plates with the VA-5 then you'll probably have to adjust the lever for each plate. I found you had to use the exact same plate on everything with the VA-5 to keep from having to adjust it. Even different models of Sirui plates differ and can require adjustment. That was/is the biggest downfall for me and the VA-5. If the lever was bigger and more accessible it wouldn't have been much of a deal for me but it's too slow at times the way it is and I didn't want to buy a bunch more identical plates.

My favorite universal setup is an Outdoorsmans Fluid Head with the universal ARCA/OD jaws on it. It'll take my big optics with ARCA's and the binoculars with the OD plates without changing anything. Definitely not a setup for everyone though.

 

[sndmn11]

If I am using both, I generally will just turn the spotter 90degrees and set my binoculars on top.

 

[eaglemountainman]

If you mix and match plates with the VA-5 then you'll probably have to adjust the lever for each plate. I found you had to use the exact same plate on everything with the VA-5 to keep from having to adjust it. Even different models of Sirui plates differ and can require adjustment. That was/is the biggest downfall for me and the VA-5. If the lever was bigger and more accessible it wouldn't have been much of a deal for me but it's too slow at times the way it is and I didn't want to buy a bunch more identical plates.

I have a Surui TA-70 plate on the spotter and the integral foot/plate on the RRS Cinch. I was able to adjust and set the VA-5 jaw lever to accept both, without further adjustment.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Personally, each day afield I carry 10x binos around my neck, 20x binos in my pack and a 20-60x spotting scope also in my pack, and two (2) tripods; one tripod for the 20x binos and the other tripod for the spotting scope.

Heavy, but makes glassing easy when I can freehand with the 10x and have the 20x and the spotting scope mounted on their own tripods.

 

[tdhanses]

I would look at Aziak View attachment 435533

I have to agree, it’s much more streamlined compared to the RRS Cinch, I replaced my RRS with it, same QR mount.

 

[tdhanses]

sickles107

Huh...surprised to hear that. I have Kowa Genesis 10.5X44s, so they're a shade bigger than typical 10X42s. I keep them in an AGC Alaska Classic and there's plenty of room.

Hope you can locate an Aziak, and it works out for you. It looks like a tool is needed to install it, versus the cam on the RRS. Good luck.

Only a small allen wrench.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Personally, each day afield I carry 10x binos around my neck, 20x binos in my pack and a 20-60x spotting scope also in my pack, and two (2) tripods; one tripod for the 20x binos and the other tripod for the spotting scope.

Heavy, but makes glassing easy when I can freehand with the 10x and have the 20x and the spotting scope mounted on their own tripods.

Real nice setup especially when you have to keep eyes on a a specific target for a prolonged period of time (ex: walking a hunter in to a downed animal).

 

[eaglemountainman]

Only a small allen wrench.

Another small item to be lost when you really need it. The RRS Cinch has an adjustable strap and cam lock. No tools required. But, to each, his own.