Looking for all around glassing and shooting tripod

bard

Lil-Rokslider
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Apr 2, 2013
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140
Need to upgrade my tripod. I am rocking an old slik sprint 2 that is a decade and a half old. Have a Benro S2 head that is nice. Tripod did the job well enough up to this point. My spotter is only a 65mm. Just got a Sig Cross rifle and put an arca rail on. Put it on the tripod and realized how flimsy it really is. main uses will be mountain hunting and shooting at the range. I never seem to use the center post while glassing so a tripod without one would be an option although I can not seem to find one tall enough that isnt under 4 pounds. Looking to keep the tripod weight under 3 pounds. Closer to 2 pounds if it's still decent for shooting. Ideally I get a ball head as its better to shoot off. I can always use my Benro s2. I want to ditch the bipod in the mountains so I would like the tripod to be able to lay out almost flat so this eliminates some of the center post types. want to keep price under 250 for tripod and ball head. Any comments on the two below or others to consider would be a great help.


 

Mrtoyz

FNG
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Dec 22, 2023
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New tripod from Aziak. Received mine last week. Very impressed. Worth a look.
 
Joined
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shooting tripod and glassing tripod are not equal unless you want to carry the much heavier shooting tripod for a glassing trip.
 

Mrtoyz

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Dec 22, 2023
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shooting tripod and glassing tripod are not equal unless you want to carry the much heavier shooting tripod for a glassing trip.
Totally agree with you. I tried all the cheap Amazon stuff years ago in an effort to not spend the big money on RRS. Nothing compared at the time. Ended up l spending the money.
As it stands today. I wanted an ultra lightweight tripod that I could use for spotting while standing. Found the new Aziak. Got it and believe it or not I feel decently comfortable shooting off it while standing at 200-300 yards. Is it even close to as stable as my RRS34’s, no, but with a light weight rifle, at limited distances, it’s good enough for me.
 

alexnelon

FNG
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Feb 24, 2024
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Location
Texas
You’re asking a lot.

I just shot a whole NRL Hunter match off of a Sirui AT-125 and kneeling/sitting it was usable.

Standing though, not great.

I don’t know of any lightweight tripods that will be sturdy at 60+ inches tall.
 

dancyr3

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Apr 17, 2023
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Location
ADA COUNTY IDAHO
Really gonna be hard to stand and shoot with a super light weight tripod. I would suggest to get a trigger stick for shooting, mine is very stable and I am able to have my rifle up fast. Its heavy so it'll stay in your pack, def do not want to hike more than a few miles carrying that thing unless you want Popeye arms. Look into Tricer for the best, a cheaper more affordable one is the Slik brand ( they are on sale for $200 right now on GOHUNT and S&S Archery)
 

Steve O

WKR
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Feb 29, 2012
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Michigan

New tripod from Aziak. Received mine last week. Very impressed. Worth a look.

Just got mine this week. Dug out all my other tripods to do a comparison. The Frontcountry HEAD is genius. I do believe it will take the place of all my Slik and Siriu setups.

Can’t see any faults with this Aziak.
 

Mrtoyz

FNG
Joined
Dec 22, 2023
Messages
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Just got mine this week. Dug out all my other tripods to do a comparison. The Frontcountry HEAD is genius. I do believe it will take the place of all my Slik and Siriu setups.

Can’t see any faults with this Aziak.
When you say “head” what are you referring to?
Can’t see any faults with my Frontcountry thus far. It’s as good as I’ve seen for my criteria.
 

Steve O

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When you say “head” what are you referring to?
Can’t see any faults with my Frontcountry thus far. It’s as good as I’ve seen for my criteria.


Front Country Ball Head

The ball head has a lock out feature that turns it into a pan head. Also has a minimum friction setting so you don’t accidentally dump your optic off. Have not played with that just yet.
 

Mrtoyz

FNG
Joined
Dec 22, 2023
Messages
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Front Country Ball Head

The ball head has a lock out feature that turns it into a pan head. Also has a minimum friction setting so you don’t accidentally dump your optic off. Have not played with that just yet.
Ah. Confused when you initially showed a tripod and I was thinking the Frontcounty tripod I got didn’t come with a head. lol. Hadn’t even noticed they released a head as well. Good to hear is was nice.
I’d found over time that my ball heads didn’t work like I needed them to work for glassing. Ended up buying a bunch of ultra light fluid heads, compared the best one I found to the Wiser Nighthawk and was surprised to find the Small Rig CH20 kinda kicked its butt for glassing. There’s a small weight penalty but I’ve found it acceptable.
 

Steve O

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IMG_1164.jpeg

I’ve never been a tripod shooter because I’ve never wanted a pan head. This FrontCountry tripod and head is going to open a whole new world for me. Tons of versatility I see in this one.
 

taskswap

WKR
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
524
Super opinionated here - you might want to try one or two from places with great return policies until you find your perfect fit. Right now I'm rocking the Sirui T-025x CF, with a C-10 head. 24oz, extremely stable.

A big upgrade I've made lately is not in the tripod itself, but rather in the heads. Instead of the old-school 1/4-20 screw-on plates I've got everything on Arca mounts now. For my binos, I used to use the Vortex quick-attach, the one with a peg on the binos that drops into a cup on your tripod. I replaced that with the Aziak Bino Clamp and couldn't be happier. Weighs 0.5oz and takes almost no space, so it doesn't get hung up in my bino harness.

They didn't have one for my spotter but Sirui sells an Arca adapter so I put that on there and it works fine.
 
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