MTNGear Mountain Bipod Review

[TyBuck28]

@Ryan Avery and I have seen many questions about the MTNGear bipods. Ryan was able to get one shipped to me for review. I got it a few days ago and have just started using it. The model I'm using is their Mountain Bipod, listed at 5 ounces. I first think it may be a great option for someone looking for an extremely lightweight bipod with a good range of adjustment. I'll continue using it through the spring and summer and possibly on some hunts this fall. Let me know what you would like to know about it.

View attachment 527660

Looking forward to your final thoughts.

 

[BoxKrancher]

the leg adjustment direction threw me off but not a terrible bipod once you get the hang of it.

 

[mackparrish]

Thanks for the report. Let us know how the replacement works out.

Well I received my replacement bipod and all was fine and dandy until I took it on a 5 day spring bear hunt a couple weeks ago.

On day 4 I noticed one of the foot pegs was completely gone and on one of the legs the glue had broke free so it spins freely at the base so you have to use two hands to hold the top portion while you twist the collar and lower the extension… same problem I had with the first one haha.



I’m pretty bummed because the functionality of it is great, no complaints there.. just gotta be ready to super glue or maybe tape it back together every once in a while :/

 

[Justin Crossley]

Well I received my replacement bipod and all was fine and dandy until I took it on a 5 day spring bear hunt a couple weeks ago.

On day 4 I noticed one of the foot pegs was completely gone and on one of the legs the glue had broke free so it spins freely at the base so you have to use two hands to hold the top portion while you twist the collar and lower the extension… same problem I had with the first one haha.

View attachment 571181

I’m pretty bummed because the functionality of it is great, no complaints there.. just gotta be ready to super glue or maybe tape it back together every once in a while :/

That's a bummer! Mine hasn't come apart yet, but that's not a good sign.

 

[Matt Vincent]

Hi everyone we are pleased to see the discussions around our products. Customer feedback is our main tool for future product improvements. We are a newish company producing products with more features than what's out there in a more compact and lighter package. All of that means there is going to be some tradeoffs which with your feedback hopefully we can reduce.

I'll hit some key points from the comments above:

1. leg rattle/ movement. Generally there is some. We have designed the product to have leg movement when deployed to allow a bit of free recoil from a loaded post shot to after shot to allow the rifle to move back onto your shoulder (take up any give in clothing and recoil pad etc) and then have this minimized when the legs are stowed away and walking around. If the tolerances aren't perfect our forked leg design does result in some rattle. We are looking to make some minor changes here to stop the rattle even if there is still some movement but we do think ours has far less than other products with a similar design.
2. Picatinny lockup. It should lockup good on any in spec rail. We have seen some oversized ones that don't fit and some at the smaller end of the spectrum that are loose. We are looking to make some minor changes to allow for more oversized rails to fit while tightening the lockup on the looser ones. On this note at some point we will be releasing an ARCA and ARMS 17s options. The ARMS 17s option will allow you to use the attachment head of your choice.
3.Pan. We also do not love a pan on a bipod. This is a hunting bipod so felt like we needed it. Open to suggestions. We could add a locker which will add cost and weight or remove pan completely which would do the opposite. Thoughts?
4.Leg twist lock direction. This is the same as all the other similar options. Everything I have seen is a RHT. The difference being is its upside down. This is the result of the leg being inverted. Think of your tripod being upside down when you lock or unlock the leg. We have considered doing an alloy leg where its pull out with a rachet lock. Will add weight and cost. Is it worth it when like someone mentioned the spread feature means the legs often don't need extending. Thoughts?
5. Leg glue. @mackparrish sorry about this mate. Happened to a portion on our first run of bipods in particular. Mountain and backcountry. We are up to our 3rd run on the mountains and sold out of our 1st backcountry run. We have implemented a few changes to dimensions, included a few new features, improved our methods and glues and it appears like this is an issue of the past. Obviously those older bipods are still out there but if they haven't had an issue to date fingers crossed.

Appreciate the feedback and discussion. Feel free to flick us a message either here or email or socials etc.
Cheers, Matt

 

[sgowda]

Would love to try one my new Browning mountain pro. Any discount codes currently ?

 

[sgowda]

@Ryan Avery and I have seen many questions about the MTNGear bipods. Ryan was able to get one shipped to me for review. I got it a few days ago and have just started using it. The model I'm using is their Mountain Bipod, listed at 5 ounces. I first think it may be a great option for someone looking for an extremely lightweight bipod with a good range of adjustment. I'll continue using it through the spring and summer and possibly on some hunts this fall. Let me know what you would like to know about it.

View attachment 527660

Just curious, does it rotate for the tracking after the shot or to shoot at mobing target ?

@Ryan Avery and I have seen many questions about the MTNGear bipods. Ryan was able to get one shipped to me for review. I got it a few days ago and have just started using it. The model I'm using is their Mountain Bipod, listed at 5 ounces. I first think it may be a great option for someone looking for an extremely lightweight bipod with a good range of adjustment. I'll continue using it through the spring and summer and possibly on some hunts this fall. Let me know what you would like to know about it.

View attachment 527660

Just curious, does it rotate for the tracking after the shot or to shoot at moving target ?

 

[Matt Vincent]

Just curious, does it rotate for the tracking after the shot or to shoot at mobing target ?

Just curious, does it rotate for the tracking after the shot or to shoot at moving target ?

Yes has full pan and tilt function.

We don't do any sales. Just try to offer our products at the best price everyday. Don't want customers to either hold out for a sale or feel like they paid more than needed if purchased at full price and then we offer a discount.

 

[Sierra Hunter]

I can respect that. Feel free to DM Code, I’m quiet as a church mouse

 

[sgowda]

Yes has full pan and tilt function.

We don't do any sales. Just try to offer our products at the best price everyday. Don't want customers to either hold out for a sale or feel like they paid more than needed if purchased at full price and then we offer a discount.

Thank you. Ordering one.

 

[BigLooch63]

Ive had mine for a couple months now and am really impressed. I think its mostly unmatched for its weight and functionality, so i really dont care too much about some the small things that some may not like. With that said ive got my eye out for a future iteration with the following.

1. Some sort of clamp or tightening screw for pic rails. I totally understand the current slide on system but my rifle has a recessed pic rail so it requires me to unscrew, mount, then rescrew. While it sucks that i cant take advantage of sliding on and off i would rather take advantage of the weight and adjustability this bipod provides. While my suggestion may come at a cost of weight (Matt could probably do it for 1oz) it would solve any rattle that others would have an issue with plus it would be so nice for those with recessed pic rails.

2. Slightly less play forward to back. There may be a good reason for this but i feel like it has a little too much lateral play when you get behind the gun. Maybe what im feeling is due to the clamp system not being 100% tight/flush to my pic rail? Now i will say it hasnt impacted my accuracy one bit.

3. Tension knob for cant. Now im not 100% on this but would be real interested in how Matt approaches this. Ive found that the bipod can at times be hard to get perfectly level and if i had the ability to adjust the tension i feel like i could make it absolutely perfect. Since this is certainly not a consistent thing for me its obviously an issue with me not the bipod.

Its a super stellar piece of gear and i would highly recommend. Im excited for the evolution of thr product and/or products Matt creates.

 

[sgowda]

Ive had mine for a couple months now and am really impressed. I think its mostly unmatched for its weight and functionality, so i really dont care too much about some the small things that some may not like. With that said ive got my eye out for a future iteration with the following.

1. Some sort of clamp or tightening screw for pic rails. I totally understand the current slide on system but my rifle has a recessed pic rail so it requires me to unscrew, mount, then rescrew. While it sucks that i cant take advantage of sliding on and off i would rather take advantage of the weight and adjustability this bipod provides. While my suggestion may come at a cost of weight (Matt could probably do it for 1oz) it would solve any rattle that others would have an issue with plus it would be so nice for those with recessed pic rails.

2. Slightly less play forward to back. There may be a good reason for this but i feel like it has a little too much lateral play when you get behind the gun. Maybe what im feeling is due to the clamp system not being 100% tight/flush to my pic rail? Now i will say it hasnt impacted my accuracy one bit.

3. Tension knob for cant. Now im not 100% on this but would be real interested in how Matt approaches this. Ive found that the bipod can at times be hard to get perfectly level and if i had the ability to adjust the tension i feel like i could make it absolutely perfect. Since this is certainly not a consistent thing for me its obviously an issue with me not the bipod.

Its a super stellar piece of gear and i would highly recommend. Im excited for the evolution of thr product and/or products Matt creates.

My Hatch bipod doesn’t allow me to Track after the shot. This is so intriguing after reading your post. Thanks for your thoughts

 

[Matt Vincent]

@BigLooch63 Thank you for your feedback.

1. You aren't the only one with this recessed rail issue. This is becoming more common which is a great improvement in stocks but the few that also recess on the front end of the rail too is a problem for our bipod. Would an ARMS 17s option work for you? Gives you the chance to choose exactly what clamping method (leaver or twist) picatinny clamp or Arca clamp you'd like. Only downside is some of these 3rd party clamps are pretty heavy. We could ditch the ARMS 17s and do a twist clamp for Picatinny. I still want to produce the current design too albeit with minor improvements but cannot do every option ourselves.

2. Yeah there can be play in a few areas. The legs have it designed in. Our reason is that the movement in the legs allow a small amount of free recoil to reduce the chance that uneven terrain exerts any force on the rifle as it recoils and it also reduces the shock loading from recoil. Your thoughts on that? Any play in other areas we would obviously like to make zero. This is really around tolerances between the rail and clamping slider which we are working on reducing while increasing the range of rails it accepts.

3. We have had a play round with tilt tension knob. We have found we have had to dramatically increase the size of the parts to get the tension/friction required. So we will highly likely stick with our current design. Although there are a few things we can do to further make them smoother and hold your tilt angles with it being improved smoothness. We have made some improvements on this lately within the same design too. Also dramatic weight and size savings with the current design. Don't think there is a perfect design when trading weight and size in a hunting bipod.

Cheers
Matt

 

[BigLooch63]

@BigLooch63 Thank you for your feedback.

1. You aren't the only one with this recessed rail issue. This is becoming more common which is a great improvement in stocks but the few that also recess on the front end of the rail too is a problem for our bipod. Would an ARMS 17s option work for you? Gives you the chance to choose exactly what clamping method (leaver or twist) picatinny clamp or Arca clamp you'd like. Only downside is some of these 3rd party clamps are pretty heavy. We could ditch the ARMS 17s and do a twist clamp for Picatinny. I still want to produce the current design too albeit with minor improvements but cannot do every option ourselves.

2. Yeah there can be play in a few areas. The legs have it designed in. Our reason is that the movement in the legs allow a small amount of free recoil to reduce the chance that uneven terrain exerts any force on the rifle as it recoils and it also reduces the shock loading from recoil. Your thoughts on that? Any play in other areas we would obviously like to make zero. This is really around tolerances between the rail and clamping slider which we are working on reducing while increasing the range of rails it accepts.

3. We have had a play round with tilt tension knob. We have found we have had to dramatically increase the size of the parts to get the tension/friction required. So we will highly likely stick with our current design. Although there are a few things we can do to further make them smoother and hold your tilt angles with it being improved smoothness. We have made some improvements on this lately within the same design too. Also dramatic weight and size savings with the current design. Don't think there is a perfect design when trading weight and size in a hunting bipod.

Cheers
Matt

I think i would be more interested in your own design for a twist clamp. I think if the connection to my pic rail had less play then the leg movement wouldnt matter to me.

Get your point on the tension knob. I like the perspective of improving the existing product to make it even more top tier. Maybe someday there will be an opportunity for a "Heavy Mountain Bipod" where we've got all this adjustment plus new tension adjusts for around 10oz.

 

[Matt Vincent]

I think i would be more interested in your own design for a twist clamp. I think if the connection to my pic rail had less play then the leg movement wouldnt matter to me.

Get your point on the tension knob. I like the perspective of improving the existing product to make it even more top tier. Maybe someday there will be an opportunity for a "Heavy Mountain Bipod" where we've got all this adjustment plus new tension adjusts for around 10oz.

Pretty confident the tweaks we have been working on will reduce that to near zero across the range of rails out there. If that fails then we would consider it. One of the things we have against the twist lock is its just not as secure if that was to work loose a little then it can slide off. Not such as issue with ARCA as the rails tend to be full length.

A heavy mountain bipod is something we have considered with a few slightly different features. We have also had a bunch of requests for a high bipod option. We have a rough design for a bipod about 40inchs high which might be inline with that suggestion. As it would be partially accommodating seated and kneeling shots it would be quite a different design.

We don't have the money or time to do it all at once but every day and every sale helps us get closer.

 

[Vinmate]

Been using one if these fitted to a manners ultra classic for a fair while now. Highly recommended

 

[MTWILEY23]

My buddy is running the Mountain and has been extremely pleased. His criteria going in was lightest weight option possible without sacrificing durability- says it checks both boxes solidly.

 

[Boog]

$$$, I think I need to go into the bi-pod business. Get a few trekking poles, sawzall, drill and some hardware and you are in business.

 

[Matt Vincent]

My buddy is running the Mountain and has been extremely pleased. His criteria going in was lightest weight option possible without sacrificing durability- says it checks both boxes solidly.

Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear its working well for him.

 

[Matt Vincent]

$$$, I think I need to go into the bi-pod business. Get a few trekking poles, sawzall, drill and some hardware and you are in business.

They are expensive and that reflects the materials and quality of the product we have created. But by no means are we close to the most expensive either. We try pretty hard to be the best price we can and partly why we haven't pursued retail. I would have been much better off financially if I didn't quit my job to make hunting equipment but its nice doing something you're really passionate about.