RRS BPC-16 Microball with Panning vs sirui va5

[Sako79]

I've narrowed my tripod head purchase down to these two. I will only be using the head for my Swarovski binoculars anyone have any experience with both of these and can give me any feedback thank you in advance

 

[SecretSpot]

Love it but dont plan on doing any phone scoping with it. Believe it or not it holds my 85 atx fairly well. The tension is very precise, not all or nothing like most head tensions seem to work. I will say it is even smaller in person than I expected when it arrived. I own surui ball heads and fluid heads and have used quite a few others but overall for ultralight glassing it cannot be beat imo

 

[BBob]

I've found you either like ball heads for glassing or you don't. I don't (I've tried multiple times over the years) and will use a standard head every time.

 

[Sako79]

I've found you either like ball heads for glassing or you don't. I don't (I've tried multiple times over the years) and will use a standard head every time.

What don't you like about the ball head I'm not overly impressed with it but I don't like heavy items

 

[BBob]

It's a small difference but I like dedicated horizontal and vertical controls. When changing the vertical on a standard head there's no potential of rocking of the optic position, just the vertical to keep track of. A standard head is just more precise positioning when glassing. I also prefer to have a handle to nudge when panning rather than nudging the optic. All in all small differences but when spending hours and hours behind glass little stuff can make a difference, that and I'm super picky

Also keep in mind my location and how I hunt. Mostly AZ/NM where I'm often behind glass all day long.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I have and use both those heads. For packing in and primarily using binoculars I use the Slik 624 w/ RRS. I’ll also use my Kowa 554 and occasionally 15s with no issues on it. If it is a glassing intensive hunt or weight isn’t an issue, I go with the VA-5 on Slik 733. This RRS is a great head, I had tried other ball heads and hated them.