Tripod for 88mm Kowa

[6.5Express]

Looking for optimal tripod for my 88mm Kowa. Ill put my 10x el on it from time to time and shoot lightweight rifles off it occasionally in the field.

Ive broke 2 slik 634s now and wont go down that road again and use a va5 head currently but have a different 634 with a sirui ballhead for shooting off of with lightweight rifles. I was looking at the Tricer options this time but curious what else might be out there.

My spotter and tripod ride top packed between the bucks of a packsaddle on a mule somewhere around 75 days a year typically and get strapped to my pack during the day when i walk.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Please give us a call and speak with Jeff or Joel. Our pleasure to discuss different options with you
516-217-1000

 

[hereinaz]

Gotta get fatter legs and fewer extensions. That’s the key IMO.

I like the inverted leg tripods, they only have two Ellet sections so they don’t collapse down as much. But the ability to collapse cost weight and stability as you add leg sections that get smaller and smaller and more leg locks.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

Gotta get fatter legs and fewer extensions. That’s the key IMO.

It’s that simple. As long as its collapsed length is less than my pack height, adding more sections just adds weight and decreases rigidity.

 

[hereinaz]

I think mine is a little longer than my pack, but I live with it, cause my rifle does too. And, after carrying it strapped to my pack like my rifle for a couple seasons, I wouldn't carry it in my pack even if it fit. Having it quickly available and quick to deploy is far more important to me. I HATE having to open my main pack and fish stuff out.

This is the tripod I am running, and I tried lots of them.
This is the ball head I am running, and I tried lots of them too, including the RRS Anvil 30. Lots of personal preference in my decision.

They work great for glassing and shooting. I am 6'2" and can run it up and stand up straight to glass. Lots of tripods were just a little too short for me.

I love everything about the inverted legs. The adjustment isn't next to the ground/dirt so it doesn't get dirty. The adjustment is always within arms reach. It makes it much faster than anything else. The legs make it taller, but I choose my gear first for usability and for effectiveness. That is far more important that what I consider to be the convenience factors, like being able to stuff it into my backpack.

You can buy heavier/stronger of both from Leofoto. I tried them too, but didn't get enough benefit for the extra weight, but the difference was noticeable.

 

[6.5Express]

I think mine is a little longer than my pack, but I live with it, cause my rifle does too. And, after carrying it strapped to my pack like my rifle for a couple seasons, I wouldn't carry it in my pack even if it fit. Having it quickly available and quick to deploy is far more important to me. I HATE having to open my main pack and fish stuff out.

This is the tripod I am running, and I tried lots of them.
This is the ball head I am running, and I tried lots of them too, including the RRS Anvil 30. Lots of personal preference in my decision.

They work great for glassing and shooting. I am 6'2" and can run it up and stand up straight to glass. Lots of tripods were just a little too short for me.

I love everything about the inverted legs. The adjustment isn't next to the ground/dirt so it doesn't get dirty. The adjustment is always within arms reach. It makes it much faster than anything else. The legs make it taller, but I choose my gear first for usability and for effectiveness. That is far more important that what I consider to be the convenience factors, like being able to stuff it into my backpack.

You can buy heavier/stronger of both from Leofoto. I tried them too, but didn't get enough benefit for the extra weight, but the difference was noticeable.

Sounds like you tried a bunch of options and landed on the linked ones as the balance point? I really like my va5 head and cant hardly imagine going back to a ball for my 88mm kowa. What spotter are you using with this setup and how heavy a rifle? Our rifles are ~6.5-7.5 lbs.

 

[6.5Express]

Also, glassing with the tripod is my first priority and being able ti shoot from it is secondary.

 

[hereinaz]

The ball head, of course, is more optimized for rifle shooting. But, what it has going for it is a separate tension that I could set and use my 18s and push them around with my nose. I also would set the ball head tension to level then use the 360 pan to grid.

I haven’t run a spotter on that particular ball head, but it will work, the problem you recognize is that it will not be as nice as a pan head. I put shooting with my tripod is the higher priority, I am OK with using the ball head.

 

[section8mainiac]

Have you looked at the Slik 724, 733, or 734? Which parts broke on your Slik 634?

Sounds like weight is not as much of an issue as durability. Outdoorsman?

I’ve got a 634 and 724. The 724 costs you about a pound.

 

[JohnJohnson]

What is your budget and your limit of how heavy the tripod can be?

 

[6.5Express]

Have you looked at the Slik 724, 733, or 734? Which parts broke on your Slik 634?

Sounds like weight is not as much of an issue as durability. Outdoorsman?

I’ve got a 634 and 724. The 724 costs you about a pound.

I haven't looked at the other slik models. One of my 634s had the internal plastic parts that allow the legs to slide in and out break. So, one leg section wont extend. We make do and shoot off it not needing an extension and sometimes my son will put his binos on it to glass sitting.

The other 634, one of the cast pieces toward the top of the legs where the hinge point and allen heads are just broke in two in my hands last weekend elk hunting. So, that leg wobbles bad now.

I know i use my stuff a lot and putting it on a mule is hard on it, but im pretty careful and try to keep it wrapped up in a raincoat or puffy for protection.

 

[6.5Express]

What is your budget and your limit of how heavy the tripod can be?

I haven't set these parameters yet. I like the weight and price point of the slik 634s but two or three seasons of life aint worth it.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I haven't set these parameters yet. I like the weight and price point of the slik 634s but two or three seasons of life aint worth it.

I mean it's heavily dependent on those two factors. If you have the budget for an RRS, there's nothing more stable at a comparable weight. But if RRS tripods are too expensive or too heavy that's when you start having to get creative with what you buy. I use an RRS TFCT-34L with an Anvil ball head and PT Scout attachment so I get the best of all worlds. But that also costs a fair bit of weight that backpack hunters may not want to carry.

 

[6.5Express]

I mean it's heavily dependent on those two factors. If you have the budget for an RRS, there's nothing more stable at a comparable weight. But if RRS tripods are too expensive or too heavy that's when you start having to get creative with what you buy. I use an RRS TFCT-34L with an Anvil ball head and PT Scout attachment so I get the best of all worlds. But that also costs a fair bit of weight that backpack hunters may not want to carry.

If the rrs is really the only option, then ill have to figure it out. Im a recovering backpack hunter that uses a string of mules for everything but the final stalk typically. Weight matters, but i can get by with packing heavier gear than a backpack hunter. Hence the 88mm spotter.

I dont want to spend the money on the rrs to have it break down in 3-5 yrs either though

 

[JohnJohnson]

If the rrs is really the only option, then ill have to figure it out. Im a recovering backpack hunter that uses a string of mules for everything but the final stalk typically. Weight matters, but i can get by with packing heavier gear than a backpack hunter. Hence the 88mm spotter.

I dont want to spend the money on the rrs to have it break down in 3-5 yrs either though

No concerns about it breaking down like that. Any tripod discussion should start with "Can you afford RRS and is there one that suits your purposes?". If the answers are yes, get the RRS. For some reason the tripod space is one of the few remaining gear types where there's just a clear top dog if you have the money. Kind of like 15-20 years ago with scopes where it was basically "Can you afford a Schmidt & Bender? Okay buy that."

Leofoto is trying to take over the slightly lower price point by shamelessly stealing RRS's intellectual property and avoiding lawsuits by virtue of being a China based company. But even with that they're not on RRS's level and there's the side of it where do you really want to be supporting someone doing that to a US company.