Is the Outdoorsman tripod worth it?

[TahoeWesternHunter]

Before I seriously consider spending $800 on a full Outdoorsman tripod and head... are there recommendations with personal experience? I don't mind spending the money if it's really the best and a purchase I'll be happy with for many hunting seasons.

 

[Idahoarcheryhunter]

Don't have any personal experience with it but, slik and manfrotto are pretty solid as well. I couldn't imagine spending 800 on a tripod and head.... That's a lot of tag and gas money

 

[Stubaby]

Yes yes yes.

I have the medium with the pan head and looooovvvveee it. So stable. No sag when locking. Bulletproof design.

I have friends who are Swarovski/Vortex dealers. When I was looking for a tripod for my 65mm swaro spotter I called them. They said they'd love to sell me a high end mamfrotto but when I mentioned the outdoorsmans they said and I quote "if you want a good tripod we stock a few, but if you want the best we've ever used, then as friends we have to tell you to get one from them"

I buy gear if it will help me be more successful or more comfortable/safe on a hunt. While not cheap it might allow you to find that animal you might not have found otherwise. Plus in a pinch if you look around, used ones sell for almost new money and they sell in hours of being listed"

Think about the reasons for that.

 

[TahoeWesternHunter]

Thanks, I've never heard anything negative but its worth asking before I drop that cash? I also have a 65mm Swarovski, thinking I need 10x binos if I'll fully commit to this much glassing

 

[Stubaby]

When I'm in full glass mode I put my 10x42 SLCs on a vortex summit ball head tripod and go back and forth. My next purchase will be the dual mount from outdoorsmans so they are side by side.

I put the rifle rest on my tripod too. It helped me kill a deer last year because my backpack wasn't tall enough and the deer had me pinned so I couldn't move. I just dropped that extra leg off the back of my tripod and rested my rifle over the top of my spotter. There wasn't time to switch to the front rest.

 

[Dinkshooter]

My first year with one.................................. so freaking worth it.

 

[Schaaf]

Yes, they are awesome.

 

[Elkmagnet]

You can get a pretty nice drone for that kind of $$$.
Seriously I get so pissed trying to use my POS in the wind.

 

[TahoeWesternHunter]

You can get a pretty nice drone for that kind of $$$.
Seriously I get so pissed trying to use my POS in the wind.

A drone?

 

[mtmiller]

I have the same setup as Stubaby. Only one year in, but I really like it. Of course I can only compare with a SLIK which I never liked and my RRS, that doesn't work so well for backpacking. ;-)

 

[npaden]

You guys with the pan head think it is better than the pistol grip?

I won my outdoorsman tripod with a pistol grip in a contest and really like it but sometimes think a pan head would be better than the pistol grip. The pistol grip actually holds really well, even with my 82mm spotter on it but sometimes it seems a little hard to get it locked in exactly where I want to look, I settle it in a little high and then as I lock it, it drops down a bit and what I want to look at generally ends up centered. It really is mainly when I'm trying to take pictures that this becomes an issue.

 

[Elkmagnet]

A drone?

Tongue and cheek.
If you have nice glass and want the most out of it then you should get the best tripod you can budget.

 

[Okbow87]

I love the outdoorsman. I run an outdoorsman medium with the standard pan head. I'm 6'1" and I can run two legs back on either side of me with them extended all the way out and in the next angle position. Then run the front facing leg out as needed at the standard angle. This puts my optics at pretty much perfect eye level for me without having to raise the center post at all and the center post goes right between my legs were I'm not bumping it all the time. This set up weighs less than just the legs of my other set up.

My favorite part about this system is I can tune the attachment plates where all my optics line up. So when I am glassing with my 10's or 15's on the tripod and find something I want to take a closer look at. I just lock the head down, slide them off, slide my spotting scope on set at 20x, and whatever I am trying to look at is in the center of my fov in the spotter and I can zoom in as needed. Maybe takes 10 seconds and is a smooth transition.

 

[Elkmagnet]

You guys with the pan head think it is better than the pistol grip?

I have no experience with the outdoorsman heads but I definitely prefer a pan to a pistol. The most important thing for me and my style is to be able to smoothly scan terrain without interruption. I have yet to use a pistol grip that can match a quality pan head for that

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I went to the Outdoorsmans medium 4-5 years ago and it's worth EVERY PENNY. I think I have the Jim White pan head or something like that and yes it is bad ass.

I got the adapter for my binos and mount both my binos and my spotter on it. Just buy an extra shoe for additional optics and you're set. Soooo much more comfortable and stable to use binos on my tripod. I can spend more time glassing, find those little parts of animals I would miss glassing free hand, and the setup is super tough and light. Plus it's easy to go from binos to spotter when you find something. No need to reacquire your target.

My Manfrotto pretty much gathers dust most of the time now. I had a pistol grip in the past and felt like the pan head is far superior for smoother movements and adjusting the tension. I like to set my pan head so I can go hands free and move the binos side to side by turning my head.

 

[hank4elk]

I have a Manfrotto superlite 785b w/pistol grip.Very light set up for high country packing with a 60 spotter,camera & binos.
Thought about switching the pistol grip as it is so small & all. Thought about getting a larger heavier tripod.
But I don't make movies or spend hours behind glass anymore, let alone standing in the wind.
And my manfrotto & spotter weigh about 3lbs total.

 

[T Bone]

My gear upgrade for this year is a new tripod and spotter.

The scope is a used 77 mm objective. I've never put hands on the outdoorsmans, but I hear good things about them.

I can't swing the price tag, so I bought this carbon fiber tripod and head from Doug at Cameraland.

http://cameralandny.com/spec-sheet.html?catalog[name]=ProMaster-SP528CK-Professional-Carbon-Fiber-Tripod-Kit-with-Head---Specialist-Series-%238132-Tripods-%26-Monopods&catalog[product_guids][0]=1450123

So far, I really like it. It's a ball head, but has a fluid pan. It's tall, which I like. 3 year warranty.

 

[Buschy]

My first year with one.................................. so freaking worth it.

What Dink said!! I shouldn't have waited so long to get mine. Same thing I said when I bought Swarovski glass. Pull the trigger Tyson, you won't regret it!

 

[Schaaf]

I will add, I prefer my gitzo Mountaineer series Carbon Fiber tripod compared to the compact medium that I use. My gitzo has the Outdoorsmans Pan Head on it.

 

[abqbw]

I have 3 outdoorsmans tripods. Compact medium, medium, tall (?). I have the micro pan head, pan head, and pistol grip. I love the outdoorsmans tripods, plus they are great people and always take care of me. For backpack type hunts I use the medium compact and the micro-pan head. It handles my swaro 65 scope and my swaro 10x42 or 15x56 binos very well. The scope isn't super stable on the little head but it is acceptable for such a compact and light weight package.

Nearer the truck the tall legs with the pan head is awesome for scope or binos. I like that I can stand upright and use them...