Estimated studying time: 7 minutes
This 1.5 lb mountain-ready equipment pairs the Wiser Precision Ridge Warden head, Aziak Backcountry Lite Tripod, and Kowa TSN 550 to slash pack weight whereas staying rock stable for glassing and actual capturing.
Why This Ultralight Glassing Tripod Setup Really Shoots
Once you spend actual time within the mountains, weight stops being an summary quantity and turns into one thing you are feeling in your hips, your knees, and your lungs. Ounces equal kilos, and kilos equal ache just isn’t a slogan. It’s a lesson realized the arduous means. This setup exists due to that actuality. The Kowa TSN 550 Prominar Recognizing Scope, Aziak Backcountry Lite Tripod, and Wiser Precision BT-20 Ridge Warden Ball Tilt Head, mixed together with your premium binoculars, create what I imagine is the lightest really severe backcountry glassing and capturing platform obtainable.
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Wiser Precision Ridge Warden Head: Tiny Weight, Huge Management
The Ridge Warden ball head is the center of the system. So far as I do know, there may be nothing else available on the market that delivers easy panning, stability, energy, and ARCA compatibility at this weight. It’s extremely mild however nonetheless appears like an actual piece of apparatus, not a compromise device. The pan and tilt motion is easy and managed, which issues when you find yourself glassing distant ridgelines for prolonged durations.
That is my favourite light-weight tripod head, bar none, and is price each penny. It’s extremely sturdy sufficient to deal with my Kowa 99 spotter and shoot off of with a comparatively heavy rifle.
The power to lock it into tilt/pan-only mode for managed glassing after which immediately unlock full ball motion to degree a rifle on uneven terrain issues in the true world, the place flat capturing positions are uncommon. It transitions from glassing to capturing in seconds with out swapping {hardware}.
Weight: 3.3 oz (94 g) with out deal with / 3.8 oz (108 g) with carbon-fiber deal with Wiser PrecisionMSRP: $299.99
Aziak Backcountry Lite Tripod: 1.5 lb Mountain Combo With Muscle
The Aziak Backcountry Lite Tripod is what makes the whole system viable as each a glassing platform and a capturing relaxation. This tripod is extraordinarily mild but doesn’t really feel fragile. It packs small, deploys quick, and locks up stable. With the Ridge Warden mounted, this setup is secure sufficient to shoot a full-size rifle from actual subject positions. This isn’t theoretical. You may load into it and make exact photographs when inclined just isn’t an possibility and terrain forces you into seated or kneeling positions.
Weight: 18.9 oz with brief heart column, 20.4 oz with lengthy heart column. Load capability: 14 lb Collapse size: 15.5 in. Max peak: 45 in (lengthy column) / 35 in (brief column)Aziak EquipmentMSRP: $299.99
This tripod is purpose-built for backcountry hunters in search of weight financial savings and severe efficiency. The carbon-fiber legs, quick-deploy design, and stable 14 lb load capability make it absolutely succesful for optics or a lightweight rifle when paired with Ridge Warden.
Kowa TSN 550 Prominar: Compact Spotter With Actual Attain
The Kowa TSN 550 Prominar recognizing scope is the proper match for a light-weight system like this. It retains general pack weight down whereas nonetheless delivering optical efficiency adequate for long-range recognizing. The compact type issue works exceptionally effectively on this tripod, and the stability level sits proper the place you need it for easy monitoring.
There’s a newer model of the Kowa, however the older model has very related glass, is cheaper, and weighs much less.
MSRP: $2,099.00 in line with commonplace retail listings.
With the scope mounted, the set stays packable and manageable for lengthy hikes. For binocular glassing, I pair with essentially the most acceptable high-end optics I personal (e.g., SIG 10K II for capturing targeted or Swarovski NL Pure 12×42 with the Aziak bino clamp for glassing targeted). That combo turns the tripod right into a rock-solid binocular glassing station, permitting hours behind glass, then simply switching to scope or rifle with out breaking down the tripod.
Actual-World Outcomes: Hike Lighter, Glass Longer, Shoot Higher
What makes this whole setup particular isn’t any single part however how all the things works collectively within the subject. You hike lighter. You glass longer. You stabilize higher. You shoot extra successfully when inclined just isn’t an possibility. There isn’t a wasted weight and no weak hyperlink. It’s uncommon to discover a setup that legitimately excels at each glassing and capturing with out compromise, however this one does.
For anybody who takes backcountry looking severely and desires to chop weight with out sacrificing functionality, this setup earns its place. It’s not about chasing minimalism for the sake of minimalism. It’s about carrying much less whereas doing extra, and this technique flat out delivers on that promise.
Specs And Weights For The Ultralight Glassing Tripod Setup
Professionals And Cons For Backcountry Hunters
Professionals: True 1.5 lb class carry with tripod and head, easy pan and tilt for hour-long glassing, on the spot ball-head unlock for leveling rifles, secure sufficient to shoot from seated and kneeling, packs brief and deploys quick. Cons: Premium pricing throughout elements, max peak limits for tall shooters with brief column, load capability greatest with mild to midweight rifles.
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Because the Editor-in-Chief of GunsAmerica, Hunt365, Decoding Darkness, and Suppressor Academy, True Pearce brings a uncommon mix of authorized experience, aggressive capturing credentials, and deep looking data to the forefront of the firearms world. A former skilled sponsored 3-Gun and Multigun competitor with a number of championships and titles, True’s capturing profession started in long-range and tactical sniper matches—and he nonetheless burns powder in precision competitions, now branching into Hunter NRL.A licensed firearms teacher who has educated over 10,000 college students face-to-face, True has additionally served on either side of the courtroom as an lawyer and at present as an elected Prosecuting Legal professional. He has prosecuted and defended high-profile self-defense and firearms circumstances, giving him a novel, real-world perspective on the Second Modification.Exterior the courtroom and off the vary, True is a real western outdoorsman. A lifelong hunter and rancher, he rides and hunts off his personal string of horses and pack animals, chasing elk, mule deer, wolves, coyotes, and anything in season. He’s a longtime reloader, producing each precision rifle ammo and, again within the day, handloading over 40,000 rounds of 9mm and 5.56 yearly for competitors.He’s additionally a thermal and evening imaginative and prescient knowledgeable, identified for his obsession with high-end optics, and isn’t discovered with out a digicam or a guitar close by. Whether or not he’s glassing a distant ridge, reviewing cutting-edge gear, or deep in authorized analysis, True brings ardour, precision, and grit to all the things he does.Expertise:– Skilled Shooter – Sponsored 3-Gun & Multigun competitor with a number of titles and a basis in long-range and sniper/tactical matches.– Firearms Teacher – Licensed teacher with over 10,000 college students educated face-to-face.– Elected Prosecuting Legal professional – Legal professional with real-world expertise defending and prosecuting self-defense and gun-related circumstances.– Hunter & Rancher – Horseback hunter with a working ranch, keen about elk, deer, predator, and backcountry looking.– Reloading & Ballistics Skilled – Precision reloader and former high-volume competitors handloader.– Optics Authority – Identified for his deep data and unrelenting requirements in optics, thermal, and evening imaginative and prescient gear.– Outside Inventive – Avid photographer, guitar participant, and outdoorsman with a pointy eye for gear and storytelling.– 2A Advocate – Dedicated to defending the Second Modification and educating People about their rights and duties.
