Slik or promaster or outdoorsmans

[4mainbeam]

Hi all. I know its been asked a 1000 times, but...

 

which tripod should I get? I really wish I could play with all 3, but the only way to do that is to buy them and return 2. I have the big heavy manfrotto and love it, but its huge and heavy (7.25 lbs) so now I want something light and packabe. I think I am ok with one that does not extend tall enough to stand and glass, but I do see the advantage in that too.

 

I am looking at:

 

The promaster on this site

The outdoorsmans medium

Or the slik 624 or 634

 

I will use it 95% of the time straddling me as I sit and glass with binos and spotter. The slik looks neat in that it is very small, but its gotta be the least rigid with all those legs. I assume the outdoorsmans is the strongest and most rigid with only 2 legs. Seems to me like the promaster is going to be in-between these to, but is also the only one that is tall enough to glass standing.

 

Light and packabe is great, but it needs to be steady too. Anyone know if there is much difference in stability between these when setup for sitting and glassing?

[Kaffer62]

I have the promaster and love it. I live in Peoria, if you are close and want to check it out let me know! I use mine with binos and a 85mm spotter. Stable for both platforms, even tall enough for me to glass standing up. The promaster packs quite the punch!

[ajohunter]

I have been using the medium outdoorsman for a long time and love it. Very sturdy and stable even with heavy optics. I added the center post extension since I occasionally stand to glass. It is also very light weight.

[JSHUNTER05]

Outdoorsman

[KiLLAcOuEs]

I have the SLIK 330EZ and I love it ! Very stable and light. If you do get a SLIK make sure that it is the "EZ" model. They are so easy to use. The other SLIKS will have another lever to operate the tripod witch can be a pain. Remember "EZ".. and you'll be fine!

[naturegirl]

I have an Outdoorsman tall that has 3 legs. I absolutely love this tripod. I'm hard on equipment and it has stood up well to my use. I've had it at least 2 years and have used it too many times to count and in all conditions from rain, snow, dirt, etc.

 

I personally like the tall because I don't always glass sitting and with this one I can easily sit, kneel, or stand. I pack it pretty much everywhere. it is just a part of my day pack. I'm sure there is something a little lighter out there, but I, like you, questioned the durability.

 

Outdoorsman will let you try out their equipment at their store before you buy it.

[azgutpile]

Slick 634 cf

[Elkhunter1]

I have the Slik compact XL and love it, it is very lite. Perfect for packing. I have a pair 20x60's (not lite) that sits on top of it.

[rclouse79]

I don't have experience with all of the tripods recommended, but I do know I am liking the Mefoto Roadtrip I just bought. I didn't think I would like twist locks, but it turns out I find them to be faster than my old set up and they feel solid. It is also much quieter to pull the legs out than my old tripod. It isn't tall enough for me to glass through standing (6 foot 3), but I found I didn't do that much anyways. About 95% of my glassing is from the sitting position, which requires me to deploy one or two of the leg sections from the roadtrip. I noticed some give to it with all five leg sections out, but with only two it is rock solid. I almost bought a manfrotto carbon fiber tripod that weighed half a pound more, was six inches longer when folded, and did the exact same thing when in the sitting position for an extra $130. Then I asked myself why and went with the road trip. It folds down to 15 inches, supports a max load of 18 lbs, is under three pounds, and is a very good backpacking setup in my estimation.

[Nmhunter]

Cut down the legs on one of my manfrotto's . It is now a prone,kneeling, sitting tripod. Weight is under 4lbs and will fit in my gunslingerII pack.

Nmhunter

[4mainbeam]

Thanks for the info guys! Still don't know what to do though. I was playing with my new Swarovski 15X56 SLC's (old model) looking for javelina here in NM and they were fun, but man that swaro bino adapter has a lot of play in it. I am glad I didn't pay for that individually. Is the outdoorsman's one better or should I just get a cheap screw in one that I know will work. I was planning on getting the manfrotto 700 RC2 head because I really like how my swaro spotter and these binos fit into it without the need for any adapter plate, but after using these binos with the supplied swaro one, I will have to rethink that.

[joeeden]

The Outdoorsman one is way better. I can't even use the Swaro adapter.

[wildwoody]

i have the outdoorsman, love it , i've had it for about 10 years. not 1 problem, love the pistal grip. i have the tall i can sit , stand whatever i want also i have recently bought the gun rest thet ataches to the top. they are costly but wourth it. i've had the promasters and there a little heaver and they break. you can't beat aircraft alunimun . if you hurry there was one for sell on this sight fore half price. i just bought 1 for my cousin for $770.00 and that was cheep

[willhunt4coues]

I have a promaster and can tell you it is 10 times more steady to shoot off of than the outdoorsman. The outdoorsman is good for glassing but the promaster is great for glassing or shooting. My Promaster has never failed me yet and I have had it for 2 years.

[wildwoody]

which promaster do you have and how heavy is it , you have me inerested