Small scopes: carrying & quick setup (1 Viewer)

[mbb]

Who could share how (s)he carries his/her small scopes (50-55mm) on walks or cycling tours?

When carrying a 65-82mm scope on walks or on the bike, I use a Scopac. It helps a lot with the weight, your hands are free and it is quick to setup, but it cannot contain a lot of other stuff (food&water,rain jacket,...) useful on some walks. Now a 50mm scope with lightweight travel tripod is meant to help reduce weight and save space for other stuff or longer/tougher walks. It can also be handy in a cycling bag on the rear carrier. But how do you carry it in a way that it doesn't take you minutes to setup when on a walk?
Putting the scope in a backpack and the tripod attached to the backpack does not seem "fast" to setup.
Carrying it balancing over the shoulder is 'fast' and putting less strain than doibg so with a 65-80mm, but it seems to conflict the value for longer/tougher walks.
Using a scopac would keep the advantages of the scopac and reduce weight, but not gain space for other stuff.
...

Any sharing of experiences, solutions or use cases to really get the most out of the fact that tiny/small scopes are small&lightweight, on the field, is welcome!

 

[Alexis Powell]

My solution is that I keep my tripod for my ED50 collapsed in a side pocket (actually, a water bottle holster) of my lumbar pack, with which I can also carry other stuff if desired. I always use a member of the Velbon Ultra line (e.g. Ultra Luxi, Ultra Maxi, Ultra 455, Ultra 355) because those tripods are extremely fast to deploy (only one leg twist lock/unlock action per leg). An Arca-type plate allows quick attachment of the scope. The whole setup is so lightweight that it is also easy to carry in a hand when fully extended if I am using it frequently but need to move from place to place.

--AP

 

[Ries]

I have a 25L skating backpack so it has straps I can put two of the tripod legs under and carry it, also with scope (82mm even), almost ready for viewing.
On a bigger backpack (35L?) without straps of its own but with molle system I found attachable straps by Caruba I put on the front. I can carry all my lightweight camping gear in it and still carry a scope as well, woohoo!

 

[pbjosh]

Also a big fan of the Velbon Ultra tripods - very quick setup and collapse. I have the 655 which is a bit heavier (1,5kg) + a very small ball head + a 60mm Opticron scope. I didn't want to go for anything lighter in the way of legs (stability preferred) but the entire setup is manageable weight and fits readily in a backpack for hiking or flying.

In terms of how to carry it there are other scope backpack combos products I've seen over the years, some fit more inside than others. I usually either have it over my shoulder or stowed in the pack, but each person has their own style of birding of course!

 

[4John]

I tried a 1.5kg carbon fibre tripod with my ED50 and it defeated the object of a lightweight compact scope - was way too heavy and cumbersome and the ED50 looked ridiculous on top. I tried a 1.2kg Slik Sprint Pro which is one of the lightest tripods around. This was lighter, but not light enough for me and was too flexible when full entended (a fact of life if like me you are 5' 11" and prefer a straight scope) and it needed a rucksack hung on it to hold it down in a breeze. I now carry my ED50 on a Velbon RUP4 monopod. The monopod is only around 0.5kg. I don't use any kind of video or ball head. If the monopod leg sections are fully retracted I carry the monopod with the scope on top hung down from my shoulder using a rifle-type strap. This means I can wear a rucksack on my back for other things at the same time. If the leg sections are extended ready for use I carry it in my left hand. If I want to use my binoculars I raise the monopod and scope to the vertical, rest the foot on the ground and the top against my left shoulder and inside my left elbow, and then raise my binoculars to my eyes. Sounds tedious but you get used to it very quickly. I do the same with my Opticron MM4 60.

 

[Hermann]

ED50 attached to a monopod (a Monostat in my case) with no head, carried on the shoulder with a strap.

Or the ED50 attached to the Gitzo GT1545T with a lightweight video head, also carried on the shoulder with a strap. If I want to keep the weight down as much as possible I may use an RRS BH-25 head instead of the video head.

Hermann

 

[Mike Crawley]

With my MM4 60mm I either use a monopod or a very light manfrotto camera tripod

I keep the monopod on the ‘scope via the quick release plate and on a reserve I have the monopod half extended.

I really don’t like the tripod and don’t use it often because it’s just not stable enough. It’s in a decent sized backpack. A bit slow to deploy but seen some great birds using it

 

[Hermann]

I really don’t like the tripod and don’t use it often because it’s just not stable enough.

That's the problem with lightweight tripods. I'm quite tall, so I need a tall tripod. The lightest tripod I could find that's reasonably stable and tall enough for me when used in combination with an angled scope is the Gitzo GT1545T that weighs 1080 gr. without a head.

Hermann

 

[mbb]

Thank you for all the input!!
Quite a few interesting options to consider already.