Hide clamp recommendations? (1 Viewer)

I use a Slik D2 and use it in hides by partially extending 2 legs only (a bipod!) and just slightly apart to give stability. I then rest it against the shelf with its feet on the floor. I don't do enough hide watching to justify a hide clamp and anyway the shelves don't generally seem that rigid and bounce up and down with people putting binos, thermos etc on them.

btw you can remove the centre column from a D2 easily enough if you remove the cap at the bottom. Not sure if its the same on the D3. I removed the handle/ratchet years ago since I don't see that winding the colomn up and down achieves anything stablity wise and just takes longer than sliding it and this may contribute to the ease of column removal.

I had a hide clamp for my old Manfrotto tripod and hardly used it. Since buying the carbon fibre Manfrotto, the centre column doesn't fit the old hide clamp anyway, so it would involve paying out again to get the one that does fit - no thank you!

I find that it's far too much hassle changing from the tripod to using the hide clamp when you arrive at the hide, that I tend not to bother. I just put two tripod legs in front of the bench and one behind, or resting on the seat, and stand up using the tripod normally.

I can't get used to twisting the scope head around for seated viewing either, so I much prefer to stand up.

I use a Slik Master D2 tripod with a Kowa TSN4 'scope. In hides I always used to place the three between my thighs and rest them on the seat. By angling the tripod forward about 45 degrees the top of the legs would rest on the hide shelf. It was then just a case of extending the tripod column and angling the head to use the 'scope. Panning worked reasonably well but was prone to the odd movement as people moved around the hide.

I wanted a better solution, especially as a number of places I go are hide only. I saw a second-hand Cullmann clamp advertsised and bought it. I also rejected the Opticron on grounds of quality.

The Cullmann clamp is good, well made but does not offer the smooth panning action that the Slik offers. It also uses a quick release mount that connects the 'scope to the clamp. This quick release does not fit the Slik tripod, so I'm faced with threading this on and off if I want to use both clamp and tripod on the same trip.

I've also noticed that there is a little bounce effect when using my 'scope on this clamp in hides. I guess it may cope better with a one of the lighter 60/65 objective lens 'scopes.

To sum up, if I had the cash I would probably buy one of the tripod/clamp combinations as a better solution. In Focus produce their own Delta branded Velbon tripods, though I think the cheaper one looks a little flimsy. Probably their carbon ones would be better. Manfrotto also have a clamp that fits onto their tripods.

Regards

TB