All the cheaper pan heads are relatively the same. I use the vortex ball head because I run a summit ssp tripod for a vortex 65 and the quick release plates are the same. Outdoorsmans would be awesome if I had that system with compatible shoes.
I just got a new cabelas branded one and was very impressed with how smooth it was. Had an old one that broke and they were awesome enough to switch it out for a new one. There is a cheaper one that looks like junk. The one I got was around 70 bucks.
I have outdoorsmans heads and have adapters on my optics.
I run a manfrotto basic windowmount and added an outdoorsmans quick release adapter to the mount.
I have the same quick release adapter on my tripods. Makes it easy to switch heads and mounts. I usually run my outdoorsmans panhead on my window mount.