Outdoorman Pan or Micro Pan Head mounting on Slik Tripod

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I've been running google searches and cannot find this answer for the life of me.

What size is the mounting stud on the Slik tripods (I own a 634 and a buddy has a 624...head will get used on both)? For the Outdoorsman Pan Head, can I just thread it direction on to the trips, or am I going to need to buy the 3/8 to 1/4-20 reducer to make it work? Same question for the Micro Pan head?

Last question...I think I have settled on just getting the regular pan head, but if I chose the micro, would I be making a mistake running 8 and 10x bino's and a 65MM ATX spotter on it? Everything I read points me away from the Micro, but I like its price, weight, and compactness compared to the original pan head.
 

dotman

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I use the micro and it’s perfect for 10’s, work fine for my 80mm spotter as well. I didn’t need an adapter to fit it to my Slik 624, but it’s been awhile, just going off memory.
 

Justin Crossley

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I've been running google searches and cannot find this answer for the life of me.

What size is the mounting stud on the Slik tripods (I own a 634 and a buddy has a 624...head will get used on both)? For the Outdoorsman Pan Head, can I just thread it direction on to the trips, or am I going to need to buy the 3/8 to 1/4-20 reducer to make it work? Same question for the Micro Pan head?

Last question...I think I have settled on just getting the regular pan head, but if I chose the micro, would I be making a mistake running 8 and 10x bino's and a 65MM ATX spotter on it? Everything I read points me away from the Micro, but I like its price, weight, and compactness compared to the original pan head.

Either head will fit on both of those tripods. I've used both heads and prefer the regular panhead for a spotter (that's what I use for both).

The pistol grip is what I would choose if I was ONLY glassing with binos.
 
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Thanks guys, I knew I could get a straight and quick answer here after searching specs on Slik's page and running google searches that turned up empty.

I've got a decision to make now...Micro vs Pan head. Justin - I also love the idea of the pistol grip, but I bought a spotter because bino's just weren't enough, so I think I need to be realistic about hoping I haul the spotter with me 75+% of the time.

What about the height of both the pan head and micro? I like to just shove my 634 down the side pocket on my Reckoning bag....is one more compact to where it rides a little lower in your pack to keep from snagging on branches, etc.?
 

Ronb

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Love the micro with my binos. Love the weight. Like it with my spotter. I’m running a 65ats with a slik 624. Your atx is a bit heavier. If you pan with the spotter allot, you might want the bigger panhead. I spend most of my time with the binos, so I’ll save the weight and stick with the micro.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

nrh6.7

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One thing I like about the micro head better is the tilt function. On the full size you have one twist "nut" for tilt and one for pan, then a handle to move. On the micro, the handle "handles" the tilt function and the only knob is for panning. Much more intuitive for me.
 
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Well, now you guys have me thinking the micro. I know I won't be buying a bigger objective for the spotter for a while - all of my hunts I have planned and hope to draw over the next 2 years are backpack/wilderness hunts, so the 65mm ATX will be as big as it gets on the tripod.
 

nrh6.7

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BW, let me add that I have not run anything heavier than 12x50's on my micro, so I don't have any first-hand experience with heavier optics. When I had my 77mm spotter and the regular pan head, I did like that you could loosen the nuts just enough to make adjustments without worrying about the scope flopping around. Not sure if that would be possible with the micro, at least with the tilt, so just FYI. Panning wouldn't be a problem.
 
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BW, let me add that I have not run anything heavier than 12x50's on my micro, so I don't have any first-hand experience with heavier optics. When I had my 77mm spotter and the regular pan head, I did like that you could loosen the nuts just enough to make adjustments without worrying about the scope flopping around. Not sure if that would be possible with the micro, at least with the tilt, so just FYI. Panning wouldn't be a problem.

Makes sense. On the micro from the video's I have watched, for the tilt function it is either locked or loose and can fall over right? It sounds like there are teeth on the tilt function versus having pressure to keep the optics in place like the regular pan head has.
 

dotman

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Makes sense. On the micro from the video's I have watched, for the tilt function it is either locked or loose and can fall over right? It sounds like there are teeth on the tilt function versus having pressure to keep the optics in place like the regular pan head has.

No you set the tension on the micro by pressure, no teeth, it’s just a tad more finicky then the reg but I don’t find it to be an issue and have used both.

I went micro over reg pan because 90% of my glassing is from binos, for a spotter it’s easy to set the tension so it doesn’t fall forward but you’ll have to release the tension to move it again. To me this wasn’t a big deal but if it would bug you I’d get the reg pan.

I use the ATS 80 on mine without issue.
 
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I ran the micro for a bit with both 10x42 nockers and a 65mm spotter. It worked great with the binos but I thought it was a bit too "tippy" with the spotter. I had a hard time getting enough pressure with the handle so I could smoothly glass and not have the spotter fall forward when I let go.

I wound up selling the micro and getting the standard panhead and am very happy I did. If you're going to get one head to run both your binos and spotter, I'd go with the standard. If I was only running nockers, I'd get the micro.
 

nrh6.7

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Makes sense. On the micro from the video's I have watched, for the tilt function it is either locked or loose and can fall over right? It sounds like there are teeth on the tilt function versus having pressure to keep the optics in place like the regular pan head has.

Sorry I missed this. Tim is correct on how the handle works. If you are panning back and forth you should be able to lock the tilt down and move across by bumping the handle, then loosen and adjust the height again to pan the other direction.
 
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I run the slik 634 and also use a big manfrotto 3221wn for close to the truck work. I mounted outdoorsmans quick release adapters on both. THE 3/8 threads srew right into the adapters. I also have a window mount with the outdoorsmans quick release attached to it. I run 3 different heads. I have the outdoorsmans regular panhead, the outdoorsmans pistol grip with panner and a manfrotto 700 rc2 with an outdoorsmans 3/8 adapter plate mounted to its base.
With this system I can create the best scenario for glassing based on the specific needs of the hunt. I really like the pistol grip for my 10x 42 and 15x56 slc hds. THE manfrotto 700 rc2 shines when weight is not a concern and I'm running my big spotter. I find the outdoorsmans regular pan to be the most versatile especially when weight and space is a concern. I have no experience with the outdoorsmans micro but I'm sure it has its niche.
No one head is perfect for everything. I guess it come down to personal preference. JMHO.
 
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Well I just pulled the trigger on the micro pan head. I couldn't ignore the weight savings over my current head to at least give it a try.
 
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Well I got the micro panhead and I understand why people talk about the up/down tilt being finicky. The pan function is super awesome, but even with lighter SLC's I needed to tighten a little more when tilting down or up too much, and those are pretty balanced. The size and weight is really awesome. I pulled my Benro S2 and adapter plate off and my tripod went on a serious quick diet.
 
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The micro just takes a little getting used to- I run 10x42ELs on the same set up and after a day in the field you get the 'feel' down pretty well. Works really well with my Nikon ED50 and twice this year I used the outdoorsmans 'V' gun rest that slides right onto the head.
 
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