Pan Head Recommendation Swaro ATX BTX 115mm

[bergnp]

Alright guys, so here goes. I've got the Swaro ATX, the 65mm objective, the 115mm objective, and plan to add the BTX eyepiece this winter. This year I used the ATX and 65mm for lightweight stuff with my RRS TFCT MK2 34L with ANVIL-30 head. I also used the same tripod for my wheeler hunt with the ATX and 115mm eyepiece. I found the ballhead to be clunky to adjust with the weight of the scope causing it to flop around at times. I do not have a balance rail on the scope yet. In any case, I plan to run the ATX with the 65mm next year on my RRS tripod and have picked up a SLIK PRO CF-934 tripod for the BTX/115mm combo. I am looking for a pan head or fluid head that will allow for solid lockup and ease of adjustment for the heavy setup. Can anyone point me in the right direction on the best setup. I've watched the reviews and read on the outdoorsman fluid head that says there's issues with the tilt not locking solid on heavy scopes.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

 

[AkMtnRunner]

I use a VA-5 fluid head for my Kowa 883 and it’s been rock solid. Granted, it’s not nearly as heavy as a BTX on a 115 but I think it would be worth the try. There is also the VA-10 designed for much heavier video applications. The VA-5 is relatively inexpensive and some vendors have a friendly return policy that will let you try it and send back if you don’t like it.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Combined weight of the BTX eyepiece and 115 objective is right at 8#. That's well out of VA-5 territory, which has a max capacity of 6.6#.

That's some nice glass, and I'd love to have a peak through it! But I sure as hell wouldn't want to hump it around. Hope you have a pack animal or compromising pics of your hunting partner.

 

[CLP]

I’m using the BTX/115mm setup with the outdoorsmans fluid head and balance rail and thus far it’s been a phenomenal combo for me. A little pricey but you get what you pay for In my opinion.

 

[GFMThunter]

I have used the VA-10 just because I didn't want to worry about having play with my $$ glass, but it's overkill.

 

[Dioni A]

I run a va5 with a 95 btx and shoot off it with a 10 pound rifle regularly. It's solid enough. You can get away without a balance rail if you use one of sirui's longer ARCA plates.

 

[GFMThunter]

awesome, I appreciate the info. I think I'll start digging into that setup