Recently purchased an AD tripod, BP head, AC quick release, and the AP arcs plate. Was very impressed with the quality and how the construction of these items are some of the very best.

I finally purchased an AD at the Western Hunt Expo, and despite only having it for a couple weeks, I've already gotten the opportunity to put it through its paces. This includes at home, truck glassing, and in the field. At first, there were a few hickups that I was dealing with, but I'll blame that on the tripod needing a touch of break-in right out of the box. The legs were a bit sticky when extending and collapsing, but they are now smooth. The leg hinge was also a bit tight, so I had to loosen it, but not a big deal.

Getting it into the field is where it really shined. The last couple seasons, I've run a Sirui T-024SK with the Tricer LP. Its served me well since its lightweight (just under 2 lbs with a Tricer LP), but it has limited functionality and doesn't work particularly well for anything besides sitting on the ground and glassing with the legs extended as little as possible. Insert the Tricer AD and that all changes. Putting the AD on my kitchen scale, it clocked in at about 2 lbs, 5.5 oz with the LP head. For what I gain in glassing versatility, the extra 6 oz is well worth it in my opinion. For my first in field glassing experience, I hiked up to a ridgeline at about 6500 feet, and gave it a go, glassing for some deer and elk. The snow on the ridge was surprising deep, coming up just short of my knees. Not expecting that, I picked the nearest rock sticking up and sat down there. I don't think I could have glassed in that position with my Sirui because of how far I was above the ground. Adding in the snow factor, the inverted legs worked brilliantly. It kept the screw locks comfortably out of the snow without ever having to consider which leg section to extend. That's a major bonus for those winter hunters out there that have to keep an eye on things like that so they don't freeze up their gear as easily on a week long hunt. The Tricer, given how far it was extended, was also substantially more stable than the Sirui is, even when collapsed. Big pro there for guys glassing with larger spotters.

After calling it a day on the mountain, I headed back to the car to glass from the road a bit. After parking, I set up the AD and was comfortably able to sit/lean on my bumper while using the tripod, something else I couldn't do with the Sirui. Using a spotter, I was able to find 9 or so deer, bedded in the scrub oak, between 0.75 and 1 mile away. I'm sure I could have done the same with the Sirui, but having a stable glassing picture with the AD made it much easier to do.

Fast forward a couple days and my new Kowa 66A showed up. Wanting to put it through the paces, I threw it on my AD/LP combo and headed upstairs where I have a clear view to the mountains from 5 to 5.5 miles away. It took the right glassing conditions in the evening to make it happen, but I was able to glass up a few deer thanks to the snowy backdrop. Not only that, but I was also able to focus the Kowa precisely enough that I could see individual deer tracks in the snow. I'm sure that has more to do with the quality of the Kowa, but the stability of the AD allowing me to focus the scope that far away is what made it possible. I tried to do the same on the Sirui and it was next to impossible. Even with the dual focus wheels, there was just too much vibration when touching the scope to get it perfectly focused at such a long distance (very narrow focus range that far away).

All I can say is thank you to Drew for making such an awesome tripod. Without hesitation, I will recommend a Tricer to anyone who asks me what tripod they should buy.

Excellent tripod,made for hunting would highly recommend, used a Manfrotto for years,not bad but this is better.