Rambling Review – Swarovski Binocular Tripod Adapter

Rambling Review – Swarovski Binocular Tripod Adapter

Why:

Hunting in the West requires a decent pair of binoculars and often times long hours of glassing hillsides in search of your quarry. For a boy raised in the Northeast where all you have to do is find the wind and plop yourself down next to a game trail, glassing was something completely new to me. As I have talked about before, I put some in some research time and bought myself a pair of Nikon Monarchs 10X42 binoculars, a basic tripod, and a Nikon threaded tripod adapter. A threaded adapter requires that in order to remove the binoculars from the tripod adapter, you have to spend several minutes unscrewing the binoculars from the actual adapter.

I made this threaded adapter work for several seasons, but it became tiresome every time I wanted to move positions with my binoculars around my neck for a quick scan, I would have to spend around 5 or 10 minutes unthreading the binoculars only to set up a little while later and re-rig my binoculars for tripod use. During my episodes of trying to adequately tighten the screw to keep my binoculars snug on the tripod, my hunting buddy had a very nice adapter made by Swarovski which by a flip of a clip could attach or detach his binoculars. In a matter of seconds he was ready to walk with binoculars around his neck or if we needed a quick setup to start glassing, he would already have five minutes of glassing in before I was even ready to start.

Long story short, I wanted that adapter and decided to made it happen. After a season of use, I am extremely happy with the adapter with hopefully many more seasons to come.

First impressions:

The price – When I first went to look at the Swarovski Binocular Tripod Adapter, the first thing that slapped me across the face was the price tag. For a small piece of equipment it carried a very hefty price. When I questioned the guy behind the counter about the price and an alternative to the product, he responded that Swarovski was the only one to make this quick release tripod adapter and was in possession of a patent that they continued to maintain and block competition. I took a long walk around the store, and ultimately came back to buy the adapter. It is that cool.

Simplicity – The concept behind the Swarovski Binocular Tripod Adapter is simple. That is what makes such a great product. There is no hassle with a ton of moving part. What you see is what you get.

Field Use:

I have used these binoculars extensively through a javelina season and a desert mule deer hunt. The nature of both of these hunts requires glassing for long periods of time and then movement through broken country to the next area of the hunt. As stated before, when moving in between staging areas, I feel it is important to have binoculars around my neck at the ready. So over the course of a day, I may move 5 or 6 times, maybe more and the constant connecting and disconnecting can eat up valuable daylight.

The quick flip allows for a fast and simple connection. Once the binoculars are connected, they are stable and do not shift around. This was one major problem that I experienced with the threaded adapters. No matter how hard I cranked down on the screw, the binoculars still slid around. The connection with the Swarovski adapter was solid. It truly is amazing how a simple (and expensive) piece of equipment can make a hunt smoother.

Once concern I did have with the Swarovski Tripod Adapter was that two or three times over the course of several hunts, the binoculars somehow wiggled out of the adapter. Having bumped my binoculars much worse on several occasions, I was not overly concerned, but that is one complaint that I do have with this particular product. After talking with several other buddies who have the same adapter, they also expressed similar experiences.

***Note: In order to use the Swarovski Binocular Tripod Adapter, check to be sure that binoculars you are hoping to mount have a tripod head with a 1/4″-20 or 3/8″-16 threaded protruding screw.

Pros:

Fast connection/disconnection of binoculars to tripod

Simple to use

Quality construction by a respectable company

Cons:

Price – The price is a real punch in the gut, but since this is a product that sees extensive use, I feel justified in the purchase.

Occasional malfunction – Even when engaged, the binoculars may work loose from the adapter.

Prognosis: Even though I have expressed several cons about the Swarovski Binocular Tripod Adapter, I believe it is one of the best adapters available on the market. If you are looking for a fast connection adapter for your binoculars, I without a doubt recommend the Swarovski Binocular Tripod Adapter. Happy hunting.

 

* Disclaimer:

The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. Arizona Wanderings is not sponsored by or associated with any of the stated companies and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review.  My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship other than described above has been pursued or established.