Ridiculous good deal on Brunton Epoch binocs

[Danimal14]

I had a problem with the connector straps on the brunton Bino case. The fabric holding the straps to the Bino case somehow was unraveled and hanging by a string.
So when I had some leather work done on a holster I had him put a couple strips of leather in place of the fabric....I think I'm good for a while now

[Limbwalker]

I bought the last set of the 8x21's. I hope they are decent.

Well, are they?

[CameraStalker]

Still recommend Brunton tripod?

Short story - if you need a great carbon fiber tripod at an even better price - just get it.

John,

Nine months later are you still as pleased with this tripod?

Also, I am wondering if you could give us any idea what is folded length, thickness of thinnest leg segment, and how high it extends to top of mounting plate?

I am thinking of using this tripod to replace two existing ones (Bogen and Slik).

Thanks,
Jim

[Limbwalker]

Yes. It's a brute of a tripod. I am very comfortable mounting my 600mm lens and camera on it.

I'll get measurements from it when I get a chance. I know the height is crazy tall. I'm 6'4" and it's taller than I can see.

[BamaPSE]

Does anyone have one of their scopes that they'd sell? I dropped the ball on ordering one for a rifle my grandpa gave me and now they are no more. Thanks!

[CameraStalker]

The Brunton tripod is an even better deal now.

Short story - if you need a great carbon fiber tripod at an even better price - just get it.

You can buy this tripod now for $90 (including shipping) from Botach.

After careful search I found a few more specs online. From John's excellent photos I concluded this was built private label for Brunton by the same factory that builds Induro/Benro. It is a previous generation tripod - a bit larger folded, and a bit heavier than current generation but every bit as strong or stronger. REI had a closeout sale on these in 2013.

For $90 I took the plunge. At this price nothing else comes close.

Here are a few more details to add to what John wrote.

Legs are carbon fiber (probably 8 plies but possibly 6). Leg tubes are 28mm/24mm/20mm/16mm. The newer models with thinner tubes are 28mm/25mm/22mm/19mm which might be just a bit sturdier at the bottom and shaves a bit of weight. The 16mm bottom tubes seem just a bit weaker than the 19mm aluminum tubes on my trusty old Bogen/Manfrotto but this is only an impression. I find that I can tighten/loosen the upper two leg sections with less than 1/2 turn. The bottom sections require almost a full turn for some reason. And this will probably change as I break-in this tripod.

Center column is 25mm aluminum. Bottom cap is also aluminum rather than the easily broken plastic on many current Chinese tripods. Center column can be reversed for low-angle shots if you wish. This works well with my ball head but would be useless with the included pan head. Reversing the center column only reduces folded length by about 1/2" so not worth the trouble for packing. I suspect that a standard Benro grooved short column would fit if you need this for absolute lowest-level shots.

The ballast hook is very stoutly anchored to an internal aluminum slug. It can take a LOT of weight. Mine did not come with a spring to keep the hook retracted. When I unscrewed the end a little ball bearing fell out. It may have been intended as part of some internal hook tensioning function but I found no loading spring so it would be useless as-is. This is easily remedied by adding a spring to the hook shaft from my scrap collection which I shall do soon.

With leg tips fully screwed-in so spikes are exposed:

Folded length - 24.5"
Height to head mounting platform (column down) - 54.5"
Height to head mounting platform (column extended) - 63.5"

Fully screwed-out the leg tips add .25" to folded length and .5" to height.

The included pan/tilt head adds 2.25" to folded length and 3.125" to working height. My heavy-duty Promaster ball head adds 4.125" to working height. With either head the camera mount platform is above eye level (I am 6'2"). So I can do almost anything I want with the center column down If I absolutely have to work at eye level then I only need part of the center column.

I did not measure height with 16mm leg sections retracted. In this configuration you could probably stand on this tripod without breaking anything.

The included pan/tilt head is very stiff (probably due to lubricant aging from being stored for a few years) but seems to be quite sturdy. It is not a full 3-axis head. Because of the way this head is built I think it would pan more smoothly if you inserted a 3/8" fender washer between the head and the mounting platform on the tripod. To take advantage of the set screws on the mounting platform you need a larger diameter base on your head. I will use a magnesium Manfrotto head when I need a pan/tilt rather than a ball head.

The only thing this tripod won't do is fit in my carry-on backpack. For that you need a newer reverse-folding model. However the spider castings on the reverse-folding tripods are susceptible to cracking from battle damage. The design of the spider on this tripod uses about 2" additional length but is nearly indestructible.