One of the more interesting things at SHOT earlier this year was this bipod. There is no shortage of bipods on the market. I have more than a few. Why is this one interesting?
It is a double pull bipod with adjustable splay angle and height range of 5.5" to 19" that weighs 12 ounces.
There are bipods out there that have more features than this one. There are none that weigh anywhere near 12 ounces. My 308 Fix with 24" barrel, suppressor, Burris XTR Pro 5.5-30x56 and this bipod weighs a hair over 11 lbs. Well under NRL Hunter's 12lbs weight limit. With Vortex Razor HD-LHT 4.5-22x50 it would be around 10.5lbs.
The bipod looks to be made of carbon fiber and aluminum. When you first pull this out of the box, the lack of weight is striking. I had some reservations about its stability as I was attaching it to he FIx. They were unfounded. I have sturdier bipods, but they are much heavier. I would not hesitate to take it with me hunting or to a hunter-style competition (and hopefully will do both before too long). It is likely going hunting with me in October since I have a pronghorn tag.
This first version connects to a picatinny rail. They will have other options available in the future. The attachment method is quite clever. You pop it onto a pic rail and rotate the bipod 90 degrees. That's it. To take it off, there is a button to press before you can rotate it back. Given the weight, I plan to keep it on the rifle permanently. The legs dold forward to sit under the barrel. Deploying the legs, again, does not require pressing any buttons. If you are in a hurry, there are no fine motor skills required.
There are three telescoping leg segments. The thinnest (inner) extensions are spring loaded and have notches for seveal preset positions. The intermediate extensions are locked with collars that twist to loosen/righten. Extending the bipod is quick and impressively quiet.
The other neat trick is the ability to adjust the splay angle. There are four presets: 25, 55, 85 and 115 degrees. That gives you a lot of options for adapting to terrain, makign small heigh adjustments and achievign a little more stability with a wider foot print.
The bipod head allows for about 90 degrees of cant. There is no panning function. The cant friction is controlled by a small lever.
I have been spending a lot of time with bipods lately from ultralight bipods that detach from the rifle and are carried separately, to heavy duty options that are at their best on heavier guns.
For a lightweight precision rifle, this one looks to be an excellent option. I like the feature set. I really like the weight. The proof is, of course, in the pudding, so to speak. I'll do a lot of shooting off of it and take it hunting to see how it holds up. I'll let you know how it goes.
It is not a cheap bipod with MSRP of $375 if memory serves me right, but that is far from being the most expensive bipod out there. Given the double pull design, I can't think of anything quite like it anywhere near the weight or the height range.
