Thread: Calling all Mtn gear bipod owners :mouse:

Cheers for the discussion and thanks to current owners for their feedback. Far more valuable for future customers than my potentially biased views or curated reviews on our website.

Thought I'd chime in on a few things here where we are going to have far better insight on a few things given they are passing through our hands everyday and know the specifics about materials and changes we have made. I'll hit them in order they were mentioned.

Rattle. There are a few parts that can rattle. The picatinny attachment. This largely depends on the tolerance of the rails. We tend to make our rails at the larger end of the tolerance range (Based on the nato standard which is essentially the same as the non nato standard. This is worth the read if interested 2009 NATO STANAG 4694 vs 1913 MIL-STD Picatinny - The Optics Talk Forums). There maybe some movement but should be minimal. This will increase for rails that are much smaller (you'd be surprised by how much they vary). This is something we have been able to reduce over time and will continue to work on. The other source can be the legs moving while stored away. This was particularly an issue on the first run which had they same leg movement while stored away as when deployed and in particular the backcountry where the feet would touch. Generally speaking movement of the legs when stowed has been minimal while still keeping the same deployed movement on the mountain bipods for a while and the feet generally don't touch anyway so not going to have the same issue as the backcountry regardless.

ARCA vs Picatinny. We are working on an arca version but I still believe most people will stick with a pic option. If you also want to use your tripod for shooting generally we recommend a smaller rail just in front of the action as the rifle is better balanced there. The Arca bipod is probably the best option with a chassis where there is an integrated full length rail already or you would like to slide the bipod back closer to you which can have some benefits in certain situations. But as mentioned a full length Arca rail can add some bulk. We are working on both a shorter Arca rail for in front of the action and a full length one for release pre the ARCA bipod.

Preload. The design intent is that there is some movement in the bipod legs when deployed. We recommend you take this slack up but not push into the legs further. This gives a small amount of free recoil for the rifle to come back on your shoulder (kind of like shooting off bags) before the feet catch and cause foot hop. Bipods like the harris that don't have this movement with any recoil on rough ground can cause the bipod to push on the rifle. Right or wrong that's our thinking and why we have done it that way.

Foot material. 6061 T6 Hard anodized alloy. Note all other alloy on bipods is 7075 T6 or at a minimum an equivalent. The feet didn't need the additional strength. Not ideal for the bonnet, we have played around with rubber options but the feet that grip the ground better given the angles the mountain bipod can be used on were always the preference from feedback received. Sometimes I've taken my shirt off or put a jersey down to protect the bonnet so know the downside of this design but also lighter and cheaper than other options which is generally preferable. Definitely open to feedback though.

Feel free to get in touch with me at anytime at matt@mtngear.nz or the other usual spots.

Cheers
Matt

PS @Stag if looking to replay this lost bipod get in touch with us directly.