Yo-oh-heave-ho! The Viking Optical Tripod S'port MkII.

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Having accumulated all my bits and pieces I needed a way to drag it all around with me. My daily, rural walk are often over rough ground and only rarely on the flat. I climb up and down precipitous fire breaks. Often covered in brambles and furnished with twigs and branches usually just left lying where they fell from the jaws of the forestry harvesters.

I spent fruitless hours searching online for a suitable ruck sack. The main problem was carrying the long and fairly hefty tripod. I tried a couple of borrowed shoulder straps and liked that a lot better than a single one slung diagonally. So it would have to be a rucksack or something like it. Except that I neither wanted a rucksack nor needed one for my limited load.

Normally I am wearing a jacket with several pockets for my walks. TZ7 camera in the left front, hip pocket. Mobile phone inside left breast pocket. Tissues and reading glasses in my right hip pocket. Nikon 8x42 Monarch binoculars on my chest. Suspended from its short and modified strap around my neck. 

I looked at hundreds of rucksacks and camera bags. Nothing really jumped out at me. Nothing said "Burn more plastic!"  I returned to searching. The bird forums were discussing "Mule" packs and "Scope" bags and eventually the Viking Optical S'port tripod carrier.  This is a hybrid pouch which uses the tripod as its "rucksack" style frame. Clever. I liked that idea. The more cloth a bag has the heavier it becomes. They always want to cover them in pockets.

The S'port housed a central bag or pouch with pockets on the backside. The downside was that the online promotional video was of a black bag against a dark green jacket filmed on a horribly overcast day. Even when it wasn't being worn by the demonstrator the dark ground did it no favours. [I have deliberately lightened my images of the Viking S'port to bring out the detail.]

My most important question was whether the main storage pouch could manage hold my hefty, 85mm telescope? Rather than  wearing the 'scope mounted on the tripod head and turned across the wearer's shoulders. I decided it would. Or it could be modified somehow to do so.

I certainly wasn't happy about stumbling around in the forest carrying a modern day cross on my back! I placed my order with Viking in the UK and it took only a couple of days to arrive here in Denmark. I considered the modest £50 asking price [plus postage] to be perfectly acceptable if the quality matched the online images. You can pay hundreds for a telescope or camera bag if it has the desirable, "designer label!"

Thankfully the telescope fitted easily, but snugly into the main pouch and I am happy with my purchase so far. Though I have only trundled around the garden while wearing the whole "kit and caboodle" as a first test.

The arrangement of the telescope in the zipped storage compartment is vital for wearer comfort. The flattest possible arrangement is desirable to avoid lumps or sharp corners projecting into the wearer's back. Fortunately there was room for the telescope to be rotated into the best position for comfort. A flat board might be an idea to line the pouch where it rests against the wearer's back. We shall have to see how well the telescope rests in its "foetal position."

I removed the Vortex zoom eyepiece to aid stuffing/stowing it all away. It will be safely housed in its own, padded, "stay-on" case/bag for protection. As is the Vortex telescope's stay on bag  for the moment

The Vortex PS-100 camera adapter fits easily into the zipped, back pocket. I have plans to trim away most of the slotted camera plate. Or replace it with a simpler, aluminium angle profile. Though I will need to make a threaded hole for the front plate's, clamping bolt. No problem in that.

Note how the video head has been tilted well away from my head and locked securely in place. With the "joystick" turned down and locked alongside the central column.

Three wide, Velcro straps are provided for securing each leg to the "bag." The strap at the top is buckled and fits just below the head as the main securing method. The tension can be adjusted on the strap to allow the bag to fit tightly against the wearer's back. Or looser, to lean the whole pack away from them. Only the user can decide what works best for them in practice.

A further strap around the tripod's central pillar helps the cause of stability. For a load which does not jiggle or irritate the wearer in use. The two tripod legs, which act as the rucksack frame, can be spread wider. Or closed up together for best wearer comfort to personal taste. The legs pass the wearer's hips and the whole set-up feels very comfortable.

The third tripod leg, projecting at the back of the pack, provides instant [tripod] support when the wearer takes the pack off. When the pack is worn the leg lies flat against the pack. I found the shoulder straps worked fine at their shortest length. I'm about 5'10" and average build. A fully adjustable, waist band with modern, plastic, snap-in buckle provides the final touch for stability in use. The belt is long enough for a "beer belly" if required. I kept shortening it until it was snug.

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