Mike

Easily modified by the DIY hunter. Worth it for budget filmer.

Review of factory condition product:I purchased this item for $50 on an amazon sale. Pretty good price compared to other top tier arms costing $250+. I used the arm as it was manufactured a few times. The motion on the arm is stiff, and makes noise that will spook deer nearby. I applied oil and loosened the bolts. Still not a permanent solution. The fluid head does the job, but it is very large and made of cheap plastic. Not ideal for packing out, especially when already adding a lot of equipment to your pack for filming. I purchased a miniature fluid head and it is substantially better. My only other complaint was the strap and leveling mechanism. The ratchet is very large, and is in a terrible place if you're planning on sitting up against your tree in a tree stand, or if you're saddle hunting and want a place to put your knees up against the tree. For my preferred mounting position the buckle is always right in the way for comfort. Easily solved by replacing with a smaller strap and relocating the buckle position. And the mechanism used to assist in leveling the mount, is basically trash. Its not very often i find a perfectly straight up tree. And i prefer to position myself on the tree in a way that is the opposite to the leveling function. Adjusting the level screw will only adjust in the wrong direction. My first time using, I had to break a branch off my tree, and wedge it behind the mounting plate to compensate a few degrees, this is a commonly used temporary solution. Unless you just HAVE to film a hunt, I would not recommend using this arm directly from the manufacturer, and instead modifying it slightly and affordably. But it will do the job.Review for the DIY Hunter:I'm pretty hands on and wont settle for mediocre within my budget. So I modified it quite a bit to extend the reach, to run the joints on bearings for smoother filming, and allow for multi directional leveling.The bolts used are 5/16" diameter, and the ID of the square tube used on the product is 17mm, so I purchased 2 sets of flanged bearings 8mmX16mmX5mm Part# F688 RZ. I also purchased a small length of pipe with an ID of 8mm. As well as a short length of aluminum square tubing as close to the size used on product as possible. All on amazon for an additional $25. I drilled out the original holes to 16mm and inserted the flanged bearings on both sides. I used a length of the 8mm ID tube as a spacer between the two bearings inside the square tubing. Now my arm has 36" of reach and the moving operation is very smooth and consistent. Actually too smooth. I ended up using some teflon washers and tightened them down on the bearings a little to adjust the tension of the fluid motion. The DIY modification resulted in a much better product for less than MSRP.If I did it again, Id probably just buy the Muddy Outfitter on sale, and modify it similarly.Or, just wait and save up for a better quality arm all together. But this arm is now super nice and don’t see myself needing another one anytime soon.

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MUDDY Hunt Hard Compact Durable Aluminum Lightweight Ergonomic Portable Easy-to-Install Silent Outdoor Camera Arm | 24" Reach with Over 5 Points of Adjustment Hunt Hard Arm

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Swing away spotting scope arm

Great for beginners

Great product

Easily modified by the DIY hunter. Worth it for budget filmer.

Works great

Loud and Heavy

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