Make Your Own Leg Wraps for Your Tripod!
My scope provides wonderful close-ups of offshore ducks and distant raptors. But lugging it around is a pain in the neck, or at least in my shoulders. Mounted on its tripod, the scope weighs more than five pounds, and it gets even heavier after I have toted it more than a few yards. After a hundred yards, it feels like a log -- a dead weight cutting into the flesh with every step.
And on a frosty late fall morning, the metal legs of the tripod exude a bone-chilling cold that permeates the thickest fabrics. On frigid winter mornings, I can get frostbite from the slightest touch of metal tripod legs. On a blazing summer afternoon, the legs can absorb the heat of the sun, achieving a surface temperature high enough to fry an egg or brand cattle.
Don't get the impression that I'm against scopes. I'm not. They are great, just a little inconvenient. Tripods are especially cumbersome.
Despite the inconveniences, I won't leave my scope behind. It seems that whenever I do, I miss something interesting, just a little too far off to get a satisfactory look with only binoculars. Sometimes one just needs a scope.
Recently, I saw a new product designed to overcome these inconveniences -- wraps for tripod legs. These wraps consist of padded cushions that slip over the top legs of a tripod. Now when I swing the tripod over my shoulder, it rides on these padded cushions, not directly on my shoulder blades. The padding also cushions the bouncing of the legs, preventing them from cutting into my shoulder as I walk. The weight of the scope and its tripod is spread over a wider area, resulting in a feeling of lighter weight. The padding also provides thermal protection. The tripod legs won't get freezing cold or boiling hot. No more frostbite from carrying a scope.
These new leg wraps looked like an ideal solution to the problems associated with using my scope -- until I saw the price. I liked the idea, but the $25-$35 price tag seemed high. So I decided to make my own leg wraps. Here's how I did it for less than $5.
I went to the local hardware/plumbing supply store and asked for pipe insulation. This is close-cell foam used to insulate hot water pipes. The foam fits around a pipe to reduce the amount of heat lost. It comes in long tubular sections three to six feet in length. A slit along the length of the tube allows it to slip over the pipe and fit snugly. Foam tubes are available in different sizes to cover pipes from 3/4 inch to 11/2 inches in diameter.
Those diameters match the size of the top legs of most tripods. I bought six feet of this foam insulation and cut it into three sections, each about 18 inches long. Next I wrapped these foam sections around the top legs of my tripod (see diagram). Then I used duct tape (or electrician's tape) to fasten the foam sections to the legs and to seal the lengthwise slit in the foam. Voila! My own inexpensive leg wraps.
Now I don't mind carrying my scope. And with the money I saved by making my own leg wraps, I purchased a new field guide.
