Explore Scientific U-Mount and Field Tripod for 70-120mm Binoculars, 12 kg Capacity

Product Overview

The Explore Scientific U-mount with field tripod is a fork-style binocular mount and tripod sold as one unit, designed for the Explore Scientific BT giant binocular series and for most other binoculars with a 70 mm to 120 mm objective and a 1/4-inch photo thread on the underside. Explore Scientific publishes a load capacity of up to 12 kg, a maximum binocular width of 290 mm, a magnesium housing, and a total net weight of 11,300 g across mount and tripod together.

Who It's For

Anything from 70 mm to 120 mm of objective is too heavy to hold steady by hand for more than a few seconds, and the view a big binocular can give only arrives once it stops moving. This mount is specified for exactly that class. The fork geometry is the reason to choose it over a photo tripod head: the binocular sits between two arms rather than on top of a plate, so the eyepieces stay clear of the mount right through to the zenith, which is where a conventional head runs out of travel and starts fighting you.

It also suits shared observing. A mounted binocular holds its target while a group takes turns, which is what makes it work at an outreach night.

Key Features & Design

• Load capacity of up to 12 kg, for binoculars with 70 mm to 120 mm objectives
• Maximum binocular width of 290 mm across the tubes
• Fork-style U-mount clearing the eyepieces through the full elevation range
• 360 degrees of azimuth travel and 0 to 90 degrees of altitude
• Infinitely variable friction adjustment on both axes
• Magnesium housing; aluminium tripod with 50 mm stainless steel legs
• Working height adjustable from roughly 100 cm to 140 cm, folding to 80 cm for transport
• Quick-change adapter plate with two 1/4-inch threaded connections
• Integrated aluminium accessory tray that also braces the legs
• 11,300 g total net weight, of which the tripod is 5.8 kg

Mechanical Design

Friction adjustment rather than locking knobs is the design decision that matters most here. A locking mount has two states — clamped and free — and nothing useful in between, so you unlock, overshoot, relock. Infinitely variable friction lets you set a tension where the binocular stays where you point it but still moves under steady hand pressure, which is what makes slow sweeping along the Milky Way possible at all. The magnesium housing serves stiffness against weight: a fork carries its load on two cantilevered arms, and any flex there shows up as a wobble at the eyepiece.

The tripod does the damping. Aluminium with 50 mm stainless steel legs and an accessory tray tying them together is a stiffer structure than three unbraced legs, and vibration that does start dies faster. Height runs about 100 cm to 140 cm with the mount fitted, and the legs retract to 80 cm to go in a car.

Recommended Uses

• Wide-field binocular astronomy — open clusters, Milky Way star fields, large nebulae and comets
• Extended lunar and bright-object viewing where hand shake would otherwise end the session early
• Meteor watching and satellite passes, where the fork's free elevation range earns its keep
• Outreach and star parties, since a mounted binocular holds its target between viewers
• Terrestrial, wildlife and marine viewing from a fixed position

Compatibility and Accessory Notes

Binoculars are not included. The published envelope is a 70 mm to 120 mm objective, a maximum width of 290 mm across the tubes, and a total weight within the 12 kg capacity — check your binocular against all three rather than aperture alone, because a wide-bodied 100 mm pair can foul the fork arms even when it is comfortably inside the weight limit. Attachment is by the quick-change plate, which carries two 1/4-inch threaded connections, the standard fitting on binocular tripod adapters and L-brackets. This is a binocular mount with no dovetail saddle, so it is not intended to carry a telescope. Send us your binocular model and we will confirm the fit before you order.

Good to Know Before You Order

At 11,300 g for mount and tripod together this is a carry, not a stroll — it is designed to be set up where you park rather than walked across a field. The footprint is 1,000 mm square with the legs open, which is worth measuring against a balcony or small deck if that is where it will live. There is no motor and no tracking: objects drift at the sidereal rate and are re-centred by hand, which is the normal way binocular astronomy is done and part of why the friction adjustment matters. If you are running a BT-150 rather than a 70-120 mm binocular, that is a heavier instrument than this mount is rated for and Explore Scientific offers a separate U-mount for it — ask us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it difficult to set up? No. The legs open, the mount head goes on top, and the binocular attaches to the quick-change plate once and then drops on and off. The only adjustment worth a minute is the friction on each axis, set by feel with the binocular already mounted.

Will it hold my binoculars? If they are 70 mm to 120 mm, under 290 mm wide and inside 12 kg, yes. Send us the make and model and we will check all three figures for you.

Can I look straight up with it? That is the point of the fork. The binocular pivots between the arms, so the eyepieces stay clear at high elevation where a conventional tripod head would run out of movement.

Does it come with the tripod? Yes — mount, field tripod, quick-change plate and accessory tray all come together. Binoculars are the only part chosen separately.

Bottom Line

A magnesium fork mount and braced steel-and-aluminium field tripod sold as one unit, rated to 12 kg, with infinitely variable friction on both axes and full clearance to the zenith. It is the difference between glancing through a big binocular and actually observing with it. Tell our Bolton team which binocular you own and we will confirm the fit.