Spotting scopes can enhance your birding experience, but they can be a pain to carry long distances. Most birders just rest the tripod on their shoulder for short walks, but that’s uncomfortable for long hikes and impractical for bike rides. The best solution? Get someone else to carry it for you! If that’s not possible, backpacks especially designed for tripods can be great.

Most packs have a minimum of material, they are lightweight and they are padded. They typically have Velcro straps that wrap around two of the three tripod legs. Spreading those two legs apart forms the reasonably comfortable surface that rests against your back when you’re wearing the pack.

With some models you can even wear the pack with the tripod legs extended. The scope itself faces sideways when you’re wearing the pack so it doesn’t bang your head. Most tripod packs feature small pockets for water bottles and field guides. The pack stays attached to the tripod while in use.

One thing to consider is that carrying your tripod this way means that you have to take the pack off and extend the legs to use the scope, which can be inconvenient if you use your spotting scope a lot.

Popular models include the Tripak Tripod Pack from Big Pockets ($50), the Olivon Podtrek ($39.00) and the Wandering Tattler Tri-Pak ($50).

For more information, contact Big Pockets at https://www.bigpockets.com/catalog/tripak-tripod-pack,

Olivon at http://olivonusa.com/product/olivon-podtrek-backpack, and Wandering Tattler at http://www.optics4birding.com/wandering-tattler-tri-pak.html