The carbon arm is already on the bouncy side as is, can't see them making it any longer without beefing it up a bit. I wish 3rd arm started making arms again. The "triple threat" model looks awesome for the self filmer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think they would have to shorten each carbon arm, but by having 3 instead of 2 arms you would get more reach. My assumption is that the bounce is from the carbon, and not the base and shoulder.
I am kicking this thread back to the top. I spent some time at ATA speaking to both Calvin and Sam of Fourth Arrow. Both walked me through the products as this was the first time that I had gotten to see their stuff first hand. I have to say that I am now extremely impressed. They have a new extension that works with both the Stiff Arm and the Carbon Arm that gets out in the 47" range. This competes with the Muddy Hunter in terms of reach. Overall, I was drooling over their product line. That Rex arm looks to be killer for the blind while turkey hunting this spring. The telescoping arm for using a GoPro or other small camera looks to be outstanding as well. I left there telling Sam that I was going to place an order for a complete set up soon. These guys have created an exciting company and I cannot wait to see what improvements and new products they come up with in the future. I told them that from one engineer to another, it is always fun to see other members of the "Geek Squad" out hunting and being innovative.
Well I spent 300 bucks with the boys and had a tree arm that spent most of the season in the spare gear storage box. I bought the carbon arm and it was WAY to short. Also bought 4 additional bases. I ended up using my lightning tree arm most of the season with a 58" reach.Other than a little heavy that thing is awesome. I guess now that Fourth arrow has made the extension I'll have to drop another 79Bucks to see if that will work. Iv'e got a feeling it's gonna be bouncy. DEC what's the extension made out of carbon or aluminum?.If it doesn't work for me somebody's gonna get a great deal on a fourth arrow carbon tree arm. http://forums.bowhunting.com/attach...d1477275537-fourth-arrow-camera-arm-image-jpg
For anyone interested.I made a video of the lightning tree arm setup an d how I go about setting up for filming. New Project 2 on Vimeo
The extension is made out of aluminum. It seemed pretty solid when I messed around with the one at ATA. I am in the position where I am likely going to buy a complete setup from them. There is no way to 100% evaluate if it will serve my needs without strapping a base to a tree and trying it on some hunts. Right now I am not at the point to say that this system is the end all be all, but I can say that it is innovative and with the extension worth trying out for my self filming operations.
Did you have any discussion on the weight rating of the arms using the extension? The "fluid" head they show in the video looks fairly small. I'm using a apprx 3lb. fluid head and the cannon HFG30.If I recall correctly it was already kinda bouncy with just 2 arms. I so wanna love this system but I also don't know if adding a 3rd arm will make it unusable. Also I haven't looked at my 4th arm in a while but I think you would need to buy an additional shoulder to get the ability to lock the first section.I don't think my shoulder has a threaded hole in front for the arm locking mechanism.
I won an entire prize package from 4th arrow, while I've only attached to a tree in the yard just to get the process down I'll say the quality of the construction seems second to none...only time will tell whether I want the new extension unit to get out around the 47-48inch reach area.
Reach is huge in the filming game. …….Iv'e been thinking about this a bit…..[smell the smoke]…….The fourth arm excels for the guys hunting out of lock on stands,especially if you have a tree with branches…….You can extend the reach just by mounting the base further out on the branch. like shown in their video's. Almost all my hunting is done with climbing stands where there are no branches, or ladder stands….the same….no branches. I got spoiled with the 58" reach of the lightning tree arm….however it is heavy and bulky to carry. Come on guys I want to love my fourth arrow extension carbon camera arm too………. Are they available yet? Has anyone who was at the show extend the arm to full length to see how much bounce the arm had with the extension on it? Did the arm have a fluid head and a camera on it?……….I volunteer right now to be a test filmer for fourth arm camera arm's new products…..
I could be wrong, but I think Sam told me that the extension will be available in March. Yes, I had the arm extended all the way out. They had a DSLR on one of their branded fluid heads. Not the heaviest setup in the world, but I could not see any real bounce. That being said, it wasn't my gear or fastened to a real tree, so I wasn't about to hang off of it like a monkey to really test it out. But like I said earlier, I have seen enough at this point to be willing to roll the dice with my wallet and buy a complete setup for this coming fall. While I like the weight savings of the carbon arm setup, I will likely buy the aluminum version. My gut tells me it will be stiffer, plus it gives an extra inch or so of reach if memory serves me correctly. Right now my main focus is getting my hands on that Rex arm for my tripod when it comes to filming turkey hunts this spring.
After a full season with the Fourth Arrow Stiff Arm Pro, I only have one complaint. The thumb screw to tighten the base can be hard to back off after your hunt. Especially on those cold mornings where your hands are already numb. Clearly they heard about that issue and designed the new Cam Lever to correct that issue. As for everything else, I was super happy with how it performed. There was very minimal bounce, and it performed better than my Muddy Arm in that instance. The ability to leave bases in my tree's made setup and take down very quick and very quiet. The Stiff Arm Pro is obviously a larger, heavier and more expensive camera arm than their other versions, but I'm running a fairly heavy setup, but still well under the max load of the arm. Even though the arm is heavier than my old Muddy, the fact that I don't have to carry the odd shaped Muddy base made packing in and out much, much easier. I hunt some pretty gnarly trees on my place(Hedge mostly). There's not a straight tree out there for me to hang in and I was able to film out of any tree I hunted. That was not the case with my old Muddy. This is the first off season that I haven't been thinking about how I could come up with a better camera arm, or looking for alternatives. I'm just very satisfied with the quality.
I want it all. Light weight ,no bounce, long reach, easy to pack. Maybe I should just hire a Sherpa to haul all this freakin gear in and out mostimes twice a day.
Did you say Sherpa? Turn Your Climbing Stand into a Game Cart with Sherpa Game Carts - YouTube Sent from my SM-S902L using Tapatalk
I used the Stiff Arm all season. I like it way better than my clumsy Muddy Pro. I also have the plate for my ground blind so it was great using my same set-up wherever I sat. I'm curious to see how it does with the extension this next season.
Well I have to share this. I decided after years of service from my trusty Muddy Hunter arm, that I would go to the Fourth Arrow setup. I recently sold all of my heavier camera gear to go to a new Sony A6500 setup which is considerably lighter weight. Back in January at the ATA I spent a considerable amount of time talking to the Fourth Arrow guys and looking at their system. With the new extension arm, my earlier concerns regarding reach went out the window. So when they ran a Buy 4 bases get a 5th base free deal in July, I jumped on the setup. I ordered the Stiff Arm, Extension, Cam Lock for the head, and 10 bases (11th comes with the basic Stiff Arm). I put all of the bases together the other day and promptly ratcheted one to a tree in my back yard. It definitely is not as "stiff" as my old Muddy, but with my new Sony rig on there, it is more than acceptable for even my picky standards. I think this arm setup will be a nice compromise for my new light weight camera system. I definitely will enjoy not lugging around that heavy Muddy base and ratcheting to a tree every sit.
