I would categorically argue against this point all day long as there is a certain segment of the shooting community that seems to think that more expensive always equals better and that is simply not the case. Especially for 99 percent of the guys out there and maybe 60-70 percent of the competitor types.
First off I am not a fan boy of any particular brand, but I recognize when something is suitable or not.
The Harris bipod stamped or not functions well within a certain role, just as the Cyke Pod... or Atlas within a certain role... but not the same role... exactly … Flipping legs up and down QUICKLY for example.. the Harris beats them all. Metal stamped or not.
If you are looking for a piece of art to display wonderful craftsmanship go ahead and drop $500 on your US made product of choice, (Not that it should matter to a Canadian) but that does not necessarily make it function any better in practical terms.... Meaning make more hits in less time.
The genius of the humble Harris is the springs on the legs that take the play and wiggle out of the legs. There is very little give under preload as a result. Any bipod that wiggles is problematic at best so that's the highest priority in my opinion.
Not to say that Harris is the perfect bipod for every situation, but it has its place... And furthermore you can buy cheaper Chinese versions that are practically the same. (For all but the most abusive.)
Another example is the MagPul slings they sell for like $60+ here in Canada but you can find the identical sling for 8 bucks on ebay out of China with free shipping.... So paying more for the actual Magpul version is just classic case of fanboyism.
Slings and bipods are simple creatures that are being progressively over designed of late and it's easy to get drawn into a sense that expensive is somehow better.... all you are often doing is setting yourself up for buyers remorse.
Without dogging any particular product, I have spotted a variety of practical weaknesses with almost every bipod.... So one single bipod is not perfect for every application. Price aside... You always need to decide where to compromise.
I'll start off by saying no one bipod is perfect for every situation. I haven't implied in any of my posts that a Ckye-Pod is the best bipod for everyone or every scenario. I merely stated that I believe the Ckye-Pod to be the best rendition of a field bipod to date, with maybe the TBAC as a close contender. I stand by that, and if you ever shoot an actual field PRS match where you shoot a lot of stages working against the environment to get the shot off, such as a Carl Taylor Washington state match, you will see what I mean.
The Harris is an okay bipod, I have a couple. Yes it deploys very fast, but it has a lot of limitations. It has poor build quality, and limited options to mount to your rifle unless you want to purchase aftermarket accessories if you want to say install it to a pic or ARCA rail. Unfortunately due to the design of the Harris, these aftermarket parts are only so strong, and I've seen numerous ones break - usually at a really bad time like in the middle of a stage. They have very limited range of adjustments - usually only 3" of vertical adjustment, no pan feature, poor cant tension feature, can't adjust the width of the bipod legs, or angle the bipod legs, and they fold only one way.
I've used a Harris a lot. It's plenty capable off of a bench or prone when you don't have high grass in front of you to contend with. But it is very limited in features and capabilities, and this weakness shows up when shooting on differing terrain in field matches.
The Ckye-pod was designed for field matches, and it has a very extensive range of adjustments. Legs can be moved in 45° angles, width of the bipod can be very narrow to very wide, legs have a huge vertical adjustment - you can be almost flat to the ground or super tall up if you have to peek over some tall grass. Adjustable pan and cant. Legs extend rapidly as they are spring assisted, and very quick to collapse. Can be ordered with a Pic or ARCA/RRS direct mount. finally it includes a built in barricade stop. This makes for a very versatile package, which was designed to overcome many challenges that shooting in the field present. So I would absolutely contend that it does in fact "make it function better in practical terms" in the right scenarios.
Yes, it's $500. No, it's not for everyone. But it is manufactured to a much higher quality, and is much more feature rich than a Harris. In that vein, you absolutely do "get what you pay for". The rub is, if you just shoot off a bench or a concrete pad, you won't realize the benefits this bipod has to offer.
BTW, having "slack" in the bipod is an intentional thing done by the designers, it aids in recoil management when used in conjunction with proper applications of fundamentals. All modern field bipods that I know of - Atlas, Ckye-Pod, TBAC, etc are designed with some "slack" built into the system. Those that consider it a flaw are those that don't consistently load the bipod nor utilize proper fundamentals when shooting. Operator error, not a design issue. But I guess improper or lack of proper applications of fundamentals has people looking for silly gear solutions rather than correcting their actual shooting skills like this:
If a Harris works great for you, then keep on rocking on. No need to spend more money if it won't provide a benefit to your shooting needs, that I agree with. But let's not pretend that a Harris is just as good of quality and feature rich as a Ckye-pod because you don't want to spend the money nor see the perceived benefits.
PS - the Ckye-pod is a Canadian bipod now being manufactured and sold by MDT.
And I won't even get started on knock-off bipods, I wish those that promoted knock-off bipods (or that of any product) received an instant ban...
