Versapod vs. Harris

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Rohann

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Well I keep hearing more and more talk about Versapods, so what's the deal? How do they compare to Harris bipods? Also, what's the price difference?

-Rohann
 
The Versa-Pod is a copy of the much more expensive the Parker-Hale bipod. Its legs fold forward or backward, out of the way until deployed, adust for height, compensate (pivot) to adjust to terrain, and allow the shooter to track the target without repositioning of the bipod. The bipod may be completely removed from its mounting stud by pushing-in the latch and sliding it off. It installs as effortlessly as it is removed. This bipod is very similar in desgin to the bipod on the famous Bren gun of World War 2.

Versa-Pod legs are now available in different lengths and come with either metal skids or neoprene bumpers at the ends of the legs. Versa-pod has manufactured different mounting systems to accomodate many different kinds of rifles.

The Harris bipod has a bracket with legs that have external springs attached to them. It is not as sophisticated (my opinion) as is the Parker-Hale derived Versa-Pod. While professionals have chosen the Harris due to its availibilty of different leg lengths, the Versa-Pod is head and shoulders above the Harris for rugged and simple design. The new bipods with longer leg lengths have matched the Harris in this department.

I have a Parker Hale on my Armscorp M14 and a Versa-Pod on my Savage Model 10FP. They are outstanding bipods and I prefer them over the Harris.
 
I have run both Versa Pod and Harris. I much prefer the Versa pod, they are two totally different systems and both are well made and solid platforms. What I like about the versa is the feel, best way I can explain it. They lock up solid in shooting position, pan and can't very easily on uneven ground and in my opinion a great shooting platform. The reality of it is it is something you are going to have to try to see what best suits you. Each has a different feel but both are effective platforms.
 
I found that I liked the Harris bipods better.

I am primarily a varminter, so maybe that is why my perspective differs. But I prefer the mid length Harris bipods. I like the little extra length for getting above the foliage and for shooting in an uphill direction where the butt has to go lower.

I had a Versapod on my Savage 12 BVSS but I found it sloppy. When I switched to a harris I noticed right away that it made for a much more stable rest. I shot better with it too.

I did get some good shots in with the Versapod, dont get me wrong, its a great bipod. But I shoot better with the harris. And correct me if I m wrong, but the harris bipods are cheaper arent they?
 
BabySeal said:
I found that I liked the Harris bipods better.

I am primarily a varminter, so maybe that is why my perspective differs. But I prefer the mid length Harris bipods. I like the little extra length for getting above the foliage and for shooting in an uphill direction where the butt has to go lower.

I had a Versapod on my Savage 12 BVSS but I found it sloppy. When I switched to a harris I noticed right away that it made for a much more stable rest. I shot better with it too.

I did get some good shots in with the Versapod, dont get me wrong, its a great bipod. But I shoot better with the harris. And correct me if I m wrong, but the harris bipods are cheaper arent they?
Click to expand...


The older model Versapods were sloppy, the new 1s have thumbscrews for tension on both pan and tilt. They also come in several lengths, and from what I have seen are about the same $$ as the Harris.
KK
 
BabySeal said:
I found that I liked the Harris bipods better.

I am primarily a varminter, so maybe that is why my perspective differs. But I prefer the mid length Harris bipods. I like the little extra length for getting above the foliage and for shooting in an uphill direction where the butt has to go lower.

I had a Versapod on my Savage 12 BVSS but I found it sloppy. When I switched to a harris I noticed right away that it made for a much more stable rest. I shot better with it too.

I did get some good shots in with the Versapod, dont get me wrong, its a great bipod. But I shoot better with the harris. And correct me if I m wrong, but the harris bipods are cheaper arent they?
Click to expand...

I may be wrong here so feel free to correct me, Versa pod makes 2 styles a cheap one and a mil-spec. The Mil-spec has tensioning knobs to adjust the tension on your pan and cant. You may have the cheaper model or older model. They also come in many different leg lengths from supper short to ones you can sit behind.
 
Leg notch Harris has Leg locking notches cut into the legs to lock them in a number of different heights. The normal Harris does not have this so you have to mess around with a thumb screw to secure the legs in any other position other than fully extended or fully retracted....
 
Guess it depends on how you look at it.....I much prefer the notched. I owned one of the normal and got rid of it because it's a hassle to adjust and lock a thumbscrew(the thumbscrews are thin/serrated and a pian) every time you deploy the bipod.....you'ld go nuts shooting gophers with one in hilly terrain....I almost did...
 
I find most of the difference between the bipod types depends on the wieght of the gun. I like the PH/Versapod on a heavy gun, for a sporter weight the Harris suits me better.

Rohann, which rifle are you planning to instal it on?
 
Versa pod is made in China. Having said that the some of the earlier models were a bit sloppy (kind of like the Shooters Ridge Bipods - copy of the Harris) and breakage wasn't uncommon. Like most things from China, quality is improving and the bipod is no different.

Prices ($95-145) are not all that bad when the original design is several hundred dollars....
 
Shot with a couple of Harris pods for years. Always worked well for me, but I was usually on fairly flat terrain where the lack of a tilt feature was no problem. I don't have any experience with the newer Harris pods that offer that feature.

Having said that, the Versapod that I got a couple of years ago is now my favourite. Totally different feel, like a couple of posts have mentioned. The one that I have doesn't even have the adjustable tensioning feature (reading this thread is the first time that I've even heard of that), and still I think that it is the better, more versatile choice of the two.

One point that no-one has mentioned is that the Versapods are MUCH easier to install/remove from the gun. Unless Harris has addressed this in the current models that it offers, it is hands-down the huge advantage of the Versapod IMHO. You can get just the adapters/bases/whatever-they're-called for your various guns, and switch the same pod quickly and easily onto whatever gun you're using in less than a second. Two pods in different heights, along with the adapters that you need for your particular guns, are a lot cheaper than a whack of Harris pods.

My $0.02.

John
 
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