Craig Steel is a genius. Rokstedi is a category killer, one-of-a-kind hunting bipod. I begged Craig to ship one to me before my October elk hunt in the Idaho wilderness. I did tons of research looking for a differentiated bipod having NEVER used one before. The outfitter I was going with made an emphatic plea for a 27"+ bipod for the mountainous, difficult terrain we would hunt. I figured I would listen this time. What caught my attention was that Rokstedi was the ONLY bipod that both cants AND pans AND has extraordinary adjustable heights (5" to 34" with the P234 model) and ultralight and strong.
When the bipod arrived, I knew in a moment the Rokstedi was aerospace grade and extremely well engineered if not downright genius. It was fun and easy to put together and make my own videos to show my sons in college who were blown away by its versatility.
But where Rokstedi proved worth every penny, was this first elk hunt in October 2022 in the very rugged Idaho wilderness. I climbed from 6,000ft to around 8,000ft with my guide and we found a canyon with at least three bugling bulls at 8am or so. We played it smart and stayed in place all day and at 5:45pm a beautiful 6x6 bull walked out of the dark forest to an open burn area following a cow. The shot was nearly 600 yards and too long for my current practice and set up (Cooper Model 92 in 300 Win Mag with Swaro Z5 3.5x18x44 scope with BDS turret at a final ring setting of 450 yards.
We stalked the elk side hill for nearly 1/4 mile getting just close enough for a 450 yards hunt on a STEEP downhill with the elk uphill creating the need for a VERY long bipod extension. Methodically (after practicing numerous times at home) I deployed the 34" legs, loosened the pan lock and slipped my thumb forward to disengage the pan feature and found myself sitting and adjusting the bipod to square off on the elk who was merely steps from disappearing into the forest again.
The cant and pan feature is simply unbeatable. When the elk wheeled and reversed direction, I was able to follow him, lock and fire at 450 yards with a shot that landed right on the shoulder where I aimed. NO OTHER bipod can do this. It made all the difference in the world. Most bipods would require you to lift the legs destroying your focus through the scope. The beautiful elk fell and my drought with three unsuccessful elk hunts was over.
I can report with certainty, that I never would have been able to make that 450 yard canyon crossing shot without the Rokstedi bipod. Having never used a bipod, I felt like a surgeon with amazing tools and capability with the Rokstedi bipod.
I proudly showed all the guides the function and quality of the bipod. They were amazed and also proud to know it was designed to fill a niche by a fellow hunting guide (Craig Steel) who could not find a bipod that he needed in the field. So he designed it and fabricated it. The Rokstedi bipod is nothing short of fantastic and quickly became the envy of the guides and the hunt.
Carrying and manipulating the bipod was equally impressive. Light, easy to deploy and always ready to help put the gun on the ground with legs deployed.
I am a committed fan of Rokstedi. I will be buying one for my boys and friend and I can assure you a number of Idaho guides are putting in their orders.
As one guide said, "wow, that is the ultimate Western rifle rig." He said it best.
Edward
