Usually when I go to trade shows there is one product that, I think, stands above the rest. Usually it's a product that fills a niche that has been ignored by a 70 Billion Dollar annual industry. It's hard to find these niche products because of the natural evolution and innovative nature of hunters. Someone has an idea and people instantly latch on to it and come up with their own version etc.
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. I Had Some Cameras Stolen By Trespassers Last Year. It was a huge blow to me because I have 4 months of pics on them. Just a huge loss financially of course, but equally because of the data that we lost. We are trying to grow and manage deer and it's tough to gauge success when you lose data.
Spy High Mounting System is a product that goes a long way to eliminating theft and several other issues that you get with your expensive camera. Spy High tackles the problem of camera theft by getting your cameras out of the line of sight of the casual trespasser or thief.
Spy High, is fundamentally a Patented, expandable attachment system, (Think quick attach sockets where whatever driver you use is the hub). With the Spy High mounting system the telescopic pole is the driver, it is the vehicle for the whole system.
Basically, Spy High , has a screw in anchor, (Tree Attachment), that securely screws into the tree via a telescopic pole (if you live in a liberal dominated state that doesn't allow you to screw anything into a tree they have an equally effective alternative anchor for you).
You attach a nylon, "camera mount platform", to the camera's threaded insert on the bottom (or back) of the camera. The platform mount has a ball that can be tightened down via a wingnut screw. This Ball provides the user to tilt, angle, and cant the camera to whatever angle you need do to your unique environmental needs, (Think of an infinite number of axes).
The complete kit comes with two(2) two foot telescopic rods that expand to two feet each. Both rods can be locked together to combine an eight foot pole. The pole is an engineering marvel in itself. It seems incredibly stout and very solid.
You extend the poles to the maximum length of 8 feet, insert the threaded tree attachment into the end of the pole and basically screw the attachment into the tree at whatever height you decide is acceptable for your immediate needs. Spy High provides a drill bit with the complete kit that enables you to attach the extended pole to your drill and allow the drill to do all the work for you.I have used the drill bit attachment and I have also done so by hand. both are easy and fast though the drill method is noticeably faster with significantly less arm fatigue.
In an interesting side note, when i was sitting on the couch opening the Spy High package and went out to my car to get my phone. When I returned my daughters were playing shop with my spy high accessories.When I inventoried everything I didn't see the drill attachment. I never recalled having seen it. I called my buddy that also bought the system at the World Deer Expo and asked him if he received the drill bit attachments in his packages and he said that there was one in each complete set. I called Spy High and told them that I needed to buy the drill attachment. I told him that I didn't recall having seen it but that my clepto daughters may have misplaced it. the Spy High guy (see what I did there) said, "Give me your address and I will put one in the mail today." I told him again that I may have it here somewhere here but he wouldn't budge. He said that without the customers, the wheels would fall off the bus. They want to be known in the industry as the company with the best customer service out there. The drill attachment arrived in just a couple days. The whole experience left me with a really vaulted opinion of them.
Next withdraw the pole (leaving the tree attachment behind on the tree). Next step is attaching the camera, (that you previously mounted to the platform mount). Simply insert the camera on the end of the pole, extend it to the tree attachment (now firmly secured to the tree) press firmly in place, thus joining the two. When you withdraw the pole it leaves the camera securely attached to the tree at a height that is conducive to your needs.
At the 9 0'clock and 3 o'clock locations of the pole you will find the words, "Install", and, "Remove", respectively. Depending on whether you are placing a camera on the tree or removing the camera you select whichever side is appropriate for your immediate needs.
The Complete kit comes with a great pole saw attachment that is quick and easy to carry in to your stand and because it is expands out from a length of only 2 feet it fits neatly in my existing pack leaving plenty of space for all my other stuff. Use just the saw attachment alone to cut branches off of the tree as you ascend in your climber, thus removing any obstacles that may impede safe climbing. Re-attach the extension poles to trim shooting lanes from any troublesome neighboring trees as well.
The saw attachment also makes you realize that the system is infinitely expandable with future potential attachments limited only to the imagination of the developers of Spy High. Clearly those guys are blessed with an abundance of creativity so i would expect them to come out with new attachments every year or so.
When I saw the t the Spy High booth at the World Deer Expo I was just blown away. They had a large crowd of curious folks around their booth transfixed by the Spy High guys quickly installing and removing deer cams in seconds on a telephone pole that was serving as their, "tree". Everyone of these guys like me had their jaws on the floor with smoke pouring out of their ears. We were all reliving painful memories and thinking the same thing, "This will go a long way to preventing my cams from getting stolen!"
I threw my money at the Spy High guy, "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!" I rushed back to the Buckhorn Outdoors booth and told one of the other pro-staffers that had come down to help us during the show and he immediately went to see the Spy High guys and bought a couple sets also. The last time I went by the Spy High booth that weekend was Saturday early afternoon. I asked the guy how they were doing and he said that they were nearly sold out! He was clearly lamenting the fact that he didn't bring more product and was trying to figure out what he was going to do. That's a really great problem to have.
But raising the the height of your cams above the line of sight of potential thieves serves other needs as well. It also reduces the scent signature of the camera; additionally, it takes the camera out of the line of sight of game animals. There have been several studies that suggest that when a buck sees a camera sees a camera he gets spooked and has a negative experience. Spooked bucks are creatures of instinct and rarely stay in the area very long. In tight woods like we have in the eastern United States, raising the camera higher on the tree and the angling it down can in a lot of situations increase the field of view dramatically. This will often illuminate bucks on camera that you may not have seen otherwise, and that's always a good thing.
Summarily, the Spy High Mounting System is a slam dunk. It isn't foolproof but I think it goes a very long way to eliminating theft. If it hides your camera from just one guy it has paid for itself. If it hides your camera from just one buck it may help you kill the buck of a lifetime. The company makes a great product and has established that they clearly have unparalleled customer service.
https://www.spyhighmounts.com/