SmartRest produces a wide range of quick-release mounts to help you create a customised, very flexible shooting setup that caters to spotlights, thermals and night vision, where vehicle-mounted or handheld.
It’s the result of seven years of active development, and you can mix and match everything to maximise your night-shooting efficiency no matter what kind of gear you like to use.
You can even attach extra power banks to remote-mounted devices to extend your operating time.
SmartRest was the first company to start making quick-release mounts for spotlights and the concept immediately expanded. The idea began as a way to allow shooters in NSW, who were getting booked by zealous cops for having roof-mounted lights, to remove the lights without tools before getting back onto public roads.
And SmartRest kept getting inventive. They pioneered quick-release mounts for thermal spotters, for example, and one setup I’ve found particularly useful is to go from remote use inside a vehicle to handheld, both with the same monocular and smartphone, without interrupting the connection between them.
The quick-release mounts come in six distinct categories. All the QR mounts are made in metal, as they always have been to ensure they stand up to the Aussie environment.
First up, there’s the basic Piccatinny-style rail designed for your thermal monocular. Mount the monocular then sit back and watch the vision on your smartphone or other device. You have a choice between a flat or curved base on the rail, to match the thermal you have, and the rail comes with a countersunk screw to fix it in place. If your monocular has a shallow ¼” threaded hole, SmartRest offers rubber spacers as accessories.
If you’re ultimately trying to mate to an ARCA system, there’s a Picatinny to ARCA adapter available.
Second, there’s this remote adapter, designed to fit on top of spotlight remote handles like PowaBeam’s RC505, RC220 and anything similar.
The third option piggybacks a thermal on top of your spotlight. The Rimtop mount is designed to screw onto the spotlight’s rim. It comes with nuts and bolts; all you have to do is drill a couple of holes in the spotlight rim. The mount is fairly light and discreet so isn’t in the way when you don’t mount anything else but then you can have the best of both worlds when you do put your thermal up there.
You can also achieve dual mounting with the flat bar and a single QR mount. The obvious advantage here is that the setup has a lower profile and the weight is kept lower, with a better centre of gravity. The bar itself is alloy and weighs 217g with the QR attached.
But why stop at one extra mount? The flat bar with a pair of QR mounts extends your options. Maybe a spotlight in the middle with a thermal on one side and a laser pointer of the other? Or power packs to extend the operating time of your electronics?
The sixth iteration of all this is the heavy-duty universal model, suitable whether you want to use a pic-rail or ARCA.
There’s also the SmartRest phone holder combined with a PowaBeam handle, a very handy setup that enables continued use of your phone’s screen instead of having to peer through the thermal, and all with one hand. We’ve got a review of it here.
Everything here is solidly made. I’ve used a fair bit of SmartRest gear over the years and have found it reliable. SmartRest is an Aussie company with a good reputation for backing up their equipment, too.
Ive only covered some of the mounts, adapters, racks and other shooting equipment in the range. Have a look at the Eagleye Hunting Gear website and you’ll see what I mean.
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