The MDT CKYE-POD is a staple bipod in PRS, NRL Hunter, and even NRL22 competitions due to the feature set and versatility. The CKYE-POD has a great amount of adjustment and can allow the shooter to adapt to different conditions and positions. Not only does it have standard cant adjustments, multiple angles in which the legs can be splayed apart, and a barricade stop, it also has a locking 360-degree pan.
The MDT CKYE-POD comes in multiple forms, but the core three are the standard pull, double pull, and triple pull options. The CKYE-POD triple pull will allow the rifle to be elevated ~3 feet off the ground and this is making it a popular choice for NRL Hunter, where shots might need to be taken higher off the ground to clear vegetation and foliage.
With the versatility of a CKYE-POD triple pull, it does come with one significant drawback: weight. With a clamp, the CKYE-POD triple pull will be 2.5 to 2.7 lbs depending on the make of the clamp used. This kind of added weight plays a factor in NRL Hunter where rifles cannot weigh more than 16 lbs with optic and bipod combined. It is even more critical in the Open Light division of NRL Hunter where the weight limit is 12 lbs.
LRT Manufacturing sought to address the issue of weight on the CKYE-POD by creating the Fat Trimmer.
The Fat Trimmer is essentially a replacement for the stock CKYE-POD bipod head; the portion where the legs connect and that connects to the clamp that interfaces to the rifle mount point.
By replacing the stock head with the Fat Trimmer, this also eliminates the pan feature which I never use and accounts for just under 4 ounces.
Removed 5.28 ounces, added 2 ounces, removed .48 ounces (unused Fat Trimmer hardware) = 3.76 ounces removed from MDT CKYE-POD.
Note that the instructions provided are not easy to follow and I had to get information from YouTube. Thankfully, Phillip Velayo published a video on how to setup the LRT Manufacturing Fat Trimmer.
Without Phillip Velayo’s video, I probably would have needed to reach out to LRT for assistance.
Is the LRT Manufacturing Fat Trimmer worth buying at the list price of $115 USD?
It is a very niche product and I feel that most people will not need this. The specific reason I bought the Fat Trimmer was to shave a few ounces from the bipod in order to get more leeway in meeting the NRL Hunter Open Light weight limit of 12 lbs (rifle + scope + tripod + any other accessories attached to the rifle).
I made two significant changes to my NRL Hunter rifle since its original configuration.
- Switched from a Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18x to a Zero Compromise Optic ZC420 (total weight increase from 11 lb to 11 lb 11 oz)
- Switched from an MDT HNT26 chassis to an MDT CRBN stock and MDT Precision Bottom Metal (total weight increase from 11 lb 11 oz to 12 lb).
The above photo shows my NRL Hunter rig in its current configuration and with the stock MDT CKYE-POD triple pull hovering right at 12 lbs. Note that my scale might actually be rounding down as when I went to an NRL Hunter match in February/March, I thought my rifle was 11 lb 11 oz (with the ZCO) but came out to 11 lb 12 oz. So the above weight might be 12 lb 1 oz.
This is why I’m not a fan of a configuration that hits the weight limit exactly and want at least two ounces for buffer with variances in scales.
I did remove the MDT Crush It Timer from the scale after the above weigh-in and that does account for two ounces. However, I do want the ability to keep my Crush It Timer mounted to my rifle (via the Area 419 scope adapter mount), even though I am looking to mount it on body, instead.
That being said, I had a lot of incentive to shave weight from the relatively heavy MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull.
With the Fat Trimmer installed (and without the Crush It Timer included) my rifle weighs in with a decent cushion from the 12 lb weight limit.
As you can see the Fat Trimmer has gotten me back down to my original 11 lb 11 oz weight prior to the MDT HNT26 to MDT CRBN switch. I can add back the MDT Crush It Timer (~2 oz) and still be fine (and worst case detach it).
Thus, this is one example of a very niche use case for the Fat Trimmer in terms of shaving weight.
Although, if you want to completely eliminate the pan feature from a CKYE-POD, the Fat Trimmer will also do this. However, the CKYE-POD pan lock out works quite well so I do not see the pan removal being a compelling reason to spend the $115 on the Fat Trimmer.
Ultimately, it is up to a CKYE-POD user to decide whether they will benefit from the Fat Trimmer before making the purchase. For me, I had a specific use case that the Fat Trimmer applied to and I was willing to acquire it.
If you are interested in the LRT Manufacturing Fat Trimmer, head over to their website at https://lrtmfg.com/.
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