The MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull is a staple bipod for the NRL Hunter match series and sees use by those willing to carry a heavier bipod into the field for hunting use in order to have a versatile bipod that can get to a height of over 35 inches. However, the 2.35 lb weight of the MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull and the $999.95 USD point often deter people from purchasing this bipod.
A company by the name of R3 Developments (or R3D) has been slowly trickling out their own answer to the MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull in the form of the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs. I became aware of them in some forum posts on The Sniper’s Hide as well as obtained more visibility of the R3D carbon legs by way of an episode of the Montana Wild Podcast (go to 13:58 in video):
I was checking the R3 Development website regularly as they were sold out for awhile until one day they were showing in-stock and I immediately ordered a set at a price of $325 USD.
The R3D Carbon Legs for the MDT CKYE-POD are a pair/set of carbon fiber legs to replace the existing legs of a CKYE-POD bipod.
The R3D legs are a direct replacement for the existing MDT CKYE-POD legs and reuse the existing hardware that secure the leg to the body of the bipod as well as the hardware (springs, pins, knobs) for the locking lever for folding and unfolding the legs.
Each leg collapses down to 12″ in length and extend to a maximum length of 40″ with a weight of 4.4 ounces (without a bipod foot).
The legs do not have visible locks and are extended and collapsed by simply twisting the leg tubes just like you would with a standard lever lock you would see on a tripod like a Really Right Stuff. This is in contrast to the proprietary notched locking-lever design of the factory MDT CKYE-POD.
As far as the bipod feet, the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs do not include feet and use the same feet used on the MDT CKYE-POD Single Pull. This will include any bipod feet that are Atlas CAL (or Atlas PSR or V8) compatible.
At this point, the reader may be wondering why one would buy a set of R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs at $325. The two reasons can be extrapolated from what has already been stated.
For one, these legs have a slightly longer maximum extended length than a factory MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull which means you can effectively convert a CKYE-POD Single or Double Pull into a Triple Pull. As mentioned earlier, the R3D legs are 12″ minimum length and 40″ maximum length.
I measured the R3D legs to see where they were basing these measurement points from and then used the same points on the MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull, I measured the Triple Pull legs to be ~11.5″ minimum length and 34.75″ maximum length, making the R3D legs slightly longer with a slightly taller effective bipod height.
If you are an existing CKYE-POD Single or Double Pull bipod owner, you do not have to spend another $1000 for a Triple Pull if you find yourself needing that extra height. You could simply acquire the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs and convert an existing CKYE-POD for a specific match, hunt, or other shooting condition, and then swap the legs back out if desired.
Another way to convey this is with cost analysis.
MDT CKYE-POD Single Pull at $600 + R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs at $325 for a total of $925 (single bipod with conversion) vs MDT CKYE-POD Single Pull at $600 + MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull at $1000 for a total of $1600 (two separate bipods).
$925 vs $1600 is a substantial value proposition.
Thus, there is a huge incentive for someone who already owns an MDT CKYE-POD Single or Double Pull to acquire the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs if they need the height of a Triple Pull, rather than purchasing a standalone CKYE-POD Triple Pull (over $600 saved).
Second of all, the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs are a significant weight savings over the factory Triple Pull legs. As mentioned earlier, each R3D Carbon Ckypod leg weighs 4.4 oz (without foot). The MDT Triple Pull leg weighs 11.3 oz (without foot). Together, both R3D legs will weigh 9.8 oz and still come in under the weight of a single MDT Triple Pull leg.
Another way to convey the weight savings are the following setups.
I compared an MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull with the factory legs and feet vs an MDT CKYE-POD Single Pull with the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs and Atlas rubber feet. Both of these configurations have the same RRS SC-ARC (ARMS17 compatible) clamp, the same LRT Manufacturing Fat Trimmer CKYE-POD head, and the same PRShootingSolutions POD Knobs. The difference between the two bipods as compared are the legs and the feet, where I kept the original Triple Pull feet on the Triple Pull and used Atlas rubber feet on the R3D converted CKYE-POD.
The MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull weighs in at 2 lb 4.2 oz whereas the MDT Single Pull with R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs weighs in at 1 lb 6.3 oz.
This is a 14 oz difference which means you are saving just under one pound of weight by utilizing a CKYE-POD equipped with the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs over an MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull.
When looking at the total weights being compared here, it is an apple to apples comparison because they are both setup equally except for the legs. However, if you try to compare against your own CKYE-POD setup, you may not have the same final weight because your clamp and/or head may vary (e.g., not using RRS SC-ARC or a LRT Manufacturing Fat Trimmer like I am).
For comparison, an Atlas CAL (one of the most popular bipods on the market) with a RRS ARMS-LR (discontinued ARMS17 clamp; replaces by SC-ARC) weighs in at 1 lb 0.4 oz. This means that the R3D converted MDT CKYE-POD is only ~5.6 oz heavier than an Atlas CAL depending on the clamps used.
Thus, those with an emphasis on weight savings have incentive to use the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs, even if they already have a CKYE-POD Triple Pull.
People may ask what the original R3D converted CKYE-POD would weigh if reusing the original MDT CKYE-POD spiked feet and I did weigh that at 1 lb 5.9 oz.
Keep in mind that these spiked feet do have some wear as they have been skidded across concrete often, so the weight might be slightly heavier if new (maybe one or two-tenths of an ounce heavier).
Of course, the cost and weight advantages will not matter if the MDT CKYE-POD with the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs cannot perform equal to (or better) than an actual MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull in live fire shooting.
The R3D converted CKYE-POD handles quite well. Granted, the legs are carbon fiber vs the aluminum for the OEM legs, so there is going to some apparent flex when fully extended and manipulating the rifle with weight on the CKYE-POD. However, once the rifle on target and the operator has good rear support established, the system can shoot accurately.
I feel that the rifle handles equally well on a R3D converted CKYE-POD as it does with the CKYE-POD Triple Pull. However, I would not feel comfortable using heavy PRS-style rifle on an R3D converted CKYE-POD while at full height, nor with a MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull, either.
The twist locking mechanism is arguably slower than the MDT CKYE-POD lever locks because you can just ‘fling’ the legs to full extension. However, the CKYE-POD leg extension mechanism, particularly the Triple Pull, have been known to fail.
For instance, at the 2025 NRL Hunter Pro-Am, a competitor in the squad following mine had just finished the previous stage and arrived to the staging area I was at and stated that he flung his Triple Pull leg to deploy for a high kneeling position and the leg segmented separated at one of the lever locks (presumably the pin broke).
I personally have had issues with the MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull legs binding due to accumulation of dirt, debris, and grit, resulting in the leg segment surfaces needing to be cleaned an also sanded down to remove burrs.
I feel that the R3D Carbon Ckyepod leg twist lock design should mitigate these types of failures.
I believe the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs are the way to go if you are looking into a CKYE-POD Triple Pull. Even if you don’t already own a CKYE-POD, I feel that you should get a CKYE-POD Single for $599.95 USD and get the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs at $325 USD. This brings the cost to ~$925 USD and you will have the versatility of a Single Pull that you can convert to a Triple Pull height bipod and vice-versa, rather than spending $1000 on a CKYE-POD Triple Pull which is only a Triple Pull.
If you already own a CKYE-POD Single or Double Pull, then R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs are an obvious choice to get Triple Pull capabilities, as the cost savings is ~$675 USD ($999.95 – $325).
Furthermore, the weight savings are a huge advantage for the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs as they are ~8.8 oz combined versus the ~22.6 oz combined for the factory Triple Pull legs (~13.8 oz difference).
I feel that the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs are a game changer at this point in time when it comes to the MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull. As more people find out about the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs, I feel like people will opt for an R3D converted CKYE-POD rather than purchasing a factory MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull.
Should you get the R3 Developments Carbon CKYE-POD legs?
Much like the MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull, this is a niche product. Unless you need a bipod that can adapt to tall positions close to shooting sticks height, then you don’t need the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs.
However, if you do need a bipod with the capabilities of the CKYE-POD Triple Pull, the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs should be your choice over an off the shelf MDT CKYE-POD Triple Pull.
Even if you do not own a CKYE-POD Single or Double Pull already, there is still money savings to be had by purchasing a Single Pull and the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs instead of the Triple Pull, and there is definitely weight savings to be had.
With that said, MDT is going to be releasing a new revision (likely to be called the Gen 3) of the CKYE-POD line of bipods which is supposed to address some of the flaws in the current Gen 2 CKYE-POD family such as the leg angle pin (body) mechanism. Rumor is that they may have made changes to address the reliability of the lever locks for the CKYE-POD legs.
Even with these pending updates, I would definitely go with the R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs and get the LRT Manufacturing Fat Trimmer to optimize a CKYE-POD to make it an improved version of the CKYE-POD Triple Pull. I do not think MDT will be able to match the weight of an R3D converted CKYE-POD, unless MDT were to release their own carbon fiber legs for the CKYE-POD.
If you are interested in a set of R3D Carbon Ckyepod legs for the MDT CKYE-POD bipod, go to the R3 Developments website at https://www.r3developments.com/. Furthermore, if you are interested in the LRT Manufacturing Fat Trimmer, read my review. If you are interested in the PRShootingSolutions Pod Knobs, go to the PRShootingSolutions website at https://www.prshootingsolutions.com/.
I will mention that I ended up getting a pair of the ADG bipod feet after I saw them at the 2025 SHOT Show.
These are Atlas compatible feet so they fit on the R3D Carbon Ckyepod Legs without issue and result in a total weight of 1 lb 6.1 oz.
When I throw this R3D + LRT converted CKYE-POD onto my NRL Hunter rig, I am at 11 lb 0.1 oz (yes, one-tenth of an ounce, not one ounce).
This is quite impressive considering I’m running a ‘heavy’ scope with the Zero Compromise Optic ZC420 with the sunshade *and* a Scope Chaps scope cover, along with the MDT Crush It timer on an Area 419 mount adapter (left side of rifle, not visible in photo), an Area 419 scope mounted bubble level (right side), and a Cole-Tac Cheat Sheet (left side of scope, cord visible in photo).
It is quite amusing how this CKYE-POD is only about 15 percent MDT. The legs, feet, head, and clamp are all replaced by aftermarket upgrades. The pins/knobs for folding the legs out were replaced with aftermarket parts and I also changed out the hardware for the leg splay / width angle with alloy steel shoulder screws sourced from McMaster-Carr.
The only MDT parts that remain are the:
- bipod body (what the legs and head attach to)
- hardware (screws) that attach the legs to the body
- hardware (pins and springs) that keep the legs folded up / down / 45 degrees (what the Pod Knobs engage)
- springs for the pins that adjust the leg splay
It would be interesting if one could source just the bipod body itself to ‘build’ a CKYE-POD from scratch using aftermarket / non-MDT parts.
Comment on this post