The Groundpounder mount, I couldn't imagine not having one. The balance it adds is amazing, keeps everything true to the center of gravity on the bow. Also keeps things more symmetrical, a pet peeve of mine.
I wanted one for my wife, she isn't exactly a brute of a woman so I knew the only choice I had was to lighten it up, after a few emails between Groundpounder and I, he came up with a lightweight alternative. He made it clear that he didn't want to make one of these because it will be weak, and also made it clear that he was not willing to produce them again.
Newguy made me some uprights, a bit thinner than the originals, I needed something compatible with the NGSS, that also came to me lighter than the average system.
Here are some pictures, the brown are my original GP mount, awesome in every way, but too intimidating for the wife to want. The black set is The results of Groundpounder and Newguy, the plate is the work of Groundpounder.
I have no ability to work with steel, or aluminum, it sure is nice to have access to a couple guys who know how to turn a block in to a work of art!
I spent most of Friday afternoon on the phone with suppliers, machinists, manufactures to see if I was doing the right thing. I started with some of the names that are mentioned a lot here, Danny Miller, David at Wyvern Creations (a great guy to talk to!) and a rep from STS. I learned lots and am confident the minor weight added will prove to be more of a benefit than a hindrance.
Bottom line, once I got everything on the scales it turned out I got all this stuff added at a little less weight than 2 arrows!
Swapping the quiver off my wife's bow was no easy task, and I have to admit that the Groundpounder makes the bow look heavy, when in fact it does not. The balance that is gained more than makes up for the tiny addition of weight.
Jenn's bow has had the very light version of the NGSS on it since the first time she handled it, it came like that to her . When I tried to convince her to try the GP mount she simply said no, she was happy the way it was. When my package showed up with my new, thin plates I asked her if she would notice "this" much extra weight. When she took the envelope she hefted it and said, "sure, that's not bad", ironically there were two in that envelope.
So after it was all said and done, those capable of helping did and I ended up with adding two great products to my bow with what I would consider "unnoticeable" amount of weight. Matter of fact, the NGSS and GP light version weigh less than the addition of a STS. I am a pretty happy guy, used the best of resources and managed to add toys to my gear without adding weight.
