I have a Vortex High Country with the ball head thats in your price range. It's ok at best. Not overly stable when legs fully extended but I rarely use it this way. It is however super light and nice for packing.
The ball head is great with my bino adapter but I find with my 65mm spotter, I cant find that sweet spot its either to loose or too tight.
It generally suits my style of hunting as I use my binos most of the time and switch to the spotter to really pick an area apart or get a better look at an animal. Its an ok budget tripod at best
It is always better to save a little and get better gear. I ended up getting the Field Optics Research tripod package. While the wait was a bit, the thing is awesome. 2 legs remove to use as walking poles, came with the handles as well in set, with carry bag, head.
I was looking for a good carbon tripod that would have a good height, but was light, small, and still rated to carry weight. I intend to shoot off it as well. Quick set up to place spotter, look see determine if legal, quick change to mount rifle and have a great platform to shoot from. Paid in the $380 US range for the bundle, but worth it.
I think Nightforce makes a similar one with 2 removable legs, but is not rated as much for weight carry capacity.
A few months research went into this one, but I think I came out ahead.
I’ve been using the Vortex Summit SS for 4 years. I use it a ton both hunting in the fall and bird watching in the spring. I can’t speak for any of the really high priced tripods, but for $200 this one performs well and is still in good shape after many days in the field. It works really well with binos and also holds my 15-45x65mm spotting scope.
I’d definitely recommend it for your price range.
"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children." John James Audubon
Promaster all the way, direct copy of the gitzo mountaineer at a fraction of the cost. Sirui are more compact and marginally cheaper, promaster is much more stable and robust.
Fluid head is the way. I have a cheaper fluid head ($170), and it's so much better than a ball head imo. Smooth scanning with a spotter.
When in doubt, just pin it.