Topic: 9.Solutions Savior Clamp MINI - brief review

[voltronic]

Many of you have heard me sing the praises of the outstanding 9.Solutions Savior Clamp, the "socket" variant of which I reviewed here.

Recently I was in need of a smaller and lighter clamp to hold a long round carbon bar that would have full-size mics mounted at its ends. I wanted something which I could mount directly to my stand without using thread adapters, would grip a round bar securely, and was rated to support a decent amount of weight. Enter, the Savior Clamp Mini.

I won't repeat all the specs from the 9.Solutions website, but will call attention to its load rating of 30 kg / 66 lbs, the same as the full-size Savior Clamp! This load rating absolutely obliterates any other small clamp.

The attached pictures tell you most of what else you need to know, and show comparisons to its full-size sibling. I will say that the jaws do not resist lateral slippage nearly as well as the full-size Savior, but that's to be expected given the much smaller contact area of the rubber pads. As far as its intended use, it does exactly what I need it to. I wish that there were 3/8"-16 threads on both sides, but that's a minor nitpick. On any kind of round stock, this thing is going nowhere.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when clamping to a flat surface, anything mounted to it will be canted off to an angle of about 15-20 degrees. This is true on the full-size Savior as well.

I have seen a couple reviewers mention is that it is difficult to tighten in close quarters due to the shape of its handle. This is false! What those people failed to realize is that the handle "ratchets" in that it can be pulled straight out and re-positioned on the hex bar that actually drives the tightening screw. This works exactly the same way as similar clamp handles on Manfrotto clamps.

The best price on these is currently from B&H, who have them about $10 less than anywhere else.

Once again, 9.Solutions produces the best-made and most versatile clamp in its class (IMHO). Like its big brother, this is going to be a "cold, dead hands" piece of hardware for me.

[al w.]

Thanks for the review! This clamp sounds really useful, especially for its size. I’m going to get one.

I also love the idea of using a clamp to hold a wide bar. It makes me wonder if I could use this approach with my Impact adjustable pole (20”-34”) as a makeshift spacer bar for wide PAS angles, since I could mount my mics (Beyerdynamic MC 930 cardioids) on the studs on each end… 

[DavidPuddy]

^I have used a clamp atop a stand to hold a Manfrotto 099b pole for ~8ft spread with omnis. It definitely works well.

Cool clamp voltronic. I find myself rarely pulling out my superclamps but this looks like something I could use.

[voltronic]

I think this clamp is perfect for the situations alpaca and David describe where it's holding a bar in the center. But I would caution against using this little clamp (or any other similar) for any significant cantilevered load. This is not because of the clamp itself, but because of the potential breaking off of whatever 3/8" screw it's attached to. Double that warning if using 1/4" hardware. In those situations, use the full-size Savior with 5/8" socket.

This is a good time to remind everyone to always use rated safety cables when mounting mics above people.

[gihl]

I also use 9.Solutions mounting devices to attach the microphone to various parts.
Savior Clamp mini is one of them.

[BlueSky71]

@voltronic can you tell me what you are using for carbon rod in that picture above, and also what the mic thread adapters are on the ends. Looking to make a very similar setup. Thanks!