Hey there, Squat Squad, and welcome to another Slav Guns on tour. This one is a look back to day two of SHOT Show 2023, where I stopped by the Odin Works booth. Odin Works is one of those names you run into constantly in the AR world (excuse me, “modern sporting rifle,” the politically correct term), and every year their catalog seems to get bigger.
I already own a couple of their suppressors, but this visit was about the newer stuff: a modular vise block, a small upgrade for Aero Precision EPC-9 owners, an ARCA-mount bag rest, and the thing I was most excited about, a prototype precision bipod that later hit the market as the Prizm Precision Bipod.
Quick note: this video was filmed at SHOT Show in January 2023 and posted in March 2023. It’s a booth first look, not a SlavGuns range test or review. I didn’t shoot with any of this gear for the video, and the bipod was still a prototype at the time.
TL;DR
- Modular vise block: the familiar Odin upper vise block, cut out to take pin-in inserts so the same block can hold an AR-15, an AR-10, and (planned at the time) an AR9.
- EPC-9 extended mag release: a bigger button for the Aero Precision EPC-9 lower, in black and colors, because people kept calling and asking for one.
- The bipod: a full-featured prototype with an ARCA clamp, swivel, a lockout, adjustable tension, independent legs and Atlas-pattern feet. It’s now sold as the Prizm Precision Bipod.
- ARCA bag rest: a refillable soft bag on a plate that uses the same clamp as the bipod. Today it’s sold as the Complete Arca Support Package.
- Made in Idaho: machining in Boise, and in 2021 Odin Works bought a sewing factory near their original shop for the soft goods.
A little background on Odin Works
Odin Works told me they’ve been around about 10 years, and they didn’t even have an FFL until around year six or seven. The brand was built on accessories, barrels, parts and pieces. That explains why so much of what they showed me isn’t flashy. It’s the stuff you actually use when you build and shoot ARs.
The modular vise block
If you’ve seen Odin’s stuff, you’ve probably seen their vise block. For 2023 they modified it. They cut out part of the block so you can pin in an insert, then mount your lower or the whole gun and work on it. That makes it a modular vise block system rather than a one-trick tool.
- AR-15 and AR-10 inserts
- An AR9 insert was in the plans
- I also pitched them an AICS-compatible insert on the spot. Collaborating already.
It’s not sexy, and they admit it. But they sell a ton of them, because everybody who builds or works on their own guns needs a solid way to hold them. If you’re putting together a bench, it pairs nicely with a good tool kit like the Fix It Sticks armorer kits I saw at the same show.
An extended mag release for the Aero EPC-9
This is a small one, but I like that it exists because customers asked for it. The Aero Precision EPC-9 lower already ships with an extended button, but Odin said they get calls every day asking if they’ll make their own. So they did, in black and in colors. Odin knows people like colors from them.
The big hitter: the bipod that became the Prizm
This was the star of the booth for me. Odin called it the “brainchild, the baby” for that year, and it was clearly still a prototype. Here’s what they walked me through on camera:
- Legs go forward and backward, and the bipod swivels
- Comes with an ARCA clamp, with a Picatinny clamp planned
- A locking button so it can stay in one position, plus tension adjustment
- Independent legs: go really wide, really tall, standard in the middle, or any mix you want
- Legs pull out and self-retract with the push of a button
- Uses Atlas feet, so you can run whatever feet you like
When I first saw it, I honestly thought it was some weird new Accu-Tac. Then I looked at how it worked and thought, wait, this is a weird looking Ckye-Pod. It looked solid like an Accu-Tac but had a lot of the features and modularity you find on a Ckye-Pod. Odin’s goal was affordable quality, so it wasn’t meant to be priced like one of those. At the time they were hoping to ship around midsummer, with a lot of work left to do. They also hinted they might do a color scheme beyond black. No promises.
What it turned into
Fast forward to today, and that prototype is on Odin’s site as the Prizm Precision Bipod. I haven’t tested a production unit, so I can’t promise every prototype detail carried over, but the core idea clearly made it. Here’s what Odin Works lists for the production version:
- ARMS 17 compatible clamp interface, available with the Odin Works ARCA clamp (OpticsPlanet also lists a Picatinny adapter version)
- Foot adapters that accept Atlas-pattern feet and leg extensions
- Five leg swivel positions and three footprint positions per leg
- Height adjustable from 4.0″ to 14.5″, stance width from 8.5″ to 25.0″
- 23.5 oz, collapsed to 9.5″ long and 4.5″ wide
- A swivel lockout that keeps the rifle from listing to one side. It’s threaded, so you can remove it if you don’t want it.
- Oversized controls, 6061 aluminum with Type III hard anodizing, made in Boise, Idaho
- Black and Ranger Green, so that color tease came true
You can check the Odin Works Prizm Precision Bipod at OpticsPlanet. If you’re shopping bipods, compare it with the Swagger EXTREME bipods I reviewed and the Accu-Tac extended hunting bipod prototype.
The ARCA bag rest
Over the past couple of years Odin Works has moved into soft goods, like suppressor covers. Then I saw this and said, I did not know you make that. It was new for 2023.
- It uses the same clamping system as the bipod, and the clamp was going to be sold separately too.
- A plate goes onto your ARCA rail, and you can turn it 90 degrees so the bag sits lengthwise or crosswise on the gun. To switch, pull the bag off its velcro straps, loosen and remove a couple of screws underneath, rotate the plate, and put it back.
- The bag opens with velcro, so you can add, remove or change the fill. It ships already filled, and you adjust it how you like.
- It mounts with a quick-throw lever, and you can set how tight it clamps.
- Black only at the time. More colors would depend on demand.
Who it’s for
I asked if this is just for match shooters. Odin’s answer: it’s for anybody who wants a more stable platform and easier, more precise shooting, hunters and competitors alike. The ARCA part is what makes it flexible. On a Picatinny rail an accessory is fixed in one spot. On ARCA, you loosen it and slide it forward or back wherever you have rail. You can run the bag up front and still leave rail space to drop the rifle onto a tripod, and nothing stops you from using it on a barricade. Since almost every ARCA clamp has a quick-release lever, it comes off the gun in about a second.
Today Odin sells this setup as the Complete Arca Support Package (plate, bag and clamp). Palmetto State Armory lists it here: Odin Works Complete ARCA Support Package at PSA. Want a different approach to rear support? See my Adjustable Bag Rider review.
Made in Idaho
I spotted a Made in the USA sticker on the bag and had to ask. In 2021 Odin Works bought a sewing factory about 10 to 15 minutes from their original shop. One shop does a lot of sewing and a little machining, and most of the machining happens at their Boise facility. All made in Idaho, made in America by Americans. Love to hear it.
For more, Odin pointed people to odinworks.com and their Facebook and Instagram.
Bottom line
Odin Works didn’t bring a flashy new rifle to this SHOT Show. They brought the bench, bag and bipod gear that makes the rifles you already own easier to build and shoot. The vise block and EPC-9 button are nice small wins. The ARCA bag is a smart, simple add-on for anyone running an ARCA rail. And the bipod I was “stupid excited” about at the booth actually made it to market as the Prizm, so it wasn’t just booth vapor. Remember, this was a booth first look, not a range review. The gear I actually run is in my Amazon picks, and if you’re upgrading a bolt gun, Anarchy Outdoors has you covered.
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Keep on squatting.
Do you run a Prizm, or are you sticking with an Atlas or Ckye-Pod? And would you put an ARCA bag on your rifle? Tell me in the comments.
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