If by panning you mean a ball head, go with the one I mentioned. According to Joel at Cameraland, you don't want a ball head for binos or a scope, it can tip right down if loosened up. The Va5 head is far better for this purpose.
FYI................Doug does the glass, Joel does the tripods.
If you are taking it on foot with you, the Outdoorsmans stuff is quite well designed for the field. If you are just using it out of the truck or at the range, a geared head works great for observation. The benro one is pretty good.