Lightweight, travel/hiking tripod

[Urban Grimshaw]

I'm not sure how viable this is. Though I'm not sure how much difference it really makes to image quality if weighed down with a bag? But I'm looking for something a bit easier to carry than my current Red Snapper.

Gorilla pods I've been wondering about a bit. So would be good to hear from any experience with one of these. I understand they will be limited in their use, but could be good for days out on the bike.

My Red Snapper suffers a few problems though. Legs coming loose, and and the extendable portions becoming increasingly stiff/gritty, and difficult to operate. So I guess I'm looking for something to semi-replace it. Though I'd keep it for any heavy use.

Cheaper the better. But would just like to know the best options.

Or am I wasting my time looking for a lightweight tripod?

 

[Snapsh0t]

As we always say, you can pick any two of lightweight, sturdy and cheap. I decided cheap was the least important of the three and went for a Sirui ET1204 but the ET1004 which is the ally version is worth a look.

 

[sirch]

I've got one of these
https://www.7dayshop.com/camera-tri...or-professional-photo-video-use-includes-case

I's only 1.1kg including the head and I as far as I have seen it is lighter than anything else, including expensive carbon jobs. No doubt the gear snobs will be along to tell you to spend lots of money but this little tripod has stood up to all kinds of abuse over several years and is still going strong. Obviously any lightweight tripod is not going to be as rigid as a heavier one but if you don't extend the legs fully and are not expecting it to support a 600mm lens then it's fine. One thing I would point out, the legs extend by twisting the leg and pulling, there are no clamps which means it takes a little more effort to get it level but it really isn't that much of an issue.

 

[Razor-BladE]

^ Looks similar to the tripod I just bought, which is the QZSD Q555. £38 on eBay. 35cm folded height and about 1.2kg including head. You can detach one of the legs and use it as a monopod as well.

 

[Impspeed]

I have a Gitzo 1542T, which I believe is their lightest/smallest full size tripod. A great bit of kit - weights just over 1kg with a Red Snapper head but obviously comes with certain downsides, same as all of these lightweight tripods.

The weight is a blessing and a curse. It's great for hiking, but with slightly heavier gear, and in wind, it's not stable enough. I also don't like having the centre column extended as this just adds too much movement through the kit.

It's expensive, no doubt about it, bit it's travelled with me around the world over the past couple of years, survived three trips to Iceland, Nepal, Borneo and the desert and mountains of the UAE. I have no doubt that some of these cheaper tripods will perform as well as the Gitzo, initially, but I can't imagine they'll still be performing as well after a couple of years travelling and in heavy use.