Peak Design Travel Tripod, Carbon Fiber, Compact Design, Quick Setup and Takedown, Pro-Level Stability, Ergonomic Ball Head, Compact and Portable Travel Tripod for Camera and Phone, 20 lb Capacity

Why did you pick this product vs others?:Looking for a lightweight telescope tripod that collapses to a length that will comfortably fit in a standard airline carry-on bag, i.e., not greater than 22 inches in length; with a good reputation.Length:​Not greater than 22 inches collapsed.Adjustment ability:Needed to be expandable to be useful to a person 6 feet in height. Wanted one with folding leg locks rather than twisting leg locks.Sturdiness:Needed to be able to support a telescope weighing 2 kilograms or somewhat over 4 pounds.Tested the tripod in our local camera store but they only had a demonstration version, so purchased through Amazon. Arrived in a timely fashion intact in new condition. Setting it up was trivial -- the scope I have (Swarovski ATX 85mm) came with an inset screw that allowed matching the tripod head (3/8") to the scope mount (1/4").As others have noted: the plate that attaches to the scope to mount to the tripod head needs to be screwed down tight but still tends to loosen over time; I finally got it screwed down tight enough that it remained adequately immobile. As others have noted: you want to keep that hex wrench they provide handy in case you do need to retighten -- it has a little mount on one of the tripod legs, but I found I kept knocking it off in moving the scope around and taking it in and out of the car, so I ended up carrying it in my pocket whenever we used the scope.The scope is adequately sturdy, even in a reasonable wind, but there is definitely some compromise that makes the scope so lightweight -- it feels like it wants to move a little, but it really sits pretty well, especially if you don't extend the centerpiece to its full height. I'm not sure I'd recommend this tripod for someone taller than 6 feet 6 inches or so unless they're comfortable crouching down a little, but for me (5 feet 10 inches-ish and shrinking) the height extent is just fine.You do need to be careful (as with folding leg logs on any tripod) to make sure you clamp them down securely when the legs are extended -- the tripod is so light that it's easy for it to tip over if the legs aren't locked down tight, taking your expensive optics with it.One issue we found, partly peculiar to our use, is that the supplied ball head takes both hands to adjust (simultaneously, really, including locking in place) and is not a particularly good match if you are tracking quickly or frequently moving objects. We use the scope/tripod system for bird watching, and those little stinkers do not like to sit still. As such, the three-dimensional adjustment is troublesome when what we really need is something more in the "pitch-and-rotate-in-plane" (or tilt-and-pan) mode. I contacted Peak Design with this issue and they were quick to reply with suggestions for improvement/replacement. We ended up getting their "universal adapter" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084Q9PY4S?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title) and purchasing a tilt-and-pan head. Peak Design also pointed us to one of their videos for how to remove the existing ball head and install the new universal adapter and new head -- the video was excellent -- with clear instructions including visually walking through the process; when I did it everything worked as indicated.As others have also noted: the travel bag the tripod comes in is just a wee bit too short to be worthy of five stars; everything else is so well thought out and implemented that it's a bit puzzling that they didn't add that extra half-inch to the bag's length to make it easy to put everything in. Not enough to reduce the overall product score, but a definite shame that this aspect isn't as stellar as the rest.I've communicated with Peak Design a number of times (via their website and then email -- unfortunately I could not find a contact phone number), and their communications have been responsive, understandable, and supportive -- if you've struggled with customer support in modern times you'll appreciate how well they do it.

Had to share this. Earlier this year I was in yellowknife to shoot some aurora picture. I normally do not use this tripod much. Given it was night photography I took couple of tripods with me and one of them was this one. I am glad I did. It was -37F and at that temperature when things break you do not have much of chance to fiddle around. your fingers can hold up only a few minutes without the gloves. My other tripod, I think it is a Newer branded tripod which works perfectly well during normal travel use. But at the temp all the rubber grips on knobs simple froze hard and started slipping on the metal.That is when this Peak Design travel tripod came to my rescue. It has no rubber grips (so no freezing problem) and is very easy to operate with minimal finger movement. Without it my whole trip would have been a waste. May be worth mentioning also GFX 100S did not hold up either at that temp and started getting locked up etc. But D850 mightily saved the day (nights) for me. I do not think neither Nikon nor Fuji advertise these cameras to be capable of operating at that temperature. But the Nikon did anyway.

I've been using the carbon fiber model of this tripod for about 2 years now. I got it shortly after crushing the leg of my old tripod in a car door. So I recognize that while this tripod sometimes makes me feel like an idiot, I also just may be an idiot.This tripod is light. I didn't think I'd use the shoulder bag, but I almost always pack it in the bag. It deploys super fast. Flip 3 clips and the legs fly out. Camera gets locked in immediately. It's really great. I've used this tripod in variety of spots and it's proven rugged. Everything from forests and mountains in Colorado, to beaches in Portugal. It's weathered a lot of terrain... and weather.The way the camera clips in feels secure. And it's easy to do, even in the dark. It's felt secure and mostly stable. Everything from a small (but still large) 50mm 1.2 to a fully extended 100-500mm. In high winds I get shake at 500mm when filming video... But that's expected. For photos it's been plenty stable.Ok so here is what I hate.I hate closing the clips to secure the legs. 2 out of 10 times I pinch the skin on my hand. The webbing between my thumb and fore finger. I feel like an idiot closing this thing. Because I know it's going to pinch. But I still rush it and feel like an idiot.The amount of mobility of the ballhead sucks when you go vertical. I know you can spin things around a certain way which gives you a full range of motion, but it sucks figuring it out in the dark when you're trying to grab a photo. The fix for this is to buy an L-Bracket for your camera (or use a long lens with a collar and rotate there). My issue is that Peak Design doesn't sell an L-Bracket. So I bought one from a very good company, but still have to alter it slightly and add another Peak Design clip to it so that it still works (with the shoulder strap latch thing). It sucks that the solution isn't all within the Peak family. It also sucks that the ballhead has that funny little hitch.And lastly, the little wrench/hex key holder. It's that little 2 hex key thing that costs $15. Buy extras. I have lost two already because my thumb sometimes hits the bottom of the holder which ejects the hex key from the holder. I'd knocked it out dozens of times, but lost it once on the floor of my studio, and again on the beach in Portugal. I'm holding out hope that the one in my studio is still findable. But the one in Portugal is a piece of treasure you can find if you go barefoot on Nazaré's North Beach. I have hopes that Peak can refine the design so it's not so easy to eject. It's another element that makes me feel like an idiot. And I want my tripod to comfort me and tell me I'm smart. Capable. Not a loser (of hex wrenches).Lastly the phone holder attachment is 100% unnecessary. But I'm still happy it's there. I've used it a grand total of 3 times. And when I did it was a handy solution.