What is your favorite travel tripod?

I'm looking for a sturdy but small travel tripod. Hoping to find something that can fold up to around 16-18 inches when collapsed. Primary uses will be for hiking and taking on vacation. Will be used with a Sony mirrorless system and variety of lenses, the largest most likely being the 24-70 G-Master. Budget is to be considered, but open to any price range as long as the quality matches the price.

I just went to New York and took a Manfrotto Pixi Evo with me. It's very small and very lightweight but capable of supporting my 5DIV and 16-35L, it is perfect for when you don't want to carry a full size one around all day. This just went in my daysack and came out for this shot

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Photo from Mike's gallery.

I must say though, that it isn't very tall, only getting a few inches off the ground so be prepared to get low down with it!

Mike wrote in post #18714816
I just went to New York and took a Manfrotto Pixi Evo with me. It's very small and very lightweight but capable of supporting my 5DIV and 16-35L, it is perfect for when you don't want to carry a full size one around all day. This just went in my daysack and came out for this shot

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posted by Mike originally in forum: Member Activities

Thanks. That's actually what I've been carrying as well. But it's not the greatest for hiking, as there isn't always a good flat surface to place it on. Especially in the middle of a river, on wet rocks, etc. That's why I'm looking for a more traditional tripod that can still fold down small. However, on a recent hike The Pixie with my A9 and 24-70 GM did get me this shot from a slick rock in the middle of the river. This was right before I fell in haha, but the camera was safe.

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Was looking for a travel tripod to throw in my suitcase while traveling to Paris and Dublin in 2013. Must be small enough, light and able to support heavy gear at slower shutter speeds...... Could there be?
At my local camera store they just picked up the MeFOTO line. As I had the entire line available I went top shelf first.
MeFOTO Globetrotter Carbon Fibre. Lighter than aluminum option. Folded up nicely in its own padded case is 18" (46 cm.) Small enough to put in suitcase.
3.8 pounds.
Ok, good...... But can it support my gear?

Canon 5D Mark III with Grip and a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS Mark II........ Yes sir it did. In both landscape and Portrait mode.
And is it tall enough for someone 5' 11" without bending their back. It is.......

SOLD!

This is not my primary tripod. But for traveling abroad or domestically, this tripod gets the job done.
The Globetrotter just returned from Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagan three weeks ago and will be in Prague in a week in the same working order as I bought it.
I highly recommend the Globetrotter CF for its intended use.

Nick5 wrote in post #18714835
Was looking for a travel tripod to throw in my suitcase while traveling to Paris and Dublin in 2013. Must be small enough, light and able to support heavy gear at slower shutter speeds...... Could there be?
At my local camera store they just picked up the MeFOTO line. As I had the entire line available I went top shelf first.
MeFOTO Globetrotter Carbon Fibre. Lighter than aluminum option. Folded up nicely in its own padded case is 18" (46 cm.) Small enough to put in suitcase.
3.8 pounds.
Ok, good...... But can it support my gear?

Canon 5D Mark III with Grip and a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS Mark II........ Yes sir it did. In both landscape and Portrait mode.
And is it tall enough for someone 5' 11" without bending their back. It is.......

SOLD!

This is not my primary tripod. But for traveling abroad or domestically, this tripod gets the job done.
The Globetrotter just returned from Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagan three weeks ago and will be in Prague in a week in the same working order as I bought it.
I highly recommend the Globetrotter CF for its intended use.

Thanks Nick! This is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I'll check it out!

When I was searching for an ideal travel tripod few months ago, I looked for one that'd have to meet all following three requirements: 1) short enough to fit inside my carry-on bag when folded; 2) very light; and 3) sturdy enough to handle decent load. After much searching, I settled on Gitzo GIGT1545T Traveler Series 1 Carbon Fiber Tripod. Its specs:

Load Capacity: 22 lb
Max Height: 60.2"
Min Height: 8.6"
Folded Height: 16.7"
Leg Sections: 4
Weight: 2.3 lb
Carbon eXact Tubes; Reverse-Folding Legs
Traveler G-Lock Leg Lock System
Paid: $599

I paired this tripod with RRS BH-30 Ball Head with Compact Lever-Release Clamp, and I was ready to travel! I gave the combo a good workout during my three-week travel to South Korea just this past month. Without having to take the head off of the tripod, I was able to fit it inside my Swissgear backpack along with my laptop on board the plane, so that's how compact it is. Once in South Korea, I had my Canon 5DIII with L bracket and 16-30L lens atop rugged Seorak Mountain terrain where it was quite windy for self-timed family photos, as well as long exposure shots in a well-shaded brook down below. Very happy with the results. It came extremely handy in a crowded room full of people celebrating my aunt's 80th birthday for a group shot, as well.

The tripod can certainly handle any gear combination that I have: 5DIII with 24-70L or 70-200L f/2.8 or with 150-600 Sigma C. It definitely meets all three requirements to my thorough satisfaction.

SYS wrote in post #18714879
When I was searching for an ideal travel tripod few months ago, I looked for one that'd have to meet all following three requirements: 1) short enough to fit inside my carry-on bag when folded; 2) very light; and 3) sturdy enough to handle decent load. After much searching, I settled on Gitzo GIGT1545T Traveler Series 1 Carbon Fiber Tripod. Its specs:

Load Capacity: 22 lb
Max Height: 60.2"
Min Height: 8.6"
Folded Height: 16.7"
Leg Sections: 4
Weight: 2.3 lb
Carbon eXact Tubes; Reverse-Folding Legs
Traveler G-Lock Leg Lock System
Paid: $599

I paired this tripod with RRS BH-30 Ball Head with Compact Lever-Release Clamp, and I was ready to travel! I gave the combo a good workout during my three-week travel to South Korea just this past month. Without having to take the head off of the tripod, I was able to fit it inside my Swissgear backpack along with my laptop on board the plane, so that's how compact it is. Once in South Korea, I had my Canon 5DIII with L bracket and 16-30L lens atop rugged Seorak Mountain terrain where it was quite windy for self-timed family photos, as well as long exposure shots in a well-shaded brook down below. Very happy with the results. It came extremely handy in a crowded room full of people celebrating my aunt's 80th birthday for a group shot, as well.

The tripod can certainly handle any gear combination that I have: 5DIII with 24-70L or 70-200L f/2.8 or with 150-600 Sigma C. It definitely meets all three requirements to my thorough satisfaction.

Right now the Gitzo Traveler Series 1 (Sony Alpha Model) is the one at the top of my list. Out of everything I'm seeing the traveler series is the most sturdy and well built travel tripod on the market, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to hand over $1000 US for it. Ii've also been checking out this Benro because it folds down smaller than any other similar travel tripod I've seen (less than 14"). But I'm afraid it won't be near as sturdy, as the max weight listed is only 13lbs. I have a full sized carbon fiber Benro tripod, and it's absolutely fantastic. Doubt I could find a better tripod even for twice the price of what I paid for it.

Jarvis Creative Studios wrote in post #18714888
Right now the Gitzo Traveler Series 1 (Sony Alpha Model) is the one at the top of my list. Out of everything I'm seeing the traveler series is the most sturdy and well built travel tripod on the market, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to hand over $1000 US for it. Ii've also been checking out this Benro because it folds down smaller than any other similar travel tripod I've seen (less than 14"). But I'm afraid it won't be near as sturdy, as the max weight listed is only 13lbs. I have a full sized carbon fiber Benro tripod, and it's absolutely fantastic. Doubt I could find a better tripod even for twice the price of what I paid for it.

One thing I've learned over 30 years in photography is never to make (repeated!!!) mistakes of purchasing tripods because I ended up spending more money over the years. I now buy what I think is perfect even if it's a bit of stretch on my budget. $1,000 on my tripod + head combo, and I'm not going to spend another penny on a travel tripod for the rest of my life, I assure you.

Nick5 wrote in post #18714835
Was looking for a travel tripod to throw in my suitcase while traveling to Paris and Dublin in 2013. Must be small enough, light and able to support heavy gear at slower shutter speeds...... Could there be?
At my local camera store they just picked up the MeFOTO line. As I had the entire line available I went top shelf first.
MeFOTO Globetrotter Carbon Fibre. Lighter than aluminum option. Folded up nicely in its own padded case is 18" (46 cm.) Small enough to put in suitcase.
3.8 pounds.
Ok, good...... But can it support my gear?

Canon 5D Mark III with Grip and a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS Mark II........ Yes sir it did. In both landscape and Portrait mode.
And is it tall enough for someone 5' 11" without bending their back. It is.......

SOLD!

This is not my primary tripod. But for traveling abroad or domestically, this tripod gets the job done.
The Globetrotter just returned from Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagan three weeks ago and will be in Prague in a week in the same working order as I bought it.
I highly recommend the Globetrotter CF for its intended use.

Just to add to that, I cheaped out and got the aluminum instead of the carbon fiber Mefoto. Works really well, but a little lighter would have been nice. Fits in the panniers of my motorcycles for road trips too.

I like the Gitzo G1550T for several reasons. Firstly it was cheap - the most important aspect! It folds down to 14 inches, is nice and light yet surprisingly rigid. Also I have it - that is important too.

Keep an eye on the used market as cheap Gitzo's do come up now and again - I have snagged a couple. New ones do come up at reasonable prices but that is rarer!

SYS wrote in post #18714897
One thing I've learned over 30 years in photography is never to make (repeated!!!) mistakes of purchasing tripods because I ended up spending more money over the years. I now buy what I think is perfect even if it's a bit of stretch on my budget. $1,000 on my tripod + head combo, and I'm not going to spend another penny on a travel tripod for the rest of my life, I assure you.

not entirely true....I have a RRS TQC, along with P0 + RRS clamp, absolutely amazing for photography, and it's my defacto tripod for most things, but it's on the heavy side sort of.

I have a series 0 benro that I will use for international travel.

My travel kit is slowly shrinking, my largest lens 360g.

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johnf3f wrote in post #18715167
I like the Gitzo G1550T for several reasons. Firstly it was cheap - the most important aspect! It folds down to 14 inches, is nice and light yet surprisingly rigid. Also I have it - that is important too.

Keep an eye on the used market as cheap Gitzo's do come up now and again - I have snagged a couple. New ones do come up at reasonable prices but that is rarer!

Thanks. Seems that one is harder to come by as it's been discontinued and no one has it in stock. Also was looking for something that could hold a little more than 9lbs. Not that I think I'll be maxing that out, but I figure the higher it's rated for, the more sturdy and well built it will be.

Charlie wrote in post #18715336
not entirely true....I have a RRS TQC, along with P0 + RRS clamp, absolutely amazing for photography, and it's my defacto tripod for most things, but it's on the heavy side sort of.

I have a series 0 benro that I will use for international travel.

My travel kit is slowly shrinking, my largest lens 360g.

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I love my Benro TMAC8CL and B3 ballhead. Best tripod I've ever used. But it is too large to take on planes (unless in checked luggage) and is cumbersome for hiking as well. Great for on the job photography though or in a place where there are high winds / I know I'll need a sturdy, tall tripod. Both your tripods look relatively small. That Benro looks tiny. How much weight can that hold?

Jarvis Creative Studios wrote in post #18715341
I love my Benro TMAC8CL and B3 ballhead. Best tripod I've ever used. But it is too large to take on planes (unless in checked luggage) and is cumbersome for hiking as well. Great for on the job photography though or in a place where there are high winds / I know I'll need a sturdy, tall tripod. Both your tripods look relatively small. That Benro looks tiny. How much weight can that hold?

Hardly anything TBH, while the RRS was out with a 600 prime no issues earlier tonight. A7R3 + FE 85 is as heavy as I'll go with this, so under 3 lbs lol.