Feisol VS Induro Tripods And Ball Heads

Between Induro and Feisol,who makes better tripods and ball heads?
Thanks.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the general impression I got while researching which made me get Feisol:
Induro tripods are very good, but slightly lower quality than Feisol, and QC is a bit worse, and have a lower (or is it higher when its worse? I always get the terms mixed up) weight/load ratio, which is reflected in the lower price.

I vote feisol as well.

I have been looking for a new tripod for a while and i keep coming back to Feisol. The price for what you are getting seams really good. I would love to own a gitzo, benro, ect. but I am not looking to spend $800-$1000 on a set of legs.

I have been looking at the Feisol 3441 legs and for about $400 that seems like a good deal to me. When searching around here on the forums i don't see a whole lot of suggestions for induro but i have been seeing a ton more pop up recently for Feisol.

I also came across this SIRUI N2204 tripod and it seems rather nice as well.

Brendo666 wrote in post #14186363
I have been looking for a new tripod for a while and i keep coming back to Feisol. The price for what you are getting seams really good. I would love to own a gitzo, benro, ect. but I am not looking to spend $800-$1000 on a set of legs.

I have been looking at the Feisol 3441 legs and for about $400 that seems like a good deal to me. When searching around here on the forums i don't see a whole lot of suggestions for induro but i have been seeing a ton more pop up recently for Feisol.

I also came across this SIRUI N2204 tripod and it seems rather nice as well.

Actually,I am also considering the Sirui N 2204 as well.Would anyone know on how does it compare to the Feisol 3441S tripod.One feature that I like with the Sirui N2204,it has retractable spikes.I don't know if the Feisol 3441S has this feature?

It looks like you can purchase spikes but they are not retractable

Sirrith wrote in post #14175254
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the general impression I got while researching which made me get Feisol:
Induro tripods are very good, but slightly lower quality than Feisol, and QC is a bit worse, and have a lower (or is it higher when its worse? I always get the terms mixed up) weight/load ratio, which is reflected in the lower price.

I'd probably argue the opposite. A while back, Induro went and redesigned their spider to increase the strength. I have a Benro, which is the same company. While both Feisol and Benro/Induro may have QC issues, I think Benro/Induro tripods are better designed. The Feisols are lighter, but it wasn't that long ago that their weight capacity was less than half what it is now. A comparable tripod to the Feisol 3441S would be a Benro Travel Angel. Even after Feisol improved the twist locks, the Benro still holds more weight. I think a lot of the weight savings of the Feisol comes from the smaller spider. I'm not a big fan of their angle stops. I would describe them as fin-like, whereas the Benro's would be more like ledges. There's a thread here where a user fell on his Feisol and bent one of the angle stops.

I always felt it was BS for Feisol to charge extra for the non- or anti-rotating legs. The other companies just made ARL a standard and charged a bit more in the end. Feisol continued to make the regular legs and charge an extra $100 if you wanted ARL.

klr.b wrote in post #14189140
I'd probably argue the opposite. A while back, Induro went and redesigned their spider to increase the strength. I have a Benro, which is the same company. While both Feisol and Benro/Induro may have QC issues, I think Benro/Induro tripods are better designed. The Feisols are lighter, but it wasn't that long ago that their weight capacity was less than half what it is now. A comparable tripod to the Feisol 3441S would be a Benro Travel Angel. Even after Feisol improved the twist locks, the Benro still holds more weight. I think a lot of the weight savings of the Feisol comes from the smaller spider.

There's a thread here where a user fell on his Feisol and bent one of the angle stops.

I always felt it was BS for Feisol to charge extra for the non- or anti-rotating legs. The other companies just made ARL a standard and charged a bit more in the end. Feisol continued to make the regular legs and charge an extra $100 if you wanted ARL.

I have no idea about the design etc... since I am no engineer. What I say is purely based on specs and what I've read online, so I may of course be wrong

I don't really see how the weight capacity of Feisol's before has any bearing on their current products?

The only Travel Angel I can find on Benro's website which has a higher load rating than Feisol's 3441S is the TRCB269, at 12kg vs Feisol's 10kg, but the Benro is also 60% heavier than the Feisol. If you go for a Benro with the same weight as the Feisol, you're stuck with the TRCB068, which has a load rating of 6kg.

The Benro's do fold almost 3" smaller though, I hadn't noticed that before.

I would definitely expect something to break if I fell on any tripod, a person weighs a whole lot more than 10kg, and they're not designed to withstand impact, can't really hold that against Feisol, especially if nothing else was damaged

I guess the RAL legs all depend on your viewpoint. I tend to see it as the RAL version being the "standard", but if you're on a budget, you get the option of having something significantly cheaper with all the same specs and just missing a feature which really is just a matter of convenience and doesn't affect function. Nothing wrong with that IMO.

Love my Feisol, and excellent customer service!

Not sure which is better, but the load ratings are meaningless between brands. Each company defines their own load rating and there is no standard way to do this. The load ratings are only useful to compare tripod models within the same brand.

Neither of these companies are known for their ballheads. Most people who buy these legs look elsewhere for a ballhead to go with it.

Sirrith wrote in post #14189617
I have no idea about the design etc... since I am no engineer. What I say is purely based on specs and what I've read online, so I may of course be wrong

I don't really see how the weight capacity of Feisol's before has any bearing on their current products?

The only Travel Angel I can find on Benro's website which has a higher load rating than Feisol's 3441S is the TRCB269, at 12kg vs Feisol's 10kg, but the Benro is also 60% heavier than the Feisol. If you go for a Benro with the same weight as the Feisol, you're stuck with the TRCB068, which has a load rating of 6kg.

The Benro's do fold almost 3" smaller though, I hadn't noticed that before.

I would definitely expect something to break if I fell on any tripod, a person weighs a whole lot more than 10kg, and they're not designed to withstand impact, can't really hold that against Feisol, especially if nothing else was damaged

I guess the RAL legs all depend on your viewpoint. I tend to see it as the RAL version being the "standard", but if you're on a budget, you get the option of having something significantly cheaper with all the same specs and just missing a feature which really is just a matter of convenience and doesn't affect function. Nothing wrong with that IMO.

The reason I mentioned the prior weight capacity is because they doubled it by lengthening the twist locks. They didn't bother redesigning the spider or strengthening the CF tubes. The spider of the Benro Travel Angel is quite a bit more robust, but would also account for the weight difference. The base plate to mount a head was also better on the Benro as the Feisol is basically a thin disk. The Benro base plate has set screws for an option to secure the head.

I mentioned the thread where a member fell on the Feisol because he took some pics, which no one else really shows. He admitted fault, and I agree, it's hard to expect something not to break. It makes you wonder, though. If it was a bit more robust, could it have survived? In his pics, you can see the spider and make your own conclusions to the quality of their design and product.

I can't speak for the other brands but I have three Feisols and they have worked well with hard use and no problems whatsoever.