3 Legged Thing (Dave)

Hi guys!

I have been looking at a lot of tripods recently.
Then I came somehow to a youtube video showcasing the 3LT brand from wich I never heared before.

So I went to their website, and found this tripod to be pretty nice:
"X2.1a Dave Evolution 2 Magnesium Alloy Tripod System with AirHed 2 Black"
http://www.3leggedthin​g.com/travel-tripods/daveblack.html

Does anyone have experience using this tripod (or another from 3LT)?
What is your experience with these?

Also, if you can suggest me a great tripod for around $450 (with ballhead) I am all ears.
It must be able to hold securely a 5DMk II + Grip + 70-200 2.8 L II + Falsh.

Thanks.

I have a 3LT "Tony" which I love. It's light, collapses down to a very managable length, and is rock solid. The ballhead is pretty nice too, no slippage at all. I definitely recommend 3LT tripods.

JCH77Yanks wrote in post #16183432
I have a 3LT "Tony" which I love. It's light, collapses down to a very managable length, and is rock solid. The ballhead is pretty nice too, no slippage at all. I definitely recommend 3LT tripods.

Thanks Joe, much apreciated.
Would like some more people to say something.

I bought a 3LT "Brian" a few weeks ago. I have not had a chance to use it yet, but upon inspection, it looks to be a solidly built tripod. I bought it mainly because it folds up very compact for travel, has a good load rating, and is reasonably priced. Before I bought it, I did some searching online and while there were not many reviews for 3LT tripods, the ones that are out there seem to be positive for the most part.

I don't know about the "Dave" but the "Brian" can also be configured to have one of the legs become a monopod. It's a nice perk, but I have to say that I'm not too confident the monopod config will be stable enough for serious use.

Actually, all 3LT tripods have the removable leg for monopod use, and they just launched a dedicated monopod line, also.

Thanks guys.

My problem too is, there are very few reviews on the net, but the ones I have seen are quite impressive.
A Proper field-test would be nice, but there are none, so I am still curious what the owners think.

I have the Eddie and Frank.
Eddie is pretty compact and is classed as a travel tripod, one of the legs twist off and can be used as a monopod. The tripod weighs around 2kgs and supports up to 12kgs which is impressive for such a lightweight tripod.
3LT use the Arca-Swiss style QR plate system and the Air-Hed 2 is rated at up to 40kgs even though the legs only support up to 12kgs. Its similar to Brian except its got thicker legs and higher rated load capacity.
3LT tripods are alright but I still prefer my Manfrottos as I am still not quite used to twist locks even though it only takes about a quarter twist to lock and find that clamps are faster in setting up for still shots. My $0.02

This is true, it does take a little longer to set up with the twist locks... that would be my only minor (very minor) gripe. Other than that, I'm very happy with my tripod.

I just traveled around the U.S for 8 months with my Eric. I did a lot of hiking and it was terric. Super light and very sturdy. I beat the living crap out of it and it held up great. I brought along my manfrotto carbon fiber tripod as a backup and it lasted for about 3 weeks of hard use before it was pretty much unusable.

Towards the end of the trip my ballhead started to have some issues getting super tight so I emailed them and they replaced it with one of the new versions which is light years beyond the first gen. I have only good things to say about that company. They make awesome products.

jmarshphoto wrote in post #16196925
I just traveled around the U.S for 8 months with my Eric. I did a lot of hiking and it was terric. Super light and very sturdy. I beat the living crap out of it and it held up great. I brought along my manfrotto carbon fiber tripod as a backup and it lasted for about 3 weeks of hard use before it was pretty much unusable.

Towards the end of the trip my ballhead started to have some issues getting super tight so I emailed them and they replaced it with one of the new versions which is light years beyond the first gen. I have only good things to say about that company. They make awesome products.

Thanks for your reply.
Its actually really good to hear such things makes me think I will make a good choice, purchasing Dave.

One thing that does bother me tough:
How can you mount the release plate to the camera?!

Do you need a screw driver for that, or does it have a "butterfly"-like screw,
that you can manually tighten and loosen?!

They originally had a butterfly twist screw. The new ones have the straight slot. I usually just use a coin to tighten/loosen it. The design is much better than the butterfly twist, you never really have to worry about it coming loose.

jmarshphoto wrote in post #16198250
They originally had a butterfly twist screw. The new ones have the straight slot. I usually just use a coin to tighten/loosen it. The design is much better than the butterfly twist, you never really have to worry about it coming loose.

Might be, but its harder, and more "complicated" to get it on and off the camera.
That is my problem here.

I always hated the butterfly twist It makes my fingers hurt and I can never get those super tight. I actually just use my l-bracket and leave the plate that came with it attached to my 70-200.

jmarshphoto wrote in post #16199423
I always hated the butterfly twist It makes my fingers hurt and I can never get those super tight. I actually just use my l-bracket and leave the plate that came with it attached to my 70-200.

I always tought it is really irritating to scew those up-and down, when you need something for it to work.

Might be, I am wrong, but I never had a proper tripod, and i would like to have on, that will last 4-5 years. (Better even more)

I think thie 3lt will last for quite some time as long as its taken care of. It's so easy to clean I can literally strip the whole thing down, clean it, and reassemble in about 30 minutes.