I've been using a Feisol 3441T for travel, and love it. Here's my list of what mine has been through:
Took it to Iceland and used it on sharp volcanic rocks in the rain, it was partially submerged in freezing salt water (unintentionally by a rogue wave as well as intentionally at Jokulsarlon), in sand (which thanks to the wave also got everywhere), under the hot shower back at the hostel with me to wash out the salt and sand.
Took it to Scotland where it was used on wet grass and mud.
Took it to China where it was scraped along granite rocks and used in relatively strong winds hiking around the Yellow Mountains (I was extremely thankful for the light weight there, have you ever walked up and down steep stairs for 6 hours straight with a loaded pack?).
Back here in Hong Kong it has been used on very uneven rocks, and has fallen into a river twice, being completely submerged as well as being bashed against rocks (both my ballhead and the legs bear the scars).
In France it was used in a snowstorm as well as being buried in the stuff.
All in all, I don't see how a more expensive tripod would have fared any better (I do not have a single failed shot which was due to the tripod in any of those conditions, all blurry shots were a result of me bumping against the tripod or camera during the exposure, and the tripod has been so easy to use as well).
One more thing to note actually:
These particular models of Feisol use machined aluminium parts as opposed to cast metal on the Gitzo, which means they are stronger and more resistant to impacts. They are also more costly to make.
Since then I've also used it in Cambodia, banged and scraped it about in tuktuks and against rocks and trees.
Still perfectly fine.
