Velbon tripods any good?

I have some gift vouchers for a local online store that offers a limited amount of photography equipment. I'm in the market for a new tripod and they happen to have the carbon-fibre Velbon Sherpa PRO CF-530 in stock. Does anyone have any experience of this tripod or similar ones from the Sherpa range? Velbon tripods are not seen much here in South Africa and I'm only really familiar with Manfrotto. This Velbon costs about 2/3 of the price of the carbon-fibre versions of the Manfrotto 190 and 055 series.

If this tripod is of a good quality then I can use my vouchers to buy it and will only need to shell out cash for a head.

The only experience I've had with Velbon is with their "cheap" $100-range tripods that you get from your local electronics store. I've gone through two of those already and finally decided to get a Gitzo carbon fiber (I just picked it up yesterday!). After taking the tripod out of the box, I immediately found that the tripod was so WAY more stiff and stable. I looked online and the Velbon Pro CF series "looks" pretty good, but to be honest, I didn't even know Velbon had this level of tripod. My guess is that they have a "stigma" attached to them as a budget brand.

My brother in law is a pro photographer. He used to do fashion but now shoots food and interiors. I was asking him for a recommendation for a tripod and he said the Velbon Sherpa CF-630 is well built and offers excellent value for money. He has one himself, although I'm not sure whether he uses it for his "pro" shoots.

I looked into the Velbon, only comparing specs online rather than in the flesh, as nobody near me has it. In the end I went for a Manfrotto 055MF3 but it was a close call with the Velbon CF-630 or CF-635.

I have the Velbon EL Carmagne 630A Carbon Fiber and have been very happy with it. I've put it through a good amount of abuse and it has held up well.

Thanks guys, this is just the type of feedback I was hoping for. Straight and to the point. On another local forum I asked this question and was answered by someone saying that while they had an opinion, I wouldn't want to hear it. Why would I ask if I didn't want to know. Anyway I have a suspicion that he may have experience of the cheapie Velbons. From what I can see of the specs of the Sherpa Pro CF range, they look pretty decent. I think I will spend my vouchers on it as the alternative si to use them on non-photographic stuff like books, music & computer gizmos. If I get the tripod then I will buy a good head (Kirk or Manfrotto) for it and if the tripod turns out not that great I can always upgrade to a Manfrotto later. I'll still have the Manfrotto 390 Junior I use now, which is stable enough but has an integrated tilt-pan head that is starting to drive me a little nuts.