Travel Tripod, Carbon Fiber, Compact Design, Quick Setup and Takedown, Pro-Level Stability, Ergonomic Ball Head, Compact and Portable Travel Tripod for Camera and Phone, 20 lb Capacity

This is my second Peak Design Travel Tripod. The first one was apparently so nice that an unnamed TSA agent decided it would be better off in his possession than mine. That said, it was such a well designed tripod that I was willing to purchase a replacement immediately, which says a lot considering the price of this thing. It's not cheap, but its worth the cost to me. First, it's important to understand what this thing really is. It's not the most stable tripod in the work. There are much heavier sturdier tripods that are great for studio work, or if you don't mind lugging something four times heavier around with you. However, I have yet to find anything even close to as sturdy as this item is that is as easy to carry with you, or that is so well designed. This extends all the way down to the travel case for the tripod, which is a little padded fabric sleeve that keeps the tripod protected without adding an ounce more weight than necessary, and has handy attachment points for clipping to whatever other gear you have. Collapsed, the tripod is small and maybe more importantly well balanced. Its not overly top heavy or awkward to carry. It fits in water bottle pockets on backpacks (top will extend out, of course, good to have a strap too). Personally I usually clip it to the bottom of whatever pack I'm using using the reinforced loops on the travel pouch. In use the tripod is great. Its sturdy and very adjustable. Stability is greatly enhanced by hanging your backpack or other item from the hook on the center post, but even without that I had no issues and I use some pretty big lenses. Again, there are sturdier tripods, but this is meant for travel and easy carry, and considering how light it is I'm very impressed with the stability. The swivel mount is also well designed, but be aware it's different from a typical ball-mount tripod head. It has a lot of adjustability, and I really like using it once I got comfortable with it. But I'm not sure it's quite as adjustable as my Sirui. It's possible to mount a third party head on this tripod, but that requires the Universal Head Adapter from Peak Design, an additional purchase. Finally, there are a few additional nice touches with this tripod. It has a built-in mobile phone adapter. Yes, I'm guessing most people buying this tripod have "real" cameras to use with it, but it's a nice touch, and there are some uses for being able to easily mount your phone at times. It also has built in storage for the only tool you need for adjustments, a little allen wrench. The head is reversable, so you can actually mount your camera between the legs to get a really low shot. All in all, it's the best portable tripod I've found, and I've looked around a lot.

So out of the box it's impressive. It's really a sight to behold, and when you have it in your hands you will feel the weight of it and wonder how it feels so well built while having the weight of cheap plastic. It's bold, it's strong, its stable. The cherry on top is how easy it is to use. Setting and resetting your position is so easy. It takes minimal movement. I can go from fully loose, to tightened down without ruining my shot. There's zero sag. When you set it, it stays. I also love how compact it is. Aside from it being as light as a croissant, it's so tiny that it makes storage a breeze. I've tried inside my bag and out. I settled on outside, and thanks to a durable case strap, I can feel confident in the way I mounted it. I couldn't be happier. This is well worth the money.

I've been using the carbon fiber model of this tripod for about 2 years now. I got it shortly after crushing the leg of my old tripod in a car door. So I recognize that while this tripod sometimes makes me feel like an idiot, I also just may be an idiot. This tripod is light. I didn't think I'd use the shoulder bag, but I almost always pack it in the bag. It deploys super fast. Flip 3 clips and the legs fly out. Camera gets locked in immediately. It's really great. I've used this tripod in variety of spots and it's proven rugged. Everything from forests and mountains in Colorado, to beaches in Portugal. It's weathered a lot of terrain... and weather. The way the camera clips in feels secure. And it's easy to do, even in the dark. It's felt secure and mostly stable. Everything from a small (but still large) 50mm 1.2 to a fully extended 100-500mm. In high winds I get shake at 500mm when filming video... But that's expected. For photos it's been plenty stable. Ok so here is what I hate. I hate closing the clips to secure the legs. 2 out of 10 times I pinch the skin on my hand. The webbing between my thumb and fore finger. I feel like an idiot closing this thing. Because I know it's going to pinch. But I still rush it and feel like an idiot. The amount of mobility of the ballhead sucks when you go vertical. I know you can spin things around a certain way which gives you a full range of motion, but it sucks figuring it out in the dark when you're trying to grab a photo. The fix for this is to buy an L-Bracket for your camera (or use a long lens with a collar and rotate there). My issue is that Peak Design doesn't sell an L-Bracket. So I bought one from a very good company, but still have to alter it slightly and add another Peak Design clip to it so that it still works (with the shoulder strap latch thing). It sucks that the solution isn't all within the Peak family. It also sucks that the ballhead has that funny little hitch. And lastly, the little wrench/hex key holder. It's that little 2 hex key thing that costs $15. Buy extras. I have lost two already because my thumb sometimes hits the bottom of the holder which ejects the hex key from the holder. I'd knocked it out dozens of times, but lost it once on the floor of my studio, and again on the beach in Portugal. I'm holding out hope that the one in my studio is still findable. But the one in Portugal is a piece of treasure you can find if you go barefoot on Nazaré's North Beach. I have hopes that Peak can refine the design so it's not so easy to eject. It's another element that makes me feel like an idiot. And I want my tripod to comfort me and tell me I'm smart. Capable. Not a loser (of hex wrenches). Lastly the phone holder attachment is 100% unnecessary. But I'm still happy it's there. I've used it a grand total of 3 times. And when I did it was a handy solution.

Great build quality, stability. And flexible design. Great product I would recommend as it is very stable for its size and folds down for travel to a very compact package with a quality protective case.

Why did you pick this product vs others?: Looking for a lightweight telescope tripod that collapses to a length that will comfortably fit in a standard airline carry-on bag, i.e., not greater than 22 inches in length; with a good reputation. Length:​ Not greater than 22 inches collapsed. Adjustment ability: Needed to be expandable to be useful to a person 6 feet in height. Wanted one with folding leg locks rather than twisting leg locks. Sturdiness: Needed to be able to support a telescope weighing 2 kilograms or somewhat over 4 pounds. Tested the tripod in our local camera store but they only had a demonstration version, so purchased through Amazon. Arrived in a timely fashion intact in new condition. Setting it up was trivial -- the scope I have (Swarovski ATX 85mm) came with an inset screw that allowed matching the tripod head (3/8") to the scope mount (1/4"). As others have noted: the plate that attaches to the scope to mount to the tripod head needs to be screwed down tight but still tends to loosen over time; I finally got it screwed down tight enough that it remained adequately immobile. As others have noted: you want to keep that hex wrench they provide handy in case you do need to retighten -- it has a little mount on one of the tripod legs, but I found I kept knocking it off in moving the scope around and taking it in and out of the car, so I ended up carrying it in my pocket whenever we used the scope. The scope is adequately sturdy, even in a reasonable wind, but there is definitely some compromise that makes the scope so lightweight -- it feels like it wants to move a little, but it really sits pretty well, especially if you don't extend the centerpiece to its full height. I'm not sure I'd recommend this tripod for someone taller than 6 feet 6 inches or so unless they're comfortable crouching down a little, but for me (5 feet 10 inches-ish and shrinking) the height extent is just fine. You do need to be careful (as with folding leg logs on any tripod) to make sure you clamp them down securely when the legs are extended -- the tripod is so light that it's easy for it to tip over if the legs aren't locked down tight, taking your expensive optics with it. One issue we found, partly peculiar to our use, is that the supplied ball head takes both hands to adjust (simultaneously, really, including locking in place) and is not a particularly good match if you are tracking quickly or frequently moving objects. We use the scope/tripod system for bird watching, and those little stinkers do not like to sit still. As such, the three-dimensional adjustment is troublesome when what we really need is something more in the "pitch-and-rotate-in-plane" (or tilt-and-pan) mode. I contacted Peak Design with this issue and they were quick to reply with suggestions for improvement/replacement. We ended up getting their "universal adapter" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084Q9PY4S?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title) and purchasing a tilt-and-pan head. Peak Design also pointed us to one of their videos for how to remove the existing ball head and install the new universal adapter and new head -- the video was excellent -- with clear instructions including visually walking through the process; when I did it everything worked as indicated. As others have also noted: the travel bag the tripod comes in is just a wee bit too short to be worthy of five stars; everything else is so well thought out and implemented that it's a bit puzzling that they didn't add that extra half-inch to the bag's length to make it easy to put everything in. Not enough to reduce the overall product score, but a definite shame that this aspect isn't as stellar as the rest. I've communicated with Peak Design a number of times (via their website and then email -- unfortunately I could not find a contact phone number), and their communications have been responsive, understandable, and supportive -- if you've struggled with customer support in modern times you'll appreciate how well they do it.

I was really excited to get the Peak Design tripod after hearing so many good things, but unfortunately, it's been a letdown. The build quality just doesn’t feel as robust I expected – it’s lightweight, but almost too lightweight, and it feels flimsy at times when extending the legs or adjusting the head. The locking mechanisms are starting to feel a little cheap, too, and I’m worried they won’t hold up over time. Considering the price, I expected a top-tier, durable product that would justify the cost, but it’s just not there. Honestly, I’ve used cheaper tripods that feel more stable and offer better features for a fraction of the price. It’s frustrating to see Peak Design's reputation slip with this one. I can't recommend it—there are definitely better tripods out there for far less money. Peak Design used to be known for quality and innovation, but this product is a major letdown. I’ll be looking elsewhere for my next tripod.

The Peak Design team thought out virtually every aspect of wha a travel tripod should be and came up with a winner. Upon first look, the fit and finish and compactness of the tripod stand out. The five section legs telescope neatly and there is no wasted space due to the trapezoidal cross section profile of the leg segments. The re-imaginged ball-head is a marvelous piece of work of it’s own. A single control unlocks the ball head instead of the cumbersome three knobs of other brands. The quick release plate uses the Arca Swiss standard. The carbon fiber version weighs 2.8 lbs and extends to 61” without the center column. A bonus smartphone mount that collapses stores in the center column is very neat. Top it all of with a lifetime warranty and it couldn’t get any better!

I have owned many tripods in my 50+ years of photography. There have been many very expensive, top of the line brand name units as well as highly rated light weight units. This one blew my away right out of the box. It was well packaged and it was easy to open the box. Set up was very intuitive (I will read the instructions soon). One can easily extend only as many legs as needed or all of them in one simple motion for each leg. The ball head and camera mount are all made of anodized aluminum and feel very sturdy. mounting my camera was easy, especially because they include a wrench set that tucks away on the inside on any of the upper leg section. I mounted a large medium format camera on it with some trepidation, but alas, it was very secure and feels very stable. The locking feature for the camera mount to the ball head is really a great feature and i feel comfortable mounting the camera and carrying the whole thing on my shoulder. The tripod extension post is skinny, but sturdy - I might not do a long exposure on a windy day with it fully extended, but it makes for very convenient, quick height adjustment for less extreme days. All in all, a great unit and will be my primary tripod from here on.

Very impressive tripod, lightweight and well thought out. Highly recommend this if you are doing any travelling.

Mein altes Stativ ist ein wenig in die Jahre gekommen und ich habe mich auf die Suche nach einem neuen gemacht. Da ich viel reise sollte es natürlich leicht und kompakt sein, schnell auf- und auch wieder abgebauten und das ganze vielleicht auch mehrfach an einem Abend. Ich habe mir so ziemlich alle Stative angeschaut, die es für diesen Zweck gibt, irgendwas hat mir überall nicht gefallen und auch beim Peak Design Travel Tripod finde ich nicht alles perfekt, meinen Ansprüchen wird es aber in den meisten Punkten gerecht. Die Klemmverschlüsse ermöglichen einen schnellen Auf- und Abbau, das Gewicht ist großartig, das Packmaß auch, ebenso wie die mitgelieferte Tasche, mit der man das Stativ in jeden Rucksack stecken kann, es bleibt geschützt, alles andere aber auch. Der Kugelkopf ist neu gedacht, dass man die Mittelsäule nun ein wenig (!) ausfahren muss, schadet der Stabilität nicht, beeinflusst aber das Packmaß äußerst positiv. Zugegeben für Freunde des gepflegten Panoramas wird es schwierig, Lösungen bzw. Kompromisse finden sich aber auch hier. Dass die Beine nicht rund sondern eher eckig sind, ist beim packen ein Vorteil, alles greift schön ineinander. Einen negativen Aspekt bei der Stabilität konnte ich bisher nicht entdecken. Spikes muss man ggf. separat erwerben - zugegebenermaßen hätte man die bei dem Preis auch beilegen können. Trotzdem ist es gerade auf Reisen an der Sicherheitskontrolle ein Vorteil. Das Stativ kann im Fotorucksack ins Handgepäck, die Spikes in den Koffer. Für Fotografen, die viel unterwegs sind, ist das PD Stativ perfekt und ich habe mir die Entscheidung nicht leicht gemacht, der Preis ist abschreckend, mag sein, es gibt noch teurere Stative, aber am Ende ist ein Stativ, ein Stativ, ein Stativ... Dafür bekommt man hier ein sehr durchdachtes Gerät, dass all denen, die es leicht und praktisch mögen viel Freude bereiten wird. Alle Einzelteile sind ersetzbar und eine lebenslange Garantie gibt es auch dazu. Was die dann bringt, wird man wohl erst im Garantiefalle sehen. Nach einigem Abwägen habe ich mich trotz des Preises bewusst für das Gerät entschieden, da es mir von allen möglichen Kandidaten als am besten durchdacht erscheint und meinen Bedürfnissen am nächsten kommt.

This tripod has been reviewed in minute detail in many reviews. The basic feature important to me is that it takes minimum space in my luggage and weighs a minimum amount for a travel tripod. It supports my Nikon Z7 with 70-200 mm f2.8 lens and all smaller ones easily. The quality is outstanding which matters to me. The ball head is not the best in the world, but doesn’t need to be.

この三脚で全てを賄うなんて無理です。用途に合わせて三脚も変える必要があります。旅行用、室内撮影としては優秀な三脚です。夜景、悪天候、重いレンズの場合はソレ対応の三脚を使いましょう。 六角レンチが脚に付いてますが落ちそうなのでソフトケースに入れてます。最下段の脚はオマケ程度に考えましょう。伸ばす事は出来ても実用性はありません。スマホ用アダプタも付いてますが、コレは使わないでしょ？と思うので、上記を潔く取り払って軽量化と販売価格を下げた方が良いと思います。 良い所は収納時のコンパクトさ、突起物が無い、軽い、正に旅行用に特化した三脚です。

Em sembla tal qual s'indica en la publicitat. És petit, encara que pesa més del que m'esperava. La seva posta en escena és rapida i àgil. Una bona compra