Gitzo foot fell off - replacement

[swmcl]

Hi,

I have returned from a lightning trip around Tasmania and during the travels over very bumpy gravel tracks a foot has fallen off my expensive Gitzo which was lying in the back of the camper.

I know I can get a set of 3 rubber feet from B&H but what feet would you use??

I am not that happy with the standard rubber feet and wonder how useful something else would be. I tend to be using the tripod in lanscape situations - not polished wooden floors of heritage buildings ...!

The B&H number is # B&H # GILF for the feet I have and I have a GT2540LVL tripod.

Cheers,

Steve

[swmcl]

Oh and yes, I do recommend using a thread tape on the feet to stop them falling off !

[Jeff Conrad]

I'd get the 1.5 spike feet. They should make for a much more solid plant, and additionally can sometimes serve as a photo permit. I've been told by the folks at Bogen that the longer spikes could exert enough leverage to crack a CF leg.

I should add that I don't speak from direct experience; I have two older CF tripods that don't have interchangeable leg tips, and a very old 412 with permananet spike tips. I also once had a 212 with permanent spike tips; the setup was much more solid than my current 1227, and perhaps as solid as my current 1349. In effect, I'd say that the spikes were almost as good as going up one series.

[swmcl]

Thanks Jeff - what about the really long spikes .. ?

And, what are those washer things for ?

Cheers,

[Fred L]

This is poor feet design imo and should be revisited. I'd suggest going to Bunnings and getting rubber leg tips that are are used on furniture to prevent sliding around. Super cheap and they stay on tight but because they're rubber, won't have as long life if you use them on hard rough surfaces a lot. Cost about $4 for four in Canada so that eases the pain

[Jeff Conrad]

The really long spikes are the ones the Bogen product person told me to avoid with CF (which I had suspected anyway). I wish they had spikes slightly longer than 1.5 inches, but they don't. It's a moot point for me now because my leg tips aren't threaded and there seems to be no way to retrofit them with spikes. I don't know about the washers; they're probably for spreading the stress on the threaded inserts.

One thing about the press-on rubber tips that come with the spikes: they're softer than the traditional Gitzo rubber feet, so they're less likely to slip on a polished wood floor, but they're also quite bouncy. I never liked them.

[John Brady]

I just lost one off of my gt3540LS. I ordered a set of three for $29 from Manfrotto, they are the parts supplier.

They were back ordered, must be a popular replacement item.

www.timeandlight.com

[Joshua Dunn]

I had a rubber foot fall off my Manfrotto while travelling. I called Bogen/Manfrotto (which if I remember correctly owns Gitzo) and they just covered it under warranty. No proof of purchase or anything was required. They sent out a new foot and I received it a week or so later.

[swmcl]

Now no one has mentioned these ... are they no good ?

[Jeff Conrad]

No direct experience, but it probably would depend on the terrain on which you normally set up. On snow or soft sand, they'd probably be great. If you ever need to have a leg go into scrub, though, I'd expect these to be a real pain, and would prefer the spikes.

You could could get both these and the spikes and let the rest of us know how each works out (seriously), but if you never set up on soft stuff, the spikes would probably be better. It might be worth asking Bogen service if there's any problem using Loctite 242 or something equivalent to keep the feet from coming off again. The breakaway torque isn't that much, but I'm always leery about applying much torque to glued inserts.