Travel Tripod Recommendation?

[cosmicexplosion]

Ari

WHat are you like and crafting things.
you see i have been thinking about a bamboo based tripod. yes bamboo.
i came across a new school of push bikes, or pedal bikes, that are built with bamboo and carbon fibre,
the premis is that they are lighter and stronger than carbon.
do a google on bamboo bikes, and you will see what i am talken about.

any way, i am thinking its not hard to translate bikes to tripods, being a frame based high stress object.

i am planning on building experimental version when i get a space set up.

it would not be telescopic but in sections, maybe with telescopic feet.but with a bit of imagination you could come up with some thing. i was thinking that to join you could use the same system that paint rollers mops brooms and even beach umbrellas use. just screws together. cheap and strong, so you could make a custom job for $40 bucks. or less.

paint it black and customs wont know a thing!

i wondert if you can buy tripod parts so you only need bamboo poles shimmied to fit.

any way

thats my latest hair brain idea...

Andy Pandy

[Ari]

Andrew,
I think a bamboo tripod is brilliant; I wish I was the kind of person who could make it, but I'm sure someone here can take on the challenge.
Great idea, though...

[Uri A]

Here you go. Now you just need to put some sturdy rope and a machete in your carry-on and you can build a tripod wherever you go.

Unless you end up going to Guantanamo...

[Ari]

For those who may be interested to know, I settled on a relatively inexpensive, light, and compact tripod.
http://www.linkdelight.com/K9T-Triop...-BallHead.html
Weighs 1.2kg, folds down to 45cm, and supports 15kg; there's a special on right now, it comes with a B-2 ball head, all for about $220 shipped.
I've never been a fan of mixing LF with ball heads, but I'm willing to try again.

I'll update once I have the 1650 case, and I've figured out how best to pack it to under 23kg.

[Peter De Smidt]

Neat. I look forward to hearing how well it works in the field.

[Ari]

There's a couple of UTube reviews:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPb8eEPc6jc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLUgP2LFPTs

They're in Polish, but you can see the tripod in action.

[cdholden]

Neat. I look forward to hearing how well it works in the field.

+1

I look forward to a review after use. I'm especially curious about the "superior abrasion resistance".
The low weight is impressive too, assuming their spec is accurate.

[cosmicexplosion]

mmmm very interesting.

come on ari, out with the review, oh its still in the post.

well what a bout a pre review.

what does your intuition tell you.

[Ari]

Yes, still in the post, Andrew.
But methinks I got myself the perfect tripod for my stated needs.
Anyway, check out the video reviews, they seem pretty good.

[cosmicexplosion]

ari are you traveling with a 45 or 810?