Gitzo wings

[Ed Richards]

What are the little wings on the lower legs that I see in pictures of Gitzo tripods, such as the G1410? Can they be removed? Looks like they would get tangled in stuff and make the tripod more bulky when folded. (Like many of us, I am not in a place where I can see any tripods in the flesh.)

[Frank Petronio]

They just give you more leverage for tightening. I actually like them, they aren't that intrusive. I suppose you could hacksaw them off but there is no rubber collar to replace them with - your hands would get chewed up.

[Ed Richards]

Are they attached to the leg itself, or are they on the collar you tighten and loosen?

[resummerfield]

They are a part of the collar and can not be removed (except to hack saw, as Frank suggested)

[David Crossley]

Ed, the wings or keys on the 1410 are actually a really sweet practical feature, for some people they might just take a little getting used to. Dont get in the way but i guess a person could saw them off.

David Crossley/Crossley Photography....

[Ed Richards]

Thanks for the info! It is hard to tell what they are from the photos, but they do not sound like they will be a problem. I want to be able to stow the tripod in a section of PVC pipe pointed out the back of the trunk, so I can pile the luggage on top and still get the tripod in and out. I have a Bogen 3046, 3047 head, and leveling base now, which works great, but takes up a lot of trunk room in my small car. I do not want to give up the stablity, so the 1410 looks attractive, probably with a Gitzo 3 way head. I do not care about weight, and find that my heavy rig - probably 22 pounds with my Technika on it - is a real help when it is windy and the soil is a little infirm. I can smack the spikes down through the debris and the weight helps hold it down. I could also strap something shorter onto a pack, which would let me go farther afield. Any comments on the 1410 are welcome, and I am curious if it has spiked feet - the ads conflict on this point.

[Frank Petronio]

The wings can be rotated to store flat - it just takes an extra step. At least the older Gitzos aren't spiked.

If you find an old 1980s era 413 it is really the nicest of the series - no wings either - very rigid and very tall four section legs. But hard to find.

[Jeff Conrad]

I've had a Gitzo 412 (three-section, 36 mm outer legs) since 1980. At that
time, rubber-covered locking rings were all that were available. The
rubber-covered rings have one drawback: the rubber pieces are only about 3/4
inch high, requiring tightening to be done with the thumb and index finger;
repeated opening and closing of the legs can be fairly rough on the index
finger, especially in cold weather. The locking rings on the carbon-fiber
legs are double height, allowing them to be tightened using the thumb and
index and middle fingers, and the wear and tear on the fingers is much
less. Unfortunately, this improvement never made its way into the aluminum
or the new basalt models.

I don't have much experience with the winged locking rings; at least on the
outer leg sections, they probably would avoid the “Gitzo
finger” problem, and probably make height adjustments a bit easier.
However, I usually adjust the height on the innermost leg section, so I've
never seen much advantage to the wings.

If you don't like the winged rings, you might be able to get the
rubber-covered versions from your Gitzo dealer. I don't think I'd
recommend cutting the wings off in any event.

The most recent aluminum tripods have interchangeable leg tips: they come
with hard rubber, but spikes (two different lengths) and wide rubber tips
are available as accessories. The previous versions had short spiked feet
with removable rubber tips; I found that rubber rather bouncy. The latest
screw-in rubber tips are much harder, like the noninterchangeable rubber
tips of earlier years.

Spikes were available for the 1980s models; they had to be ordered as
complete replacement lower leg sections. I have them on mine, but I don't
think they were a popular option—I've only seen one other person who
had them. The spikes were quite impressive: tapered stainless steel, about
1.25 inches long, inserted about 3 inches into the legs, and isolated from
the aluminum with plastic to prevent galvanic corrosion. Unfortunately,
you had to change the entire lower leg sections to switch between spikes
and hard rubber tips.

[Ed Richards]

Unless I reading the info incorrectly, it looks like you cannot get spikes on their carbon fiber tripods. I am wondering if they are worried that spikes might bite into the ground enough to increase the chance of breaking a leg if you bump the tripod.

[Jeff Conrad]

The unavailability of spikes on CF legs has been a major gripe of mine.
I've always wondered why Gitzo could not offer an external attachment
similar to that which has been available for Manfrotto CF legs for years.
I realize that the Gitzo legs are round rather than triangular, but just
how serious a problem could spike rotation really be?

Spikes finally are available on the new 6x series, which have 1/4-20
threaded ends on the lower legs. So far, they're only available on the
2-series, but I expect they soon will be available on the larger models
(the bottom leg sections on the 1227 and 1348 are identical). The average
17% weight reduction on the 6x tripods is nice, but the ALR (anti leg
rotation) is the real breakthrough (I wish I could justify an upgrade for
this and the spikes). If you really want CF legs, I'd wait until the 6x is
available in the 3 or 5 series.

I've also suspected that concern about breaking a leg has been the reason
that spikes have not been available on Gitzo CF legs; I'm not sure I would
be comfortable using the 120 mm spikes on a CF leg. The 40 mm spikes (same
as were standard on recent aluminum legs) probably will do the job.

[Ed Richards]

I have been assuming that the ALR is also on the current model aluminum tripods - is that correct? It is the only reason I am thinking about the Gitzo - I really really hate playing the leg rotation game.

[Jeff Conrad]

I think ALR is available only on the basalt and the new 6x CF tripods
(which currently cover only the series 00 though 2). I would expect that
ALR will be incorporated in the larger 6x CF models if they become
available, but I have my doubts about the aluminum models—the
“classic” models seem to get fewer all the time as sales
plummet. The best bet would be to call Bogen (assuming you're in the USA)
and ask what they plan to offer. Most of the information I mentioned is
available on the Gitzo web site (http://www.gitzo.com).

I've had eight Gitzo tripods at various times, and have managed to survive
without ALR, although I'll admit that seemingly random leg rotation can
sometimes be annoying. Nonetheless, I would go with Gitzo if I had to do
it again (some others undoubtedly would not). Were I starting from
scratch today, I would go with the CF almost as much for the double-height
locking rings as for the reduced weight and better vibration damping.

[Arne Croell]

Spikes for some Gitzo CF models are available aftermarket from a Korean company, Markins: www.markins.com/2.0/eng/products/accessories/ts.html (http://www.markins.com/2.0/eng/products/accessories/ts.html)

[tim atherton]

BTW - those Markins ballheads are really sweet - I just bought the smaller size and use it for (lightish) 8x10 - rock solid.