Compact and lightweight tripod.

[Noah B]

If you're willing to pay some extra money, you might want to look at Induro tripods. You can get them for fairly cheap through their website if you are a student. My friend has the carbon 214 model which he uses for medium format and a lightweight 4x5.

[false_Aesthetic]

That Silk looks pretty freakin awesome. I originally looked into the Induro tripods but their collapsed length is still a little long. I was hoping in the ≤15" range.

I might grab the silk and then swap the head for my gitzo ball head.

[Kav]

The one I have may fit your bill. It's 16.5 inches tall, will hold a speed graphic steady with ease, and pretty light. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-VGR926...pr_product_top

You can get it with a different head to hold more weight if needed, and it can convert into a mono pod.

[Ari]

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...Recommendation
Inexpensive, esp for a CF tripod that can support 14kg.

Whoops, I sent the wrong link.
Here it is:
http://www.linkdelight.com/K9T-Triop...-BallHead.html