They aren't that heavy and you can fold them up, albeit not into a compact box. But especially for beginners a monorail is nice because they can actually see the movements more directly -- movements on field cameras can be "hidden". And they are going to be more rigid than most field cameras, less expensive, more versatile -- so as long as the guy isn't an ultra-light hiking nut, an inexpensive Sinar is an awfully nice way to start. Search past threads on hiking w Sinars, I even posted a diagram on how to fold them most efficiently.
Heck when I started they cost as much as a car and people would laugh in your face if you told them you wanted a Sinar to start out with -- they were the aspirational cameras.
To dfoo's question, not seeing the auction, but the standard Sinar will have a tripod mounting block that holds the rail and has the usual mounting screw hole on the bottom. Some people use these sort of like quick releases. They pair very nicely with the Sinar Pan-Tilt head (which costs more than your F, lol). Any tripod will work, so long as it is large enough for the size of the camera (ie not a cheap 35mm tripod).
I just looked at the auction. It looks like a normal stock Sinar F. When it ends just ask Henry's to substitute a Copal 0 board. Personally I would pass on a smoker's camera, as under a dark cloth it could be gross. There will be plenty of others coming up, often on this forum.
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