Compact Tripod

[ToeJullar]

Looking to upgrade from my piece of crap 20 dollar cheapo tripod that I bought ages ago back at bestbuy. 

I already have a pistol grip ball head, so if the tripod comes with a mount, a video pan head would be nice.

 

Hoping for something that could shrink down to fit into a backpack, it's a travel pack so nothing incredibly small.  

If not, just general suggestions for good tripods.  ~$100 budget, give or take a bit

[cc143]

Manfrotto, Benro, Mefoto, Sirui all have great travel options that fold down to 35-40cm. With Manfrotto avoid the Befree One (smaller version of the befree).

 

If I were to recommend a tripod fitting this description though, its more expensive than $100, more like $150 I believe, but the 3 legged thing Corey or the Travis (45cm folded down) are great options.  

[Cryosec]

I'd suggest K&F, they make lightweight (aluminum/magnesium or carbon fiber) tripods that can fold up to less than 50cm and reach over 1.5m in height

[cc143]

8 minutes ago, Cryosec said:

I'd suggest K&F, they make lightweight (aluminum/magnesium or carbon fiber) tripods that can fold up to less than 50cm and reach over 1.5m in height

No. 

Listen a tripod is like a suitcase, you can buy one once and have it for life, or you can cheap out and buy it 3 times until you realise you've paid the worth of a good one in replacements. And yes, I do speak from experience. I haven't really used K&F before, but have used similarly priced, specced brands of seemingly similar quality, and it doesn't take more than handling one once versus a proper tripod to understand that one will be around for years and the other maybe days. 

 

Especially with smaller travel tripods, which tend to be made from more lightweight materials, build quality is key in that respect, so I would rather spend more to get a reliable one than less. Given you buy online as well most probably and won't have a chance to try it out in person. 

[ToeJullar]

15 hours ago, cc143 said:

If I were to recommend a tripod fitting this description though, its more expensive than $100, more like $150 I believe, but the 3 legged thing Corey or the Travis (45cm folded down) are great options.  

Holy cow, checked out 3 Legged Thing's website and the travis tripod looks amazing.  Folds up, super robust, and can even turn into a monopod.  Gonna snag it once I get some funds in my possession.  Thanks for the help both of you guys though!