Travel Tripod (Part 1)

I'm in the market for a travel tripod. My family take approximately 3 to 4 vacations each year. Most of these are international trips. I want a tripod that I can take with me on these family vacations. It has to be small enough to fit in a day backpack (typically 12" wide and 16" tall). You know the saying that "best camera is the one that you have with you". It is similar with tripod. If tripod is too large or too heavy, then it will sit in the closet collecting dust.

Tripod shopping is difficult. There are not many websites doing comparison reviews on tripod. The only website that I know about doing quantitative analysis is The Center Column (https://thecentercolumn.com/); number of tripods reviews is quite limited. There are some blogs and youtube videos that have done reviews on individual tripods. But without fair apples to apples comparison, one off reviews do not include perspective.

With travel tripod, getting good value is even more difficult. Travel tripod focus on size and weight at the expense of stability and high price. It is even more difficult to get a solid and reliable travel tripod than full sized one.

One advantage for me is that I have a small and light camera: Sony APS-C mirrorless camera (a6400). It weighs < 1.5 lbs with lens. So load capacity is not a concern.

I did quite a bit of online research comparing travel tripods 12" to 14" folded. Here is YouTube video on the spec comparison:

In the next few weeks, I will update Part 2 on my hands on review.

Below are Amazon links to tripods mentioned in the video

12-13" TRAVEL TRIPODS:

MeFoto Backpacker S: https://amzn.to/3cxhN0A

MeFoto Backpacker Classic: https://amzn.to/3RRokU0

Benro Tripster Series 0 (Aluminum): https://amzn.to/3RPs7kz

Benro Tripster Series 0 (Carbon Fiber): https://amzn.to/3RT2kb9

Benro Slim (Aluminum): https://amzn.to/3B2eGb6

Benro Slim (Carbon Fiber): https://amzn.to/3B30dM7

Oben (Aluminum AT-3535): https://amzn.to/3OlzpcL

Oben (Carbon Fiber CT-3535): https://amzn.to/3Om4oFJ

Sirui T-S Series (Aluminum T-005SK): https://amzn.to/3PraCp2

Sirui T-S Series (Carbon Fiber T-025SK): https://amzn.to/3RKphxr

Leofoto Urban (LX-225CT): https://amzn.to/3yUYWnI

14” TRAVEL TRIPODS:

MeFoto Backpacker S (Carbon Fiber): https://amzn.to/3PJYcbC

Benro Tripster Series 1 (Aluminum in Black): https://amzn.to/3aRqTVk

Sirui A Series (Aluminum A-1005): https://amzn.to/3RI86we

Sirui A Series (Carbon Fiber A-1205): https://amzn.to/3v4qyFM

Leofoto Urban (LX-255CT): https://amzn.to/3B3NUz2

3 Legged Thing Punks Corey: https://amzn.to/3zkFOk9

3 Legged Thing Leo: https://amzn.to/3J0JVoT

3 Legged Thing Leo (System): https://amzn.to/3IQze8p