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Peak Design has revolutionized the form and function of camera accessories over the years and now they turned their attention to the common tripod. Their new Travel Tripod is a triumph of material use, optimal space efficiency and of course function. No other tripod even comes close, which is why we're awarded the Peak Design Travel Tripod our prestigious Gear of the Year Award.
The Backcountry Skiing Canada Team.
Peak Design is a company that produces revolutionary camera accessories and we at Backcountry Skiing Canada have reviewed a number of their products in the past and have always been quite impressed. If you haven’t seen any of the other reviews for the Capture Clip, Messenger bag, or Design Shell, be sure to check them out. This time around we are reviewing the Peak Design Travel Tripod carbon version.
After 4 years of engineering, Peak Design has managed to minimize the volume of the Travel Tripod to about half that of traditional tripod architecture. They’ve accomplished this without sacrificing height or stability, and have reduced the diameter of the packed tripod to that of about a water bottle
The deployable centre columns height is adjustable via a small locking mechanism on the side.
At the bottom of the column, a hook offers a spot to hang a counterweight.
Upon removing this hook (pulling and twisting action), a phone mount that is stowed in the centre column can be accessed.
Once the hook is removed, the column can also be completely removed and reinstalled to allow for inverted shooting. Don’t worry about dropping the phone mount every time you remove the hook, it’s designed in such a way that you have to physically pull the phone mount out if you want to remove it.
The world of tripods may just have gotten more exciting. The Travel Tripod from Peak Design is a really cool piece of equipment.
The unit is lightweight and packs down to an impressively small size. The amount of adjustment that is possible is amazing, and what is more impressive is the intuitive nature of use and the ease of each adjustment.
The compact ball head offers really quick mounting and removal of a camera thanks to Peak Design's Capture Clip system, and the ball and socket nature of the joint means unlimited angle adjustments without having to lock and unlock adjustments for different axis.
I really like how much versatility is provided by the innovative design of the centre column. Stowing a phone mount, easy disassembly for low mode, and inverting are all quick adjustments that you can complete in under a minute.
I also appreciate how Peak Design has included the tools to fix, tighten, or adjust anything on the tripod, and have provided a small pocket in the carry case so you can keep them handy at all times.
The one downside, of course, is the price. That said, this is certainly a “get what you pay for” scenario and this tripod is really top shelf in materials, design and usability.
Get a great deal on either the Carbon or aluminum Travel Tripod here.
PROS:
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CONS:
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Price: Aluminum - $512CAN / $349.95US; Carbon Fibre - $878CAN / $599.95
Weight: Aluminum - 1.56kg / 3.44lbs; Carbon - 1.27 kg / 2.81lbs
Weight capacity: 9.1kg / 20lbs
Dimensions: Length - 39.1 cm / 15.4”; Height: 130.2cm / 51.25”; Diameter - 7.9 cm / 3.125”
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