K&F Concept Carbon Fiber Tripod / Monopod

Gear: K&F Concept Carbon Fiber Tripod / Monopod 70" 33 lbs Capacity

I purchased this item for a recent Photography trip to Alaska. I was needing a lighter tripod that is compact and more stable to hold a Gimbal head and a large telephoto lens for wildlife photography. The fact that it was multifunctional as a monopod was an added bonus. I used the Monopod as a trekking pole as well with all the hiking and outdoor use to minimize as much gear and weight as possible.

Category: Camera Gear

Weight: 3 lbs

Price Range: $199.95 - $210.99

Pros: The complete package includes the tripod, carrying case, shoulder strap, ball head, and mounting plate. The tripod without the head is 20 inches long which is only 3.5 inches longer than my everyday Peak Design Tripod but much lighter than the Peak Design Tripod. With the included Ball head it's 23 inches long. The center post has a hook at the end to attach weight to increase stability, plus the center post can be removed and inverted for macro shots. If you are on uneven ground or need to extend the legs out further, there is a release lever on each leg to allow for the legs to extend to three positions. The twist locks are easy to use. You can quickly unlock and extend each leg completely with one hand.

Cons: The removable head mount can come loose easily. Even with the head rotate lock tightened, the base and bolt still can move. Especially with a heavy camera and lens. If you decide to torque down on the head and base plate, then it's difficult to remove the plate when going into monopod mode. When using the Monopod all day with a lot of movement, you will need to tighten the section locks occasionally. Also, the carbon fiber leg tubes go all the way to the feet, if you are hiking or using the monopod in rocky terrain the ends can get eaten up. I know it may not have been designed for this, but that would be what it would evolve into for someone using it in outdoors. The last Con is the clip on the center pole to attach gear or weight to it for stability is plastic and does flex.

Modification: Knowing that I will most likely be hiking in snow or on the ice I purchased some 1/4 inch threaded spikes (Foto&Tech 3-piece stainless steel spike set on Amazon) to replace the rubber feet on the tripod to give more grip. Note: Be sure not to travel with the spikes attached to the tripod. TSA agents don't like long spiked objects.