Peak travel season is getting underway, so now is the time to invest (or reinvest) in a reliable tripod that’s compact and low in weight, while still offering the robustness and support required for capturing sharp and well exposed images of your adventures. The group of five travel tripods we’ve assembled here are sold as kits, complete with heads. All of them offer a maximum height when extended of around 1.5m, but fold down to around 40cm in length. Most of the models have a clever design feature that enhances their usefulness in the field, whether it’s a built-in mini tripod or a phone clamp.
3 Legged Thing Leo 2.0 + AirHed Pro
www.3leggedthing.com £142.69 /$149.95
Compact yet beefy, 3 Legged Thing’s Leo 2.0 is a travel tripod with full-sized tripod aspirations
3 Legged thing sells the Leo 2.0 by itself (£240 /$270) or with the AirHed Pro Lever ball head. We’re looking at the kit with the head here. As the most compact tripod in 3 Legged Thing’s Pro range, the Leo 2.0 packs down to just 37.4cm in length with the head attached. And at full height, with the centre column extended, it measures 146cm. If the centre column is removed, the maximum shooting height is 112cm and the minimum is just 21cm. Alternatively, the centre column can be reversed and the camera slung between the legs for even lower-level shooting.
The five-section legs can be set to one of three angles, with the 23-degree setting delivering the highest load capacity of 30kg. Using the legs at the 55 degrees setting reduces the load capacity to 20kg, while the 80-degree setting enables a maximum load of 10kg.
While several tripods allow one leg to be removed to create a monopod, all three of the Leo 2.0’s legs can be removed. As well as enabling one to be attached to the two-section centre column to create a monopod or boom up to 1.5m long, this allows 3 Legged Thing’s optional Vanz footwear to be attached to the canopy in place of the legs to create a table-top tripod. 3 Legged Thing also offers a range of other optional footwear that can be swapped in for the standard rubber feet to give better grip in some situations.
The Leo 2.0 comes with a smart zip-closed bag with a carry handle and strap, plus a zippered side pocket to hold accessories, such as the included Toolz carabiner with hex and coin keys and the microfibre head bag. While the Leo 2.0’s tubes are made from carbon fibre, the canopy, locks, fixings and AirHed Pro are made from aerospace-grade magnesium alloy. The head clamp is also Arca-Swiss compatible and the included plate has a bolt with a slot and hex socket, meaning it can be tightened onto a camera with the ‘Toolz’.
“THE LEO 2.0 HAS A WIDE DIAMETER, AND GETTING ALL THREE LEGS INTO THE TRIPOD POCKET OF SOME BAGS CAN BE A SQUEEZE”
SPECIFICATIONS
Material: Carbon fibre and aerospace-grade magnesium alloy
Folded length: 37.4cm
Max height: 146cm
Leg sections: 5
Weight: 1.85kg
Max load: 30kg
Build and handling
3 Legged Thing makes the Leo 2.0 in two colour variants, one with copper metal parts and a blue and orange AirHed Pro, and the other with silver/grey metal parts and a matching AirHed Pro. Both look good, but the silver/grey version looks especially smart with its orange accents matching those on the head.
