I had the same problem when traveling to Israel this past fall for the Hula
Valley Bird Festival. I only travel with carry-on, like a good vulture. I
googled travel tripods and came up with a few good possibilities.
Unfortunately, I didn't choose a good one. Here's what I ended up
with: Manfrotto
BeFree Aluminum Travel Tripod
<https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297587-REG/manfrotto_mkbfra4gy_bh_befree_tripod_with_ball.html>
.
It's minimum height is 13.4" without the head and would fit into my carry
on bag. I changed the head to this Manfrotto fluid video head
<https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/944774-REG/manfrotto_mvh500ah_pro_fluid_head.html>
.
A few notes to make it all work and some buyers remorse:
- I kept the head and handle detached from the tripod until I got to my
destination. I also removed the eyepiece from my scope and kept that
separate and wrapped in socks for cushioning and to fit better.
- This particular head is rather large and I don't recommend it for
traveling. I didn't see it before I bought it, which was a mistake, because
it was highly recommended by a birder in England who seemed to know the
issues with birding tripod heads. Try before you buy. I like my older
Manfrotto fluid head (20 yrs old, don't know what kind it is).
- The tripod was a little spindly and the legs can fold up and down,
which I wasn't used to. My scope fell over a few times in a high wind
because they weren't locked from going in the up position. Very weird. Most
tripods are not like this. It has a hook to hang a weight to keep it
stable, which I used a few times, but it wasn't always convenient to have
my backpack or some other weight with me.
Sharing this here because I'm a big believer in writing up bad experimental
results as well as good. Another travel tripod I found during my search was
the MeFoto tripod (several models)
<http://www.mefoto.com/products/globetrotter-classic.aspx?CAWELAID=120288260000000018&CATARGETID=120288260000000192&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyszSBRDJARIsAHAqQ4qB2Sqr2BXn_4KndnOjwj5xiHPKLWfa3DoeOC9WH91pIVmj4paZCXIaAqmREALw_wcB>.
Be careful because some of these may have a head that is integrated and not
changeable. It's hard to tell, but I think most are changeable if you know
how.
Good luck and have fun in Belize!
Amy Summerfelt
On Sun, Jan 7, 2018 at 10:09 PM, Thomas Gilg <tom@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have no tricks to suggest, but want to add that airlines in other
countries can often have even more restrictive limits, so know your weakest
weak link. For 20-60x80mm scope and tripod, I've had no problems with
checkin. I just got back from Pico Bonito Lodge in Honduras.
--tg
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab®|PRO
-------- Original message --------
From: Mary Garrard <springazure1@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: 1/7/2018 10:04 AM (GMT-08:00)
To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [obol] how to get a tripod to your destination
Hi everyone, I’m have a dilemma: we want to carry-on our luggage for a
short trip to Belize including a spotting scope and tripod. However, we
discovered the tripod doesn’t fit into regulation carry-on luggage. One of
us has a hard-sided regulation carry-on, I have a soft travel pack that is
over regulation size but squashable to regulation size.
How do all of you traveling birders get your tripod to your destination?
We want to avoid checking it in case it doesn’t arrive and also to avoid
having to wait at the carousel.
Thanks for your input!
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