Peak Design Travel Tripod

Peak Design just launched a Kickstarter for a Travel Tripod and we are here for it. We’ve been fans of Peak Design in the past—we called their Travel Bag “nothing short of genius”—so, not going to lie, our hopes are up that their Travel Tripod will be well-made and designed.

While we wait not-so-patiently to get our hands on this travel tripod, we’ve been geeking out over the specs, and are excited to share our initial thoughts with all of you.

Mark’s thoughts

Mark’s one of our video/photo guys here at Pack Hacker and has been working in the industry for 5 years.

I like how portable the Travel Tripod looks—it compresses down to 3.25″ in diameter and 15.25″ lengthwise—so you should be able to just tuck it in a pack beside your packing cubes, or toss it in a side water bottle pocket, and call it a day. Peak Design also claims it will support 20 pounds, which I can definitely get behind.

Durability is equally as important as packability when it comes to a travel tripod that will get knocked around pretty frequently. I’m excited to get into the durability testing and see how this thing holds up.

I’m a little wary because I’ve never had much luck with ball and socket locking mechanisms. Since they got rid of the separate pan and tilt knobs/locks in favor of a single lock system (the folks at Peak Design claim the knobs and locks are bulky and confusing) it looks like it may be best for still shots. Pan and tilt footage may be more of a challenge.

Nathan’s thoughts

Nathan is another one of our video/photo guys who’s taken photos in 39 countries and counting.

I’m excited about a tripod that has been specifically made for TRAVEL—the fact that it’s lightweight, small, and compact is brilliant. Plus—it has that “Peak Design” feel to it—in that it has a really nice, sleek, and minimal aesthetic.

I’m also digging how you can hang a pack on the tripod to weigh it down (and keep your bag off the floor) and how low-to-the-ground the tripod can go. These features are nothing new, but it’s great to see on a tripod this compact. Plus, the phone and full DSLR attachments mean it’s really versatile.

I echo Mark’s thoughts on the ball head, which suggests the tripod may work better for photography than video.

Taylor’s thoughts

While Taylor’s strengths tend to be on the writing side of things, she pretends she can take photos and videos, and once filmed an hour-and-a-half “documentary” of a four-month road trip she took last year.

Traveling with a tripod can be such a pain—so I really love how it’s the size of a large water bottle and will fit in most water bottle pockets. And I think how Peak Design pulled that off—with everything fitting together so precisely—is quite clever and innovative.

I’m also a fan of how it integrates with the greater Peak Design system (like the anchor attachment points). The hidden phone mount is also a nice touch.

I’m very curious to see how sturdy the Travel Tripod will be once we begin testing.

Wrap Up

Alright—that’s all we’ve got. Go check out their Kickstarter and let us know what you think. Of course, look out for our full review, which we’ll post after we start testing.