Peak Design Travel Tripod Review

Tripods are rather simple equipment. They consist of 3 legs which gives them their name and stability. Often, but not always, there is a central column to reach higher without adding much bulk to the tripod. Most tripods support a wide variety of heads via a standard 3/8" screw. Even though many are sold with an included head, it is replaceable on most tripods.

Given this simple concept, changes in tripod design are rare. The previous innovation, a tiltable column trading stability for versatility, is already over a decade old. Peak Design created the next tripod revolution with trapezoid legs that pack tightly against a triangular central column. Great thought was put in its design which includes many unique elements, yet its compactness alone is reason enough to buy this tripod. For those who consider packing-size the most important, just go ahead and buy one directly from Peak Design. Keep reading this review while waiting for your order because it covers all its features and quirks.

Legs

Each leg is made of 5 interlocking tubes which are released manually with concentric levels. These levers are curved and precisely aligned to open all of them on each leg in one movement. They close down tightly and prevent any slippage. Each leg is capped with a rubber foot that can be replaced with spikes which are sold separately. The other end of each leg has a spring-loaded lever that allows it to open more than the default in order to place the camera lower.

The trapezoid tubing that forms most of the leg has a very smooth finish. There is a visible weave typical of Carbon Fiber yet it has no texture. These leg tubes appear extremely study. Inner tubes a bit narrower than necessarily, culminating in a very skinny tube at the bottom. It still fees quite solid though. When fully closed, this tripod folds down to 39.5cm or 15.6".

NOTE Neocamera performed their own measurements for size and weight since those provided by Peak Design are inconsistent. For this reason, they differ slightly from some official ones. All measurements are rounded to one decimal place.

Central Column

A triangular central aluminum column allows the tripod to reach 1.52m or 60" high, compared to 1.3m or 51" with the column completely down. As always, the tripod provides far more stability with the column down. Keep this point in mind until the usability section of this review. Since the central column is not round, it cannot rotate to reorient the camera without loosening the head. A circular knob on the hub of the tripod is used to lock the column in place. Even fully down, there is a bit of wiggle, so make sure the knob is completely tightened before take photos or videos.

The central column has a unique design that contributes to the compactness of the Peak Design Travel Tripod. This triangular shape allows its legs to get really close, make the tripod close down to 8cm (3") is diameter, certainly the greatest achievement of the Peak Design Travel Tripod. The column also serves as a mounting-point for the supplied head. Instead of attaching to the top, Peak Design blended their original head with part of the column. This is exactly why the Universal Head Adapter is needed to use standard tripod heads. The adapter is a miniature column with a top-plate that has a 3/8" screw to mount a traditional head.

At the very bottom of the central column, there is a plastic hook to weigh the tripod down for added stability. This hook features a small hole to attach a Peak Design Anchor in order to use one of their straps. An neat mechanism allows this hook to be detached easily by pulling and twisting, although it appears to be the least sturdy component. Once the hook is out, it is possible to invert or remove most of the central column.

Without the central column, the bottom part of the head or the Universal Head Adapter remains uncapped, so it could slip out if the central knob is not completely tight. Unfortunately, the hook cannot be attached directly to the head or adapter as safety to prevent that from happening, as it normally does. In case this is not obvious, there is no way to attach a strap to the tripod when the central column is removed.

Inside the central column, there is a collapsed bracket that can be used to hold almost any cellphone directly onto the quick-release clamp. This clever design makes this accessory take no space at all! This bracket is made of two spring-loaded interlocking tubes and a foldable clamp on each end. The inner spring is strong enough to grip on any phone tightly.

Ballhead

All Peak Design Travel Tripods come with a very unusual ballhead that is mostly hidden when the tripod is collapsed. This compact head has its ball at the top of an extension to the central column with the entire mechanism above it. A single ring around the base of the quick release clamp serves to immobilize the head. Turning it clockwise tightens and counter-clockwise allows the head to be tilted in any direction. It has an impressive range of motion, up to 90° in most directions.

A quick-release clamp is built into the supplied ballhead. A ribbed metal base is flanked by a wide fixed edge and a smaller spring-loaded mechanism to secure an Arca-Swiss plate. The majority of such plates should be compatible but Peak Design provides their own ultra-low profile universal plate. Arca-Swiss plates are often camera-specific but the one provided works with any camera having a standard tripod-mount. While this quick-release clamp holds the plate securely on two sides, there is some wiggle-room with the provided plate, making it difficult to center the camera. Pins on both sides are just a few millimeters too far part. To accommodate larger plates, those can be removed.

There is a miniscule spirit-level on the fixed side of the quick-release clamp. Its small size and the fact that it is untinted make it very difficult to read. The bubble inside the level is incredibly small and hard to see without being directly above it. While the level is there for photographers to confirm that the head is level, the level is almost always obstructed once a camera is mounted.

Tripod Bag & Tools

A waterproof padded tripod bag comes with these tripods. The bag fits snuggly the tripod with the standard head completely closed down or the Universal Head Adapter with no actual head attached. The bag itself is very high quality with a waterproof zipper. A strip of flexible plastic runs between two hoops that can be used to attach Peak Design Anchors. This allows one of their straps to be attached but none is supplied when purchasing the tripod. Considering how expensive the tripod and Peak Design straps are, this is disappointing. Pass though spaces below the plastic strip can be used for other types of straps.

With many custom designed parts, this tripod requires special tools to be modified and perform maintenance. Each of the tripod and Universal Head Adapter comes with their own dual-sides hex-key. The foldable one shipped with the tripod can be held by a miniature holster that attaches to a tripod leg or stored in a inner pocket of the tripod bag. When the tripod is handled roughly, the tool could fall out of its holster but it seems mostly secure. It did fall out at least once during the review period, so it is probably best to keep it away. The only frequent need for one of these tools is for the supplied quick-release plate which requires a hex-key.

Comparison

While it is easy to describe the Peak Design Travel Tripod by its specifications, the real achievement is in how it measures to the best rival tripod. Travel tripods are necessarily light, compact and versatile, just like this one.

The benchmark travel tripod has been the Velbon Sherpa Pro CF-645 launched in 2006. This Carbon Fiber 4-section tripod delivered the ultimate compromise in compactness and size. With a folded size of 42.5cm, it is the shortest tripod which extends to full height, 1.26m high with the center column down and up to 1.6m with it raised. It weighs 1.5kg in total yet just 1.3kg with the central column removed.

Peak Design ultimately surpassed this with their Travel Tripod! It collapses smaller to 39cm while extending taller to 1.31m without the central column or almost as tall to a maximum of 1.53m. With a collapsed diameter of 8cm, compared to 12cm for the Velbon, the Peak Design Travel Tripod occupies significantly less volume. This unique tripod varies in weight from 1.1 to 1.3kg. The minimum of 1.1kg is achieved with the tripod and head adapter but no central column. With the central column, it reaches 1.2kg, the same as the tripod plus supplied head but no column. The Travel Tripod weighs 1.3kg.when fitted with the supplied head and central column.

The modern competitor is the Gitzo GT1555T. This is the only 5-section tripod that closes shorter than the one from Peak Design. Collapsed, it measures 36cm in length but it does not reach the same height. Its maximum height with the central column down is 1.2m and 1.4m with it extended. Amazingly though it weighs just 1kg. There is a kit which includes a ballhead but that adds 0.4kg, letting the Peak Design Travel Tripod take the top spot for lowest total weight.