Sirui Compact Traveler 5C Tripod 54.3 inches Lightweight Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod for Camera with 360° Panorama Ball Head for Arca Swiss Quick Release Plate, Max Load 8.8lbs

I have several tripods ranging from heavy duty Manfrottos to compact no-name ones; but nothing I own was convenient for traveling and hiking. I decided to order a few tripods claiming to be lightweight and sturdy, but after going through about 10 of them, this is the only one I found that lived up to the claim (within a $100 budget). It is really light and based on how it folds up, it fits perfectly in the tripod holders on all of my camera and hiking bags.My typical load out is a Canon 1Dx with a 35-250mm L series lens. Total weight is around 8 lbs and I have not had any problems with the head. It has held the camera firmly in place, especially if I mount it at the lens.Now, the legs are thin when fully extended so you have to make sure you have tightened all the sections well and you are firmly planted. And because they are thin, they are likely more susceptible to shake or vibration so this may not be the best solution if you shoot in low light. It is much sturdier at mid height though.All-in-all, this is a great tripod and I recommend it.

This is a really nice travel Tripod. I did replace the ball head which I already had, but that was a preference thing; the included ball head was perfectly adequate

Needed a lightweight, small size for packing, full size for use - with serious stability for travel projects.The Sirui Compact Traveler 5C Tripod is absolutely perfect - and the build quality is awesome.

I bought an aluminum Benro Mefoto Roadtrip tripod, but the head was loose on arrival and it isn’t user serviceable. I returned it and looked at other brands. I settled on this carbon Sirui Traveler 7C. At the same price, it is much better value IMHO..The overall build quality is very good. The metal knobs on the head are very tactile and the ball can be firmly locked or loosened progressively to allow adjustment without the camera sliding uncontrollably. The Benro has a separate friction adjustment from the locking knob. I use a Lumix bridge camera and the Sirui ball can hold that just fine. The ball head assembly can be removed and replaced if desired.The carbon fiber material is an awesome feature at this price. The construction and machining are high-quality and the overall stiffness, yet light weight, means this is superb value for money. 😊 The Sirui and Benro feel about the same in terms of sturdiness..The leg twist-locks are rubber-coated and work with a relatively small rotation, making opening the legs, locking, and retracting them very quick and easy. One grip on a leg can undo or tighten them all. Once loose, the legs easily drop with no need to pull them. Loosening them further allows the leg section to be easily removed for cleaning. The weak points in the whole tripod design are the clear, thin plastic caps, which snap on the end of each leg section. These are known to potentially fail after a period of time, cracking into two, and jamming the leg. Sirui apparently are good at replacing these for you, per some YT videos. Each is marked with the diameter for each leg section, which they will need to know. I think the trick for long life is to keep the legs clean to allow them to slide easily, and don’t pull them down hard to their fully extended length. The cap is what stops the leg falling out, as well as acting as a bushing at the free end of the section. Pull or bend the leg hard and you are stressing the plastic cap.The central column twist-lock is also very quick to operate..The leg pivots are nice and snug, and the legs will actually hold in any position outside the three detents, though a heavy camera could overcome the friction if the legs aren’t embedded in the ground. The locks are simply pivoted out of the way of the detents/teeth with a firm push at the lower end and they stay in that position, unless pushed in. However, with the legs are folded all the way up for the compact carrying configuration, when the legs are lowered, they automatically click back into position to engage with the detents but slide over them until you pull them back up to engage with the desired detent.The central metal leg pivot housing is excellent quality and it does have a ¼” tapped hole for accessories. Not sure what those would be!.The rubber feet can easily be screwed out and replaced with the included metal spikes for soft ground grip. The design has a cross-hole which allows you to use an Allen Key to get a better grip if they are screwed in too tight for fingers. The kit includes three loose Allen wrenches and there’s an Allen hexagon formed on the opposite end of the tripod counterweight hook, accessed by unscrewing the hook assembly from the base of the central column. It only fits the small Allen screw at the top of the central column though, not the perhaps more important leg pivot screws..Also included is a wrist strap. This is for when the monopod is used as a walking stick. However, you have to remove the ball head, unscrew the 3/8” / 1/4” mounting adapter from the central column and refit it to the top of the central column, capturing the wrist strap ring. Nice feature, but I just need a monopod or tripod for my camera. A wrist strap gets in the way.The monopod is a nice design feature and is configured the same as the Benro. The central column can also be inverted to get the camera close to the ground, but the camera is then upside down and accessing the controls is problematic to say the least. Using another smaller, low tripod is a much more practical option, or perhaps use a remote control..The Benro is more compact when stowed, being about 3” shorter. In practice, I haven’t found the longer stowed length of the Sirui to be an issue, slung under my backpack. I’m not going to use the supplied bag. It is not very thick material and just has a rope for a sling, which is not very comfortable on the shoulder. The Benro has a proper carrying case with strap. Sirui saved some money here! ☹.The ‘ARCA-compatible’ camera adapter is not actually compatible with ARCA plates, which have two cheese-head screws underneath to stop the plate sliding out. Sirui has their own adapter design with a proprietary single button-retractable pin that sits in the cavity under the plate. There are no slots for any cheese-heads to sit in. So, a traditional plate won’t fit the Sirui adapter, though the Sirui plate will fit a true ARCA adapter, but without any anti-slide feature. What I do like is that the Sirui plate has a long enough slot to slide away enough from the Lumix camera battery lid to allow it to open with the plate attached. I had to lengthen the slot in my ARCA plates to manage that.The level in the quick-mount adapter is useful but impractical. I like to set one tripod leg away from me on the front, far side, so I’m working between two tripod legs, with the ball head adjustment knob facing me, as with the ARCA tightening knob, and the panning lock to my right. This means that the level indicator is under the lens, and not viewable! I just use the camera’s and the tripod’s in-built level gauges. ☹.In use, the tripod is very stable, even with the central column at full height and I found the controls and legs very ergonomic and easy to use. I’d suggest always extending the bottom leg a few inches so that mud and sand can easily be wiped off before retracting the leg. The graduation scale on the lower legs is a unique feature, but I prefer to just use the tripod’s level and manually adjust the legs as needed..CONCLUSION:.This is a really great tripod for $150. It’s perfect for travel, being light and relatively compact, yet it certainly doesn’t compromise on performance.You can tailor the head to your needs or just use what is supplied.The Sirui ball head works very well.The legs can be easily removed with just a few more turns on the twist locks, making cleaning the legs a breeze. Just keep an eye on those thin clear plastic caps!.I have no complaints and am glad I swapped from Benro. Highly recommended!

This is my second Sirui tripod. I bought this one after loosing the first. If I lose this one I am buying it again!- The Arca plate works with other standard accessories, like phone holders. this one mounts directly to the ball head without the plate: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TGQDZPV/- Lightweight, easy to pack wherever you go. We carry this in our car when traveling and often take it on short hikes.- Relatively easy to pop up and down. I have learned to twist all the knobs at once when collapsed and quickly twist the others when extended. It is not the fastest tripod to fold up, but is not bad at all.- Enough range for common tasks. I carry it for a family selfie tripod. A great balance between folded size and extended height.- Twist locks never go out of adjustment, even though they may take a split second longer.- Nice little ball head for lighter loads- Has the video movement just below the ball to allow fluid 360 degree panning.- Probably strong enough for light SLR setups. I would not put a really heavy camera or huge lens on it. Works fine for most consumer grade setups.- Comes with a very usable bag and strap.- The only negative is sometimes the head comes loose. A quick twist fixes it.Overall this is a great value for the quality you are getting. I believe this is the sweet spot for travel tripods. I own cheaper options that are poorly built, and there are far more expensive options, but this is lightweight yet well built tripod at a reasonable cost.

My wife gave me this for Christmas and I took it in my backpack on a snow-shoeing adventure. I’m really impressed with how sturdy it is despite how small and light it is. It’s rock solid, sturdier than the larger, heavier, more expensive tripod I’ve been using for years, despite them both being carbon fiber. There are a lot of sections to extend, but that’s how they get so compact. I’m really grateful we found this. Awesome value for the price!