[bdery]

The Peak Design Travel Tripod has been a long time coming... Its kickstarter campaign launched 10 months ago. All backers have now received their tripods, but general availability was still an unknown. I've been told that the tripod will be available from all major retailers, as well as the company's website, on April 7th.

I for one look forward to testing and reviewing this tripod which wants to go head-to-head with the best out there. It will be interesting to compare it with the popular Sirui T-025X. The unique design of the PD tripod certainly makes me curious.

[blackcloudbrew]

I'm one of those backers. It really is a clever tripod. Love to see it (particularly the carbon fiber version) tested next to some the other lightweight compact tripods out there, the Sirui being one of them. I have an older Promaster equivalent to their current XC-M 525 model. I haven't had a lot of time to use the new Peak Design tripod, but as the Promaster is now and old travel friend, I can see many pluses with the Peak Design model, and perhaps a minus or two.

I also will add the packaging on the Peak Design model is, well..., unique.

[bdery]

I'm one of those backers. It really is a clever tripod. Love to see it (particularly the carbon fiber version) tested next to some the other lightweight compact tripods out there, the Sirui being one of them. I have an older Promaster equivalent to their current XC-M 525 model. I haven't had a lot of time to use the new Peak Design tripod, but as the Promaster is now and old travel friend, I can see many pluses with the Peak Design model, and perhaps a minus or two.

I'll be able to compare with the Sirui, features-wise. Regarding stability I do perform some tests, but I don't (nor does anyone I've seen, except for the guy at The Center Column) have the equipment to perform variation and torque / moment of inertia tests.

I also will add the packaging on the Peak Design model is, well..., unique.

The box? Or the case?

[PKMike]

I for one look forward to testing and reviewing this tripod which wants to go head-to-head with the best out there. It will be interesting to compare it with the popular Sirui T-025X. The unique design of the PD tripod certainly makes me curious.

I'm very curious about this tripod. In fact inclined to buy one. Do you know if you will be reviewing aluminum or carbon fiber version? Look forward to your review.

[blackcloudbrew]

Here is a pic of the case I'm talking about. The tripod is then wrapped in a fabric case. Very nice really. Oh, and please ignore my floor display!

[bdery]

I'm very curious about this tripod. In fact inclined to buy one. Do you know if you will be reviewing aluminum or carbon fiber version? Look forward to your review.

Carbon. It's making rounds across Canada for the moment, Canada Post took quite a convoluted route. I'll be able to give you a short opinion faster earlier than the publication of the eventual review.

Here is a pic of the case I'm talking about. The tripod is then wrapped in a fabric case. Very nice really.

Yep, I had seen that box. Didn't know if you referred to something else.

[bdery]

Just received the tripod today, it's as well made as I expected, and operation is certainly a departure from the classical approach. It's a bit heavier than expected, but not heavy at all. The Sirui T-025X has me spoiled, but the PD is supposed to be stronger.

I'll begin testing soon!

[bdery]

A nice tidbit of information I read yesterday. All (yes, all) of the profit generated by the sales of the tripod at launch in one week will be donated to Covid-19 relief and fighting climate change.

That's all the profit for the first four days. For anyone considering purchasing the tripod, that timing might be a good one.

And they're having a sale right now

I'm not affiliated with them in any way but simply wished to pass on the information.

[blackcloudbrew]

Well, just got today's B&H add and the Peak Design tripod was featured in it. Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod TT-CB-5-150-CF-1 B&H

I'm a bit surprised at the price, $599. I have to say that a a kick starter supporter of this tripod, I contributed abort $150 less, for which, I received a tripod. I'm not gripping here, just a bit surprised. But, oh well, people gotta make a living and it is an excellent tripod IMHO.

[bdery]

I'm a bit surprised at the price, $599. I have to say that a a kick starter supporter of this tripod, I contributed abort $150 less, for which, I received a tripod. I'm not gripping here, just a bit surprised. But, oh well, people gotta make a living and it is an excellent tripod IMHO.

Yep. The company claimed in one of their hangouts that the CF tripod costs $230 to manufacture. This does not include the cost of shipping, employees salaries, R&D costs, marketing, etc. Plus they cannot sell it at a much higher price to the retailers, since these guys want to keep a high markup to support their own costs (inventory, warehouses, employees, etc). They claimed, with a surprising honesty, that they sell it to retailers for about $300, which leaves about $70 per tripod for PD's company costs.

The price is the same on PD's website because of commercial agreements with retailers. So they're making much more money when one buys directly from them, but they're still happy to reach the customer base of all these retailers.

Again, not advocating anything, but it IS commendable to be so honest about the cost structure.

Regarding the end price, the company stated that they are wishing to go against "high-end" players like RRS, Gitzo, etc, with a price point a little above average (thus lower than what they want to compete against). They see the quality of their product as equivalent to those big players. That's their opinion of course Although I'm liking what I've seen so far.

[blackcloudbrew]

Yep. The company claimed in one of their hangouts that the CF tripod costs $230 to manufacture. This does not include the cost of shipping, employees salaries, R&D costs, marketing, etc. Plus they cannot sell it at a much higher price to the retailers, since these guys want to keep a high markup to support their own costs (inventory, warehouses, employees, etc). They claimed, with a surprising honesty, that they sell it to retailers for about $300, which leaves about $70 per tripod for PD's company costs.

The price is the same on PD's website because of commercial agreements with retailers. So they're making much more money when one buys directly from them, but they're still happy to reach the customer base of all these retailers.

Again, not advocating anything, but it IS commendable to be so honest about the cost structure.

Regarding the end price, the company stated that they are wishing to go against "high-end" players like RRS, Gitzo, etc, with a price point a little above average (thus lower than what they want to compete against). They see the quality of their product as equivalent to those big players. That's their opinion of course Although I'm liking what I've seen so far.

Good points all.

[bdery]

I've been able to test the tripod to some extent in the last few days, and have a few observations to share even though I'm not ready to write a review per se.

1-The quality of craftsmanship, and the finesse of the design, are impressive. Peak Design generally delivers high-quality products and this is no exception. Everything is tight, nothing feels cheap.

1A-The exception is the center column. Let me explain. When it's locked, it doesn't move, but when it's unlocked (to lift it) then it moves laterally more than I'd like. It makes it harder than ideal to compose a macro shot, for example.

2-It feels a bit heavy when folded. That's because of the dense design. Once it's been set up, legs extended, it's impressively light given the size and height.

2A-This is, quite probably, the "tallest" travel tripod (or tripod under 3 pounds) with the center column lowered.

3-I love the design of the head. That's where most of the innovation took place (the legs are of course a bit innovation, but the head includes more new features). A head with no protruding levers, so easy to lock, so fast to attach the plate, with no stem at the top, is one heck of a clever design.

4-The lock of the head is strong. However, I observe that it sags a tiny bit when mounting long lenses with no tripod foot. For macro composition this is probably not the best head around, but it's not worse than many others.

5-Extending a tripod should not be a race, but the PD tripod certainly is fast. Folding it is ok, but not faster or slower than others (I timed myself and compared to the Sirui T-025X and got exactly the same time).

6-One significant improvement is the fact that the PD tripod is small and light enough to be considered a travel tripod, but does not require the legs to be reversed for storage. This means that the user doesn't have to use a raised center column. This improves stability significantly. Of course, I can remove the center column from my Sirui T-025X but then, it's not possible to properly reverse the legs, the head prevents proper folding. And not reversing the lens makes the tripod longer and less compact.

7-While managing a low weight, the legs are larger (with a wider diameter) than comparable products.

8-I don't understand the fuss some people made about the plate not having a D-ring. First, you can use another plate. Second, people (like me) who often use a tripod are likely to leave the plate permanently attached.

9-Needing the allen key to remove part of the center column (to get a lower height when needed) is, indeed, a bit annoying. It's not difficult, and the company included a holder for the allen key (and designed a very nice key) but that's one area where I hope their future products improve. A kind of pin release or screw would be more desirable.

10-The case is superb. It's rare to be impressed by a case, in this occasion I am impressed.

11-The phone holder is surprisingly cool. And even though it'S not presented as such, it's something that can be used on just any Arca-Swiss tripod. And it's 20$, not much more expensive than a cheap eBay holder while being much more compact.

That's it for now. The tripod goes on sale tomorrow!