Pedco UltraPod Grip Lightweight Camera Tripod

I love my 20-year-old Ultrapod-II, so I "upgraded" to the Ultrapod-Grip when I wanted another one. It's not as grippy on painted poles/rails as my old Ultrapod-II, and doesn't grip narrower pipes (like light-stands and tripod legs) at all, which the old Ultrapod-II did really well (until the vinyl feet fell off). I think I will fix the old one with some Plasti-Dip, and use this new one mostly for table-tops. Otherwise, you can carry some strips of rubberized shelf-liner mesh to wrap the pipe first, but that's an extra step that costs this "grip" version a star.I will mention that this will support a dSLR with a kit-zoom-lens without any problems, just follow the suggestions from their website, face the lens out over the long leg.

This is my 3rd one of these tripods. My first one I lost in the river (with my GoPro Hero 7 Black - let's not talk about that one). I liked the tripod so much that I went home and immediately purchased a new one. I noticed the appearance seemingly changed a little bit, but overall it seemed to be the same tripod.During my first use the ball joint and tightening knob completely broke apart - no extra force, no drops or other cause for breakage. Pedco was great, and I got a replacement tripod very quickly.During THE FIRST use of this new (3rd) tripod the metal post that holds the mounting assembly to the ball joint came right out (picture included). Once again, there was no pressure exerted or dropped in a way that could cause damage. I glued the post back in, and it stayed for a few more outings. But now, after only 2 months of owning this 3rd tripod, I've decided to give up on it. Here's my rundown on the pros and cons:Pros:- nice, compact form- easily mountable to many types of objects- inexpensiveCons:- while mountable, the velcro is a bit of a pain to use and store (usually it's just in the way)- because of con #1, all of my shots are at ground level perspective (no way to increase height)- the adjustable mount and ball joint can be cumbersome to use. A single knob loosens both. Not incredibly difficult, but it could be designed better.- my first tripod seemingly had a stronger mount than the following 2.- the tripod itself is sturdy, but the hardware quality is lacking (post in the ball joint came out)- the tightening knob, if tightened to hard will breakOverall, an ok tripod for $20, but my recommendation is to pass on this one.UPDATE: I tossed it in the garbage because. Several times the gopro's weight (so minimal) pulled the post right out of the ball joint, and I almost lost both the gopro and the tripod.time to

This tripod was to replace my gorillapod because it looked more "stable". I figured there are fewer movable pieces, so it should be simpler to get level, etc. Boy was I wrong. The tripod has a lot of "play." You need to sort of tighten it, then nudge it until everything is framed correctly, then tighten it up some more, hoping you don't mess things up while tightening.The other thing I don't like is the velcro strap. I rarely need it, but don't want to take it off because I will lose it. If I leave it around one leg, I can't fold the other 2 legs without undoing the strap, then redoing the strap around all 3 legs. A bit of a pain.

Sad, when my 25+ year old Ultrapod broke I didn't think twice about reordering. Sadly quality control seems to be gone. The main screw you use to tighten it seems to be made of cheap aluminum that seems to not be threaded correctly to match the insert. Repeated use will clearly strip the screw and make the whole thing a waste of money...So sad, I would rather pay a little more for quality stainless Steel hardware....Definitely wont stand up to the decades of use the original did..Save the effort to return and skip it...

I'm totally surprised by this tripod having such good reviews. I have a small Manfrotto ball-head tripod that can't support the weight of my Nikon D7100 with a moderate-sized lens attached and pointing at a downward angle. Directly ahead, it is fine and it is relatively sturdy. In contrast to this UltraPod Grip, the behavior is similar but the legs of the UltraPod will sag under weight and not provide good stability. Making this worse is the double-ball joint head which, although detented at one end and seen to help hold the camera position, is nonetheless also very shaky. While rated to a safe weight of 6 lbs., I wouldn't trust this to hold any camera with decent stability unless under perhaps 1 lb. total weight. I have returned this tripod for a refund and will seek something better. A tripod similar in design but with legs of aircraft-grade aluminum and a compact ball head would be a far better design.

Purchased this as a lightweight tripod to use while backpacking and hiking. The size and weight are perfect! I use the the strap to attach it to trees, branches, even my trekking pole. With all that being said the design has a major flaw. The ball and socket mechanism used to lock the pivoting head is only held to the metal shaft by friction grooves. Overtime this wears out making a tight adjustment of the ball and socket mechanism impossible. I intend to take it apart and try to modify it so that I can continue using it. This design has a lot going for it but it doesn't quite hit the mark.

I mostly shoot handheld stills (not filming), but I use this when we go backpacking because I don’t want to carry the weight of a full tripod. It works for probably 90% of the times that I want something steadier than handheld. Have gotten a couple star shots as well as long water exposures with it and it works just fine. Only had it about a month and the Velcro strap has frayed a little around the edges. I haven’t used the Velcro strap to attach it to anything (and don’t really think I will) so that’s not a deal breaker for me, but something to consider if you’re wanting to attach a GoPro or something of the sort to get walk-by footage while this is strapped to a tree.