Best Travel Tripods
There are so many travel and adventure tripods out there and it’s hard to find the perfect balance of weight, size, features, and cost. Choosing a tripod is a very personal choice because of the amount of options that are available. Do you prefer aluminum or carbon fiber material? Twist locks or levers for the legs? How tall do you need it to stand? How much weight does it need to hold? One thing you will notice on this list is that all of the tripods are aluminum. Based on my own personal preferences, here are the best travel tripods for photography.
(If you want to skip through the reviews and just know the results, best overall goes to Vanguard VEO 2, best budget to K&F Concept TM2515M1, and 3 Legged Thing Punk Travis came in a VERY close second place because of that amazing load capacity).
3 Legged Thing Punks Travis Magnesium Alloy Travel Tripod
3 Legged Thing creates some of the best L Brackets on the market, and they also build some of the best (and most stylish) tripods as well. The Travis isn’t technically a travel tripod, so it has the best load rating (by far) at 40 lbs, and while this packs the longest at 17.7”, I think that’s a small sacrifice to make for such an amazing load capacity. Surprisingly, it’s barely the second heaviest tripod on this list and floats weight-wise in the same range as the Peak Design and K&F Concept tripods. It’s feature-packed with a monopod, load hanging hook, and leveler, and gets 5 imaginary points for being best looking tripod of the bunch.
Manfrotto Befree GT XPRO Aluminum Travel Tripod
I’m surprised Manfrotto advertises the Befree GT XPRO as a travel tripod. It tips the scales at 4.41 lbs and is our second longest folded tripod at 16.9”. The Manfrotto is feature-rich, but not in ways that you would expect. It doesn’t have monopod capabilities or a built-in leveler, but with it’s Easy Link system, you can add friction arms, flex arms, hot shoes, LED lights, levelers, adapters, you name it! In addition, the GT XPRO is unique in that it’s built for photographers who want to get up close and personal. The Manfrotto Befree GT XPRO is the best macro tripod on this list with an incredible 3.54” working height thanks to the adjustable horizontal column.
Peak Design Aluminum Travel Tripod
Peak Design spent four years designing and testing this tripod, and it was finally released last year. Coming in at a whopping $349, this is our most expensive tripod on the list, but is highly used by the adventure photography community. It packs the smallest at 15.4” and has unlocking leg levers vs twist locks and a unique head with a quick-release plate system. The Peak Design travel tripod has a bit of a learning curve, and a few drawbacks due to its compact design. One, being if the center column is not extended, you cannot adjust the ballhead, and another is that you cannot evenly pan across shots, which is something I do often if I’m shooting a panorama, or filming a wide landscape scene. If you have the money and aren’t bothered by the setbacks, the Peak Design tripod is truly the most compact of the bunch and is worth looking at. But for me personally, it lacks basic features that should be included at such a high price tag.
K&F Concept TM2515M1 Aluminum Travel Tripod
I’ve added the K&F Concept tripod because for someone needing a tripod on a budget, this is it! It’s packed with features including a monopod, a horizontal column for low macro shots, leveler, and load hanging hook to help keep it stable. It also has the tallest reach at 67” and has a 22 lb load rating (on paper). Due to price there is a bit of a cut in materials, and there are a few reviews complaining of an unstable ballhead and legs that have a tendency to stick in cold weather. Either way, for a price at $79.99 it’s hard to complain, so this is the best budget travel tripod of the bunch.
Vanguard VEO 2 235AB Aluminum Travel Tripod
The Vanguard VEO 2 is the surprise contender on this list and packs a serious punch by only weighing 2.6 lbs! There are naturally a few downsides, it has the lowest load capacity at 13.2 lbs (for reference, my Nikon Z6 body plus 24-70mm f/4 lens combo weighs shy of 3 lbs) and also the second lowest maximum height at 57”, which all things considered, is a small price to pay for that weight. I think the VEO 2 takes the cake and gets top honors thanks to its perfect balance of size, weight and price. It also has a unique center column design that allows the quickest setup and take down of all the tripods listed above. Vanguard has multiple tripods in the VEO 2 series, so if you need a taller tripod, or need a little bit more weight support, they have it available. I really wasn’t expecting this to turn into a VEO 2 fangirl page, but there you have it. The Vanguard VEO 2 is the best travel tripod overall on this list.