THE TREKPOD

About the TREKPOD

This is a lightweight tripod that uses hiking or trekking poles you are probably already carrying. This design is great for saving weight on longer hikes.  It is great for photographing landscapes, group selfies and video cameras. It can also be used to support flashes and microphones. 

I call this tripod a TrekPod.  I designed it using CAD and I print them using 3D printers.  Each TrekPod is designed to be used with either Black Diamond poles or Leki poles. I have designed adapters to allow the smaller Black Diamond poles to fit into the holes for the larger Leki poles.  This will allow you to use a mix of each brand. I include 2 adapters with each TrekPod. 

Each TrekPod comes with 2 stainless steel bolts.  The ¼-20 fits smaller equipment like a Go Pro, small cameras and other types of gear.  There is also a ⅜ -16 that will allow the use of larger gear like ball-heads.  

I was very pleased with the weight the TrekPod would support.  I have a photo of it holding my Nikon Z6 with a Tameron 150-600 telephoto lens. It is important to note that this is not an expensive and super sturdy tripod.  Trekking poles are flexible and do not allow this setup to be rock solid.  The TrekPod does not need it, but I designed 3 clip-on straps that connect each pole to the others.  This makes it more stable and, most importantly, makes it more movable when it is set up.  In other words, with the straps on, you can pick it up by one pole and move it around. It also prevents excessive stress on the TrekPod by keeping the legs at a 25 degree angle. 

Here is a tip on the use of the TrekPod or any other tripod-  For most landscape photos I use either a shutter release or a 2-5 second timer.  This allows me to set up the shot and release the shutter without disturbing the camera. Using the timer allows any vibration or slight movement from my pressing of the button to stabilize before the shutter actually releases.   

What if you only have 2 trekking poles?  Yeah, there is a slight problem with this design.  Here are some solutions:

1. Travel with a partner who also uses poles.

2. Take some of the money you were going to spend on a light-weight tripod and buy yourself a second set of really nice hiking poles.

3. Buy a cheap set of poles.

4. Coming soon    –   I am working on designing an adapter to use a Mono-Pod as one of the poles. You can buy a Mono-Pod to use with the TrekPod.  (I am currently designing the adapter for this).  Many higher quality tripods come with one pole that screws off and can be used as a Mono-Pod.  You can leave your heavier tripod home and take the TrekPod and mono-pod for tougher hikes. 

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