ARTCISECarbon Fiber Tripod Monopod Heavy Duty Bowl Tripod with 75mm Bowl and Bowl Adapter HS80C Ultra Stable & Lightweight Professional Camera Tripod Stand Max Load 66 Pounds/30kg

This isn’t a perfect tripod, but for the price I am super impressed.So what’s right with it?This thing is solid as a rock. Most stable tripod I’ve ever used. And it comes with spikes for added stability on the right surface.The height range from 3.5-63.4” is fantastic. It’s extremely rare I would ever need more range than that.What do I have mixed feelings about?The bowl head option is great. It’s actually one of the main reasons I chose this tripod. I swapped it out the day it arrive and have not taken it off since. However, as others have mentioned there’s no level on it. That makes it significantly less useful. However I have been able to work around that my using a tiny cube spirit level. And just through using the level within my camera it’s also possible to level the bowl but that takes several adjustments.I generally like twist legs. The grip on these wears on my hands after 3-4 hours of Astro shooting and several adjustments. Honestly I’m probably going to start packing a glove just because of this.Size & weight. At 4.2 lbs it is neither heavy nor light. And i do not recall the exact folded length, but i think it’s around 2 feet. That’s kind of big, but not completely ridiculous. I can still take this one on hikes where I really want the added stability. But I have to bring a larger backpack than normal. So for most day hikes where I’m bringing a smaller kit, or for personal travel that’s not centered around photography, I’m going to bring a smaller, lighter tripod. That’s a shame because I really do love how solid this is one.And as another reviewer mentioned, the tension on the legs was pretty tight out of the box. However about a minute of adjusting it with an Allen wrench got it to a perfect tension.Extras that I don’t care much about?The monopod. Nice that it’s an option but I can’t see myself using it. If I don’t have 100% stability I might as well be handheld. My longer lenses all have OIS. If that’s not good enough then a monopod wouldn’t be either.The magic arm. Cool that it’s included but I have no use for it currently.The carrying case. Not sure when I would ever use this. In generally I think too many products we buy have carrying cases that are unnecessary because the suppliers think it’s a sign of quality.Overall I have no regrets with this tripod. Though I probably will continue to look for something smaller and lighter that is equally solid, and compromise with a lower weight capacity and less height range.

I bought this to run a 500 f4 and heavy body on a gimble. The legs are surprisingly light. No issues after 2 years of regular use.

I've only had this tripod about a week. And what a difference it has made. I recently got a 20-60 spotting scope. I mounted it to a heavy-duty aluminum tripod. That I've had for many years. And have been using it with a 8x10 view camera. The Aluminum tripod was giving some vibration, and had to settle down.After making adjustments. This carbon fiber tripod. Settles in really quick. Spotting faraway wildlife. Is now something I can do for an extended time. I'm glad that I finally decided to get one of these tripods. I've look at them for some time. I already was using the QB54 ball head. So I knew the quality of their products. I know that I will like the tripod for my large format camera. Amazon had one that must have been a return, damaged shipping box, who knows. I saved some money buying that option. It just didn't have the 75mm leveling bowl. Everything else was is perfect shape. I'm happy with it. I was thinking of getting the version with 40mm dia legs. But the 32mm. Is plenty sturdy for all my needs

Bag doesn't fit a fluid head

I just finished making a youtube video reviewing tripods and ballheads for Milky Way Photography to use with a star tracker. I was going to keep the Really Right Stuff Tripod and just return the Feisol Tournament Tripod. Those tripods are good, but this Chinese copycat version is actually better and more stable. It was developed by Chinese engineers per their website. This weighs 4lbs which is a little more than the RRS and Feisol and Gitzo, but the diameter of the legs is much larger than those tripods, so I returned those and kept this one. Although I could afford the Really Right Stuff RS 24L tripod, this cost 70% less and almost 40% less than the Feisol Tournament CT3442. Those tripods have much more flex and skinny legs at the bottoms. RRS supports 44 lbs and Feisol supposedly supports 55lbs. I found them to vibrate more with a MSM or Star Adventurer Pro star tracker on them. This tripod is heavier and steadier for a star tracker. Its also taller. I'm 6'2" and the tripod comes up to eye level. My only complaint is 1)the tension on the leg angles is really stiff. I had to use the allen wrench to loosen the tension a little which was tough, but worked, and 2) It has a 75mm bowl which I don't understand the purpose since there is no bubble on it, so you can't use it to level the ballhead to do panoramas. The bubble is on the tripod instead of the levelling bowl. Why?3) Also, the platform base is huge like on the Feisol tripod. Why not make a narrower base so you can fold it to put in a carry on suitcase or your backpack? I would not pack this for travelling. I would use it for car camping or astro photography where you don't have to hike. It would be great if it folded down to 20" and the diameter of the platform base were smaller like most other tripods.