Universal TrailPix Trekking Pole Tripod Review

[Jeff Burns]

Companion forum thread to: Universal TrailPix Trekking Pole Tripod Review

The Universal TrailPix, two trekking poles, and one additional pole make a tripod capable of holding a compact or small DSLR camera. The TrailPix consists of a triangular and mostly flat piece of aluminum with three holes in it for trekking poles. Thumbscrews secure the poles in place.

[Ed Biermann]

This sounded familiar, yep. Heard about it here

Jeff, you wouldn’t try their HD ball mount? Oh, welcome to BPL.

[Lester Moore]

Nice write up. Looking forward to trying one of these out this Spring with DSLR and compact cameras. Another good ball head option is the Slik SBH-100 DQ Compact Ballhead 100 – it’s 4.6 oz, has a QR plate, and is around $25 (should be ideal for compact cameras).

[Bruce Tolley]

Nice review.

In reference to “Small marks on the trekking poles,” How small is small?  My experience with carbon fiber poles is that if they suffer deepish scratches and abrasions, it seems to weaken their resistance to lateral forces and break.  I wonder whether aluminum poles should be recommended for the Trailpix.?

[Ken Thompson]

But the screws only touch the pole tips, not the pole shaft. Look at the photo in the article. Also the UL version does not use the screws.

[Iago Vazquez]

I can get my z-poles nice and stable and their light ballhead works well with my Canon G-15 & 20D. No, It’s not a professional tripod. But it’s a nice workaround for those of us who use trekking poles and who are used to bringing a “light” tripod for some amateur shots. This is lots lighter and a more packable option. And in my case more durable, as those “light” tripods tended to be relatively fragile.

[Gunnar H]

The problem is the ballhead. A ballhead must be quite heavy (at least a pound I would say) to be stable for a larger camera. If you like me – priorize photography you can get a remarkably stable tripod at almost no weight using the trailpix without a ballhead.

My foodsack with freeze-dried food is acturally a reasonally good “bean-bag” when the original, often vacuum tight, bags are replaced with lightweight plastic bags. I attach the stove windshield on the trailpix instead of a ball head to get a larger area to put my “bean-bag” on. Mostly I secure everything with my belt or a strap. (If your windsheld is not siutable find someting else that is…).  It of cause takes some more time to get your camera set up compared to a proffesional tripod, but is much less frustrating than trying to use a to large camera with a to small ballhead. Anyone who have tried will know what I mean. Once you get it in position it will be more stable than any ballhead due to the lack of torque, and easily stable for 3-4 punds of camera and zoom.

If you are using freeze-dried food and are not already replacing the origninal package with plastic bags, you will probaly be able to get a working stable tripod at no extra weight for a multiday trip even if you-  as me – have to bring the extra leg that you can buy with the Trailpix.

A tripod that is not stable enough is of no use, so I much prefer this when trekking to a small ballhead for a “normal” SLR. I take 95% of the photos without tripod, but when I use it, stability is priority. When I don´t use it, low weight is priority.

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