Best way to hike with a tripod

[HSakols]

I like Osprey backpacks.  https://www.osprey.com/us/en/category/backpacks/  I have a couple of them.  On this trip, I used an Aether 85. For a backpack, it is amazingly comfortable and lightweight.  Osprey is really good about repairing your pack for years to come. 

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I get a backache just looking at the two of you carrying those enormous packs.
I don't miss my Gitzo at all, or the flock of single-focal-length lenses I used to carry.

Today I went for a half-hour walk carrying only my Sony RX10M3 (one stabilized zoom lens, 24-600mm equivalent fl.) I left my water bottle in the car so I wouldn't have too much extra weight.   

[dreed]

Slung over the shoulder in its own bag. I've walked 100s of km with them like this, even through tourist traps like Florence. No problem.

And I wouldn't do it any other way.

The backpack method you refere to looks too easy to create problems when walked under trees/branches or through thickets. The exposed legs and feet will catch on things. Then there's environmental damage.

If a tripod doesn't come with its own carry bag, don't buy it. That carry bag is not just there to look pretty in the box.

[cortlander]

I use a very light Feisol 3442 carbon tripod, slung on one shoulder with a belt. Worked since many years.

[dreed]

p.s. monopods can make great walking sticks and while they're poor tripods, they can be enough to help you steady a camera and lens.

[EinstStein]

Do a lot of exercise, such as hike with a tripod everyday.

[leuallen]

Sherpa.

[degrub]

llama !

[shadowblade]

Llama, yak, horse or mule, depending on which continent you're on.

[stever]

I'm not sure i'd trust a yak with my tripod - and unfortunately i've not found any horses, llamas, camels, or mules able to set it up for me reliably.

[oolic]

I have a 3 section Gitzo 2 of the legs a collapsed the 3rd leg is extended to a comfortable length and I use it as a hiking stick. It has a heavy RRS ball head on it, I guess I could put that in the pack to lighten the tripod...works great for me...at 83 years old.
Cheers Richard

[BernardLanguillier]

To me the question is more what is the right tripod and what is the right pack and that varies from person to person and from mission to mission.

Recently my default for overnight trips staying in a mountain hut is:

- Right pack: Zpack 55l (600 gr, comfortable up to 13kg, completely waterproof fabric) that has a perfect set of loops at the very bottom to carry a tripod
- Right tripod: RRS travel tripod (1.45 kg including head)

The total weight of pack + tripod is less than the weight of my Osprey 60l pack. The Osprey is more comfortable when carrying heavy loads on a long distance but the ZPack is no slouch, and I get a “free” tripod and head.

Cheers,
Bernard

[chez]

Slung over the shoulder in its own bag. I've walked 100s of km with them like this, even through tourist traps like Florence. No problem.

And I wouldn't do it any other way.

The backpack method you refere to looks too easy to create problems when walked under trees/branches or through thickets. The exposed legs and feet will catch on things. Then there's environmental damage.

If a tripod doesn't come with its own carry bag, don't buy it. That carry bag is not just there to look pretty in the box.

I’m not sure the OP’s version of an outing is walking the streets of a city. Try walking the trails of Kauai or the Rocky Mountains while carrying the tripod over your shoulder and I think you’ll come to a different conclusion.

[dreed]

I’m not sure the OP’s version of an outing is walking the streets of a city. Try walking the trails of Kauai or the Rocky Mountains while carrying the tripod over your shoulder and I think you’ll come to a different conclusion.

I've walked throughout all of the major national parks with a tripod hung thusly - including Half Dome. I've done 25 miles in a day on trails with a tripod slung over a shoulder in a bag. Having a tripod poking up would be a real problem because it would catch on all manner of branches, trees, etc.

So no, walking the trails of Kauai or Rocky Mountains isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference, IMHO, but then again, I walk nearly all trails in track shoes, not hiking boots, because hiking boots are for tourists or when you're going to be walking in places where there aren't trails.

[John Hollenberg]

... I walk nearly all trails in track shoes, not hiking boots, because hiking boots are for tourists or when you're going to be walking in places where there aren't trails.

It may be your preference to not use hiking boots where there are trails but that is just a personal preference. I have hiked and backpacked in the Sierra and mountains in Southern California for more than 50 years.  Always wear boots and need them for good support.  They have saved my ankles or my toes a number of times.  Have used hiking poles for the last 15 years which save wear and tear on my knees.  No problems attaching a small tripod to my backpack when needed although for day hikes I might carry it in my hands.

[dreed]

It may be your preference to not use hiking boots where there are trails but that is just a personal preference. I have hiked and backpacked in the Sierra and mountains in Southern California for more than 50 years.  Always wear boots and need them for good support.  They have saved my ankles or my toes a number of times.

I used to wear boots but found their soles to be too inflexible for my liking, making it difficult to maintain good traction.

https://www.cleverhiker.com/blog/ditch-boots

Have used hiking poles for the last 15 years which save wear and tear on my knees.

Poles are good A good monopod can double as a walking pole

[chez]

I've walked throughout all of the major national parks with a tripod hung thusly - including Half Dome. I've done 25 miles in a day on trails with a tripod slung over a shoulder in a bag. Having a tripod poking up would be a real problem because it would catch on all manner of branches, trees, etc.

So no, walking the trails of Kauai or Rocky Mountains isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference, IMHO, but then again, I walk nearly all trails in track shoes, not hiking boots, because hiking boots are for tourists or when you're going to be walking in places where there aren't trails.

If you can hike the trails you've walked using track shoes tells me a lot about the type of trekking you've done with your tripod. If you don't need to use both hands scrambling on scree or grabbing trees as you traverse down slopes...then yeh, carry the tripod over your shoulder...but not everyone hikes on nice trails.

[dreed]

If you can hike the trails you've walked using track shoes tells me a lot about the type of trekking you've done with your tripod. If you don't need to use both hands scrambling on scree or grabbing trees as you traverse down slopes...then yeh, carry the tripod over your shoulder...but not everyone hikes on nice trails.

You seemed to miss this line that I wrote:

because hiking boots are for tourists or when you're going to be walking in places where there aren't trails.

I don't know why you seem to think tripod in a backpack is a requirement for ascending or descending steep slopes because it's not. If that's your only experience, fine.

[chez]

You seemed to miss this line that I wrote:

because hiking boots are for tourists or when you're going to be walking in places where there aren't trails.

I don't know why you seem to think tripod in a backpack is a requirement for ascending or descending steep slopes because it's not. If that's your only experience, fine.

When you need both hands to help ascend or descend, then anything hanging off your shoulder just puts you into a dangerous situation. I also use hiking poles to help take the strain off the knees during a steep descent, again making carrying your tripod on your shoulder a pain.

A good pack with the tripod attached with secure straps allows one to safely trek in many situations where carrying the tripod in hand just would put you in possible danger.

[dreed]

When you need both hands to help ascend or descend, then anything hanging off your shoulder just puts you into a dangerous situation. I also use hiking poles to help take the strain off the knees during a steep descent, again making carrying your tripod on your shoulder a pain.

I've never had any of the problems you describe with a tripod in a carry bag over my shoulder, even when using hiking poles. And that includes on steep slopes where if I loose footing, it is a fall/slide to serious injury/death.

A good pack with the tripod attached with secure straps allows one to safely trek in many situations where carrying the tripod in hand just would put you in possible danger.

Nobody here is talking about carrying a tripod in hand while hiking.