That would depend on how they place the stops, Looking at the Manfrotto design, they could have manufactured the hinge for the legs that way and it would be a non issue. The Larger base plate gives me the support I was looking for, but I missed the fact that this model did not have some sort of mechanism that would prevent the legs from folding under the head when extended carry was being used. As mentioned previously, someone indicated there was a center column avilable, but since no one here stocks it or has seen one, it would be unwise for me to order one and find out I was not happy with it, no returns policy on special order equipment.