Not knowing your specific needs, photographic or financial, I offer just general comments.
1. If money is not a concern, look at Gitzo or Really Right Stuff. There is a reason you see them so widely used. Go for carbon fiber.
2. I have a nice wooden tripod (mohogany legs and a paduk base for the head) that I sometimes use for my view camera. It was made for me by a friend who was a custom woodworker. It's beautiful, rock solid, extremely flexible, and heavy. I like it but use it very little.
3. My main tripod is a Bogan/Manfrotto 3021. That's the Bogan model # but Manfrotto still makes the same one with a different model number that I can't recall at the moment. I have two of them. They are reasonably light (better than my wooden one but not like carbon fiber), solid, simple in design, durable, easy to use in the field, versatile, and the best buy around. They are also stronger than you might think. Mine have been used frequently with my Pentax 67 and my view camera. My older one got pretty beat up when a horse decided to mash it between my leg and a tree. But I repaired it pretty quickly and went on. My leg took a little longer! After many years of hard use, I semi-retired it and bought a new one.
Additionally I have a pan head if needed but mostly use a solid (Bogan) ball head with a hexagonal quick release. They also make a pistol grip type ball head that I thought looked weak until I tried one. I was impressed with it's strength and the very smooth, natural way it works. If I wanted another head (with a different quick release system) I'd buy that.
Hope this all helps. I wouldn't use anything else. but remember, these are my choices and may not suit your work well. A studio photographer, for instance, would make very different choices.
