Gitzo Traveler Ultralight

The Gitzo Traveler tripod and ballhead provides the lightest and smallest full size tripod available. It has won design awards for its unique ‘fold up’ design where the legs actually reverse over the center post and ballhead, folding to a 17 inch length weighing only 3.1 pounds for both the tripod and ballhead.

Unfolded it expands to a 60 inch maximum height (51 inches without the center post extended). We find it appropriate for holding an SLR and 70-200 f2.8 size lens, with the center post NOT extended it would be OK for a 300 f2.8.

Roger’s Take: I never expected to write much about this tripod — I prefer snap locks to twist locks, and my one seriously severe photography obsession is with Markin’s ballheads. So I knew I’d hate this tiny thing with its twist legs and tiny lever-action ballhead. And don’t get me wrong, I still hate this ballhead and I don’t like twist-lock legs. But this thing is amazing. Its incredibly small and light, a backpacker’s dream. And its so well designed and made that I have to just marvel at it. Set up its quite sturdy and nicely adjustable. With a little weight attached to the center hook, and the center post not-very-extended its capable of holding a 300 f2.8, although just barely. Its excellent, though, as a very portable tripod for a camera and landscape lens, allowing you to take nice, long exposures.

Would I buy one? Not unless I was a hiker who always carried a tripod. But there are times that I sure will use it, when I don’t feel like carrying a full-size tripod but might need a long exposure for a dusk shot, or a waterfall, etc. This is a superb little bit of gear.

Specs

Maximum height

60.5 inches with center post fully extended (including head)

Collapsed height

16 inches

Weight

3.1 pounds

Leg Sections

5

Max Load

5 pounds

We carry a lot of tripod/ballhead kits. Here’s a quick comparison to help you pick the one that’s right for you, from lightest to heaviest.

Gitzo Traveler Ultralight is the lightest and most transportable tripod we carry and capable of supporting slightly heavier loads than the Giottos Tripod/Monopod. Quite a bit more expensive, though, but in this case you get what you pay for.
Benro Ultralight Very similar to the Gitzo Traveler, although a bit heavier and a lot less expensive.
Benro Medium Duty maintains the very short folded length (17 inches) of the ultralight tripods, but has the heavier construction (and weight) of a medium duty, capable of handling a camera and 70-200 f2.8 size lens (and a 300 f2.8 in ideal conditions).
Giottos Tripod/Monopod A versatile carbon fiber tripod that also converts to a monopod. Small, inexpensive, easy to carry, and flexible. Not appropriate for lenses larger than a 70-200 f2.8
Medium Duty Tripod and Ballhead combines a set of sturdy carbon fiber 4 section legs with a Markins Q3 ballhead which is small and light but very robust. A great choice for a more sturdy platform than the lightweight kits, and capable of holding a 300 f2.8 lens and camera with no trouble.
Heavy Duty Tripod and Ballhead have the same legs as the medium duty tripod, but the larger Markins M10 head. This setup is capable of handling a 500 f4 lens, although if you’re working overhead or with fast-moving targets, you might want to consider adding a Wimberley Sidekick

If you’ll be using a 400 f2.8, 600 f4 or similar size lens, we recommend getting a separate heavy duty tripod and a Wimberley II or CB Gimbal

If you’d like to mix-and-match to get exactly what you want we also carry separate Tripod legs and Heads

Still looking for more information on tripods? Check out our article titled Choosing a Tripod.