The Latest Kickstarter Tripod Is Small and Truly Adventurous, But Will It Survive?

The Pakpod is Kickstarter's latest small-camera tripod to hit the market. It's not made of carbon fiber or even metal. It won't stand much higher than a couple feet. And it looks a little funny - let's be honest. But it does one thing better than any other tripod I've ever seen: it attaches to anything (even under water).

There's not much more to say about the Pakpod other than what the video can tell you. But this ABS plastic three-legged spike with a tripod mount seems sturdy. The promotional video for the new tripod shows its legs bolted on, screwed in, suction-cupped on, and spiked into just about any situation with an assortment of different mounting and foot options available. The legs open quickly at the push of a button with a great latch-lift/release design. It's even relatively cheap at $79 (Kickstarter price). And did I say it seems to be safe under water? 

The only hesitation with purchasing this little beast of a tripod comes out of concern for its quality. Kickstarter products have a habit of being largely untested due to the same nature that makes the website's featured products so great: it's all so new! The ABS plastic construction of these legs simply doesn't instill confidence in the product, even if we understand that high-quality plastics can be quite amazing these days. Then again, however, at $79 for these guys, maybe that doesn't matter as much.

A dollar short of a hundred bucks will snag you one of 192 (at the time of this writing) December "Early Delivery" slots still available for the tripod at what is its expected MSRP for those interested.

Adam Ottke's picture

Adam works mostly across California on all things photography and art. He can be found at the best local coffee shops, at home scanning film in for hours, or out and about shooting his next assignment. Want to talk about gear? Want to work on a project together? Have an idea for Fstoppers? Get in touch! And, check out FilmObjektiv.org film rentals!

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2 Comments

If they made it from the same plastic Glock used to make my gun this could be a pretty cool gadget.

Looks kinda cheap. the edges aren't very clean. In my experience, kickstarter deals usually cut corners in first production runs, so I'm gonna bet its not going to be that good.