Suggestions for a Monopod/Hiking stick?

<p>Does anyone here have experience with a monopod that doubles as a hiking/trekking stick?<br>

I have seen a few advertised online but don't have anywhere local to actually look at any. I'm 5'9" tall and would like it to extend to eye-height. It would be really inconvenient to have to stoop to use one with a camera attached. It will need to support a D800E and 70-200mm zoom.<br>

Gup.</p>

<p>take a look at the Feisol monopods. They extend to 66" so add 3-4 more for the viewfinder height and subtract 2-3 from your height and you should be very close. Not sure how well it would deal in the long term with the off-axis forces you may subject it to as a walking stick.</p>

<p>I still have my trusty Tracks hiking stick that I bought about 20 years ago, including four seasons with the Forest Service. Adjustable height, camera mount, lightweight and strong. Check it out...</p>

<p>http://www.trackspoles.com/walking_hiking.asp?Action=SherlockStaff</p>

<p>Not sure you can use this, but this is what I did. Got a Feisol for tall folks (I'm over 6' tall) and I also bought a Bogen head that comes with a plate. This way I can take the camera off the monopod w/ease, put it in a backpack or a hip pack....and use it as a supporting stick. <strong>It came in v. handy</strong> when the trail was covered in snow at couple of areas (in July) on the way to the top of Mt Lassen. I guess it didn't help that I had sandals on :>).</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p>I also have a Tracks Sherlock. Bought it primarily as a walking staff. I also wonder somewhat about the ability of some monopods to stand up to the forces that might be involved in use as a walking aid under bad conditions, not just the side or bending forces but the potential of throwing one's full weight on the shaft perhaps causing slippage of the telescoping leg fittings. </p>

<p>The Sherlock is a tad short for me but after having used the Bogen grip-action head for a while, it works but is too heavy and makes for balance problems when walking so one of the lighter head systems might be a better solution (not withstanding perhaps still being a bit short). One advantage to the grip head is it's a little easier to work with than a typical ballhead. It, like a ballhead, would have more range of motion that a monopod head designed solely to flip to portrait. I usually carry a couple of bungee cords and they can allow me to strap the staff to different objects and get useful camera angles.</p>

<p>OTOH, monopods would seem likelier to have a full range of length adjustability compared to many walking sticks. The Sherlock, as an example, only has two sections and is adjusted with a spring button in holes along the shaft. So while it would be unlikely to collapse, it also is limited in settings and is probably too long for checked luggage. I'd avoid trying to take it as carry-on because of it's similarlity to a ski pole - which are not allowed in cabin and it's sharp steel point under the rubber foot.</p>

<p>Thanks, everyone. <br>

So in conclusion: <br>

A monopod won't be robust enough for double-duty.<br>

A hiking stick will be shorter when extended and won't collapse down as well as a monopod.<br>

The only one I have come across that is desirable is $399 before I buy a head! It is a beauty though and collapses to about 18" and can be carried on your belt. <br>

My wife gave me a hiking stick for Christmas and I am trying to kill two birds with one stone before committing to the stick. (truth is I don't even want the stick so I'm trying to justify the whole thing.)<br>

I'm still listening if anyone else has any suggestions. Thanks.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I use a REI Hiker Shocklight Staff (REI.com) for my walks/hikes. Cork palm grip unscrews with 1/4-20 screw to mount a head. Bought mine for $50 on sale. Excellent hiking stick, and is three sections that collapse to fit in checked luggage. Haven't used it much as a monopod as I usually carry a lightweight tripod on my day pack, but it works in a pinch.</p>

<p><em>Leki</em> makes a hiking pole company makes some walking sticks that have a 1/4 " thread on top after the grip is removed. I bought one and tried it out. I did not find the Leki as useful or easy to use as a monopod or carbon fiber tripod except in extremis. Sorry, you may need to schlep a four section carbon fiber tripod to get any stability and useful photography. Especially for that amount of camera and lens combo. ..good luck though.</p>

<p>Several years, in Shutterbug mag, Roger Hicks showed a photo of a walking stick/monopod I'd really like to find, make, or have made for me. It was a practical walking stick, with a knob end/grip. The mating piece was a bowl shaped doodad that screwed into the camera or lens tripod socket. It was only intended to steady the camera a bit, not to physically attach to the camera like a conventional monopod/tripod.</p>

<p>I've never found anything like it so I'm considering making one. An option is to cannibalize a leg from a cute but not particularly practical tripod I paid five bucks for at a thrift shop. It uses pneumatic legs and center post, like some lighting stands. The pneumatic action probably seemed clever decades ago, but it's slow to extend and retract. The legs are robust anodized aluminum, more stout than the adjustable aluminum cane that I occasionally use when my knee and hip are acting up. The tripod's legs have only two sections - one outer, one inner telescoping section - which don't retract to a very short length, but that's not a problem for what I have in mind. A detached single leg could quickly and easily be adjusted from hip height for a standard cane/walking stick to nearly eye level as a monopod.</p>

<p>The clever bit to this design is that even if the robust physical clamp lock failed - an unlikely occurrence - the pneumatic device would prevent a sudden failure. It would simply become spongy and collapse gradually. So the very factor that makes it impractical as a conventional tripod would make it ideal for a combo monopod/walking stick/cane. The existing legs terminate in a typical walking cane type rubber foot. The bright blue anodized aluminum finish would make it rather amusing and harmless looking and unlikely to frighten easily alarmed security guards or paranoid ninnies in public.</p>

<p>The tricky bit will be designing a knob-shaped head to fit the leg, while also allowing access to the leg lock lever which is located on the top of each leg. Fortunately, with three legs to hack, I can afford to screw up a couple in experiments.</p>

<p>After that, I'll need to cobble together a mating piece, just a deep saucer/shallow bowl shaped doodad with a tripod bolt.</p>

<p>Lex, so the bowl is fixed to the camera or lens and then forms a ball and socket type of joint on the top of the leg? Am I getting that right?</p>

 

<p>Right, just a ball on the monopod head, and socket type fixture on the camera/lens tripod mount, but no other physical connection - they aren't threaded, clamped, etc. Just something to quickly steady the camera. Minor adjustments in height can be managed by tilting the entire monopod slightly forward, backward, etc., rather than messing with adjusting the length of the shaft.</p>

<p>I've tried a makeshift version of this with my adjustable aluminum cane, and it's not a bad arrangement for folks who happen to need a little support from a cane for long walks, or walking stick for hiking.</p>