Bogen 3221 055 Spiked Feet Slip-In vs Clamp-On type

[j_p12]

I have an older 3221 / 055 tripod that uses the spiked feet (055SPK) that slip

inside the leg and you then twist to expand the bolt head against a plastic

sleeve. A plastic sleeve breaks at least once a year through use or shipping

(in a very solid container, too). Sacrificing a foot to save a leg is

worthwhile, but I think the pod can take it and the feet aren't strong enough.

 

I was wondering if the spiked feet that slip over the leg ends on some of the

Bogens would work for the 3221, like the 055SPK2 feet. The tube diameter is

0.80 inches at the end and after a compression dent is 0.79 inches for the rest.

E-mail to Bogen US was unproductive. Has anyone done this?

 

Cheers, -Jim

[akajohndoe]

What about the feet that are spikes and rubber and the rubber foot threads up to reveal the spikes? Easy to install. Easy to use. Works on my 3221.

[akajohndoe]

These:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/284301-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_055SPK_055SPK_Retractable_Spiked_Feet.html

[akajohndoe]

Or are those the ones you are breaking? I've had mine for years.

[j_p12]

DN, those are indeed the feet I use. My original set lasted 7 or so years, but the sets in recent years don't seem to hold up. The bottom of the Sleeve fractures and I need to use gaffers tape or heat shrink tubing to keep them around the bolt. I now travel with spares. I was hoping the ones that slip over the feet for other Bogen pods might fit. I will make a trip to hunts with caliper in hand some time soon. I like your in-car tripod solution. - Jim

[akajohndoe]

Thanks. I use my 'pod transporter often. Good luck on finding alternative feet and post back with any solution you find.

[Matthew Currie]

I'm having a little trouble picturing which part is breaking. Is it the part that inserts into the leg, or the button-like foot that is threaded over the spike? I haven't broken one yet, but figure it would be good to know what the weak spot is.

 

Might it make a difference which way the feet are set when it's stowed? I could see, for example, that if the part that inserts into the leg is being broken it might be stronger with the the feet screwed up toward the leg and the spikes out.

[j_p12]

For shipping, I screw the rubber feet tight to the base so the spikes can go through a piece of rigid foam and into a 1/4 plywood disk, the disk then sits on 1" of medium foam and 3/4" of hard foam--I figure it must take a lot of impact to break them like that. When hiking the pod, the feet can be in the spike exposed or covered position. The sleeve fractures at bottom lip where it contacts the inside and bottom of the pod leg. The very bottom of the sleeve contacts the threaded plastic nut that keeps the sleeve socketed. The impact on the actual bottom of the sleeve is what probably does it in.<BR>

I was thinking yesterday that a slightly angled impact would give a sleeve that was really tight no wiggle room--whereas a direct impact would transmit through more, so I wonder if my feet are too tight (so to speak). I'd test theories, but I like my pod.

[Matthew Currie]

That arrangement sounds as if it ought to survive parachute failures and atom blasts, but I wonder if the plywood disk is transmitting unwanted shocks sideways to the sleeves when the package is handled. Imagine the package you now have, being dropped hard on its side on pavement. Perhaps I'm visualizing it wrong, but I picture the plywood disk not only transmitting the shock to the feet but also insuring that the shock reaches all three feet at once. Might it be better to leave the disk off, and try for some kind of circumferential padding?