<p>Shiang, I have the clone: a Benro 4-section CF tripod. This scenario happens with mine, so I rotate the locks back until they are <em>just </em>starting to lock and the sections stay put. It only seems to happen with the lowest, thinnest legs - the others are all fine (in fact a couple of top ones are even slightly stiff). I don't lock them more than I have to, as leaving them too tight would ultimately damage the mechanism.</p>
<p>I would have thought that a Gitzo original shouldn't have this problem but of course I don't know how close my g-lock copy is. The rumour was always that they are "identical" and that the design was stolen from Gitzo when they outsourced manufacturing to China.</p>