BENRO GO PLUS TRAVEL FGP28A + B1 HEAD

it’s billed as a ‘travel tripod’ but the Benro is anything but flimsy, having the beefiest load rating in the group

while so-called travel tripods tend to be small and lightweight, they often lack rigidity and a decent maximum operating height. those criticisms certainly can’t be levelled at this Benro tripod. the legs and B1 ball head (sold separately) have a maximum load rating of 14 and 12kg, beating every other tripod on test.

the maximum operating height is 166cm, yet the tripod folds down to a travel-friendly 49cm. this is thanks to having four rather than three sections in each leg, and the adoption of a fairly recent design trend, in which the legs swing completely upwards so that the feet surround the head, with the centre column fully extended. when folded, the tripod fits snugly into the high-quality padded soft case, supplied with the legs.

twist grips have come back into fashion recently, not least because you can quickly grab the clamps of all leg sections in one handful and release them simultaneously when setting up the tripod. A bubble level is fitted to both the legs and head, in order to help keep your shooting levelled.

three alternative leg angles are enabled by a simple push-pull locking mechanism. the pivot facility is a little more fiddly than in some competing tripods, with separate locks for pan, pivot and extension.

However, whereas all the other tripods on test only enable you to use the centre column in vertical or horizontal mode, the Benro allows you to set the column at any position, locking it at small angular increments through an entire 210-degree arc.