KENRO KAROO ULTIMATE TRAVEL

A versatile and travel-friendly tripod that’s full of tricks, and outstanding value for a kit with carbon fibre legs

Like the other tripods in the group, the Kenro is available in both aluminium and carbon fibre editions. the aluminium version costs just £160/$225, including the same ball head, but the carbon kit shaves 300g off the carrying weight, adds a touch of luxury, and still undercuts the competing aluminium Benro for price. Both are terrific value, but we’d splash out on the carbon edition.

it has a similar feature set to the Benro, with legs that swing vertically upwards for compact stowage, here shrinking to a folded height of just 48cm, making it the shortest in the group. Again, it comes with a padded soft case and, in this case, retractable spikes in the foot pads, whereas the Benro has interchangeable pads and spikes.

Further similarities include the provision of three lockable leg angles and the ability to unscrew one leg and use it with the centre column as a monopod. Again, the four-section legs have twist clamps that are easy to operate, and the head has separate pan-only release and friction damper adjustments, in addition to the main lock/release knob.

the pivot system for the centre column in this tripod is quite unique. indeed, the centre column itself stands out by being a twosection telescopic affair. this enables you to extend the regular maximum shooting height from 170cm to a giraffe-like 190cm, although it’s best not to do this when using heavyweight camera kits that are near the maximum load ratings of 10kg for the legs and

8kg for the head.