travel tripod phone mount v2

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Travel Tripod

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All gear bought on the Marketplace is guaranteed for life by Peak Design. We also guarantee that the seller has accurately represented the item's condition, or you may return the item for a full refund.

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Material: Carbon Condition: Good

--> Ships from: San Juan Capistrano, CA

Seller Note:

Includes : Tripod (Legs + Compact Ball Head) x1 Weatherproof Soft Case x1 Standard Plate x1 - 4mm + 2.5 Hex Wrench Mobile Mount x1 Bushing Removal Tool x1 + Ultra Light Conversion Kit x1 Please note the hex tool holder is on the tripod but the tool is long gone. It wasn't really that useful as I never change plates in the field, and I think it's the only real issue I had with the tripod. I hope future iterations have a more secure attachment, it was always falling out. The tripod itself is amazing, light, and so portable. I took great care of it, but I just don't need the super compact form factor anymore. I purchased the ultra light conversion kit with the tripod which I never used -- it comes in a spare PD case I have (not pictured, not sure if it's the same pouch it came with but it works).

Material: Carbon Condition: PD Certified

--> Ships from: Chicago, IL

This product is PD Certified, meaning that it's an open box, gently used, or refurbished item sold by Peak Design and shipped from our refurbishment facility near Chicago. Unlike other products on the PD Marketplace, the images in this listing aren't of the exact item you'll receive. But don't worry, because PD Certified products have passed a stringent in-house inspection. They may show very slight non-functional cosmetic wear, but work (and often look) as good as new. Cosmetic wear may include scratched hardware and zippers, scuffed fabric, and other surface abrasions indicative of previous use.

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Home » Blog » Best Travel Tripods of 2023: For Both Phone and Camera

Best Travel Tripods of 2023: For Both Phone and Camera

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is “ what tripod do you use “ ? I often share travel couple photos that have been taken on a tripod, and occasionally I capture selfies on my own, also using a tripod. There are so many travel tripod options out there and I know it’s confusing to choose the best one… so let me help you!

In this guide, I am sharing the best lightweight travel tripod options, including phone tripods and camera tripods. I am featuring tripods for both everyday travelers and for professionals.

Disclaimer : This blog post may feature some affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you make a purchase (at no extra cost to you). It’s one of the ways I can keep producing free guides and resources for my readers. Learn more about my affiliate policy  here . Thank you for the support!

BEST TRAVEL TRIPODS of 2023

Why use a tripod? There’s nothing wrong with regular selfies where you hold up the phone or camera and snap a close-up photo. These are so fun and make great memories. But they also cut off a lot of the view and only really show your upper body or head.

Using a tripod will allow you to take full body travel selfies as well as regular photos that require stabilization (e.g. long exposures, astrophotography). And when I say travel selfies, I am referring to taking photos solo, as a couple, with friends, with family, with your pets, etc.

In this guide, I am only recommending lightweight travel tripods. The reason being is tripods can get quite heavy and if you plan to travel with one, you really need it to be as lightweight and packable as possible. I also like to hike and backpack with a tripod, so having something small and lightweight is VERY important.

Best Phone Tripods for Travel

I often take photos and videos on my phone ( iPhone 13 Pro ) and find this to be such a quick and easy way to create travel memories. Below are my top options for phone travel tripods.

Cheapest Phone Tripod

The most affordable (yet still highly rated) phone travel tripod on the market is the UBeesize Phone Tripod . Coming in at $16 USD you can get a tripod that allows for capturing both vertical and horizontal photos/videos. It’s also flexible and can be wrapped around things like fences, poles, tree branches, etc.

Smallest Phone Tripod

There are numerous really small phone tripods on the market, but the issue is that a lot of them won’t allow you to shoot both horizontally AND vertically. If you don’t mind only having the option to shoot horizontally, then I recommend the Joby GripTight ONE Micro Stand or the JOBY GorillaPod Mobile Mini .

If you want the ability to shoot vertically as well, I think the smallest option available is the JOBY Handypod Mobile Mini Tripod with GripTight One Mount . Remember that these types of mini-phone tripods will need to be rested on something, e.g. a table, fence, car, rock, etc.

Extendable Phone Tripod

If you want to take full-body images then you should probably invest in an extendable phone tripod. This will allow you to have your phone at hip or face height. My top recommendation is the Aureday 62 inch Selfie Stick Tripod . This tripod can be extended to 62 inches / 5’1 ft, comes with a universal head mount, remote shutter release, and can also be used as a selfie stick. It can also be used with a GoPro or DSLR camera. Note that you may not be able to extend it all the way or use it vertically with a heavy camera.

Most Professional Phone Tripod

Now hear me out… the Peak Design Travel Tripod is expensive but it’s amazing for creating professional content on both mobile and camera! It’s sturdy enough that you can create long exposures and timelapse videos without the tripod shaking or risking falling over. It also extends to be 60 inches, can hold phones/cameras both vertically and horizontally, and can house up to 20 lbs of weight, including large DSLR cameras and telephoto lenses.

Already own a tripod for your DSLR or mirrorless camera? You can very likely buy a mobile attachment and use it with your existing tripod head/ball head. Just be sure to read up on the dimensions and requirements before purchasing. Some attachments to look into are the Peak Design Travel Tripod Phone Mount and the Ruittos Phone Tripod Mount .

Best Lightweight Travel Tripods for Cameras

There is a wide range of tripods on the market for DSLR and mirrorless cameras . I personally believe that if a tripod is lightweight and packable then you are much more likely to actually use it. So these recommendations are best suited for photographers who are on the go and need a travel-friendly tripod (including for activities like hiking and backpacking).

best Overall Travel Tripod

My most used travel tripod is the Peak Design Travel Tripod carbon fiber version. It’s super lightweight for a sturdy tripod that extends to 60 inches and can hold both a camera body & a large lens (e.g. telephoto). It packs down really small and can easily be stored in your luggage or in the side section of your backpack (a total length of 15.4”). The weight of the carbon fiber version is 1.29 kg (2.81 lbs), and the aluminum version is 1.56 kg (3.44 lbs).

The Peak Design Travel Tripod also comes with a built-in ball head and camera mount, so you won’t need to buy that separately. Like to shoot with an L Bracket? Read this article before buying .

Another perk of the Peak Design Travel Tripod is that it comes with a mobile phone clip, making it the perfect hybrid for creators who like to shoot with both their camera and their phone.

Should you choose the aluminum or carbon fiber version? If you don’t need a super lightweight tripod, then I recommend you buy the aluminum version. If you plan to hike or backpack with it then I would consider investing in the carbon fiber version.

Travel Tripod Most Loved By Professionals

If you’ve followed me for the while then you’ve probably seen me use the Gitzo Traveler Series 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod paired with a Really Right Stuff BH-30 Ball Head , and an L Bracket camera attachment. I bought this setup before the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod was released because it used to be the best lightweight professional setup available. I still love this option for the fine-tuning you can do with the Really Right Stuff BH-30 Ball Head and the ability to quickly change between vertical and horizontal compositions when using an L Bracket camera attachment. You can also pair the Peak Design Travel Tripod Phone Mount with this setup, making it functional for both mobile and camera.

The downsides of this setup are that it’s not as packable or as lightweight as the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod . When folded, the tripod packs down to be 17.5 inches and the ball head is a height of 2.9 inches, making it a total of 20.4 inches. This is short compared to a lot of tripod and ball head configurations, but for me as a petite woman, it’s quite tall to fit in the side of a backpack. In saying that, my 6’1 husband has no complaints. This setup comes in at a weight of ~3.71 lbs, which is 0.9 lbs heavier than the Peak Design. It’s also ~$315 more expensive than the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod .

So why would you choose the Gitzo Traveler Series 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod + Really Right Stuff BH-30 Ball Head over the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod ? Right now Peak Design is still working on compatibility issues between the Really Right Stuff Plates and L-Brackets and their Travel Tripod. For example, the L Bracket I am currently using for my Sony a1 is not compatible with the Peak Design Travel Tripod head. And sometimes having that ability to switch between vertical and horizontal quickly is very important to me. So for now I am holding onto my Gitzo and RRS setup until Peak Design has fixed that issue ( which they appear to be working on ).

Best Budget Travel Tripod

I know the last two options are expensive and not everyone has that kind of money to spend. There are definitely more budget-friendly travel tripod options on the market but keep in mind that they are cheaper for a reason. Usually , the more budget-friendly tripod options are heavier, less packable, and/or less sturdy.

The Magnus TR-13 Travel Tripod is a great choice for those looking to invest in a lightweight travel tripod but may not have the budget for something super fancy. The Magnus TR-13 can be extended up to 62.5″, folds down to 18.2″, and weighs only 2.9lbs! But it doesn’t hold as much weight as some of the more expensive options (max of 13.2 lb). So you’re going to find this tripod is less steady and possibly not as conducive to holding bulkier equipment like telephoto lenses.

Some other budget travel tripods to consider:

• Mefoto Roadtrip S Lightweight Aluminum Travel Tripod
• SIRUI T-0S Series Travel Tripod  
• Manfrotto Element MII Aluminum Tripod
• Oben AT-3565 Aluminum Travel Tripod

How To Take Travel Selfies With a Tripod

There are a few different methods to taking selfies with a tripod. And these apply to any type of selfie, including couple photos, solo photoshoots, family snaps, capturing moments with your friends, or maybe even with your pets. These methods apply to both phone photography and DSLR + mirrorless cameras.

Different methods of taking selfies

• Using the self timer function
• Using a remote control
• Utilizing interval shooting / intervalometer

1. Using the Self Timer Function

This is probably the easiest option and works for both mobile and camera. It’s super simple, you just turn on the self timer function (all phones and cameras have this) and run into the frame! For iPhones, you can set the self timer to be 3 or 10 seconds. I recommend 10 seconds because then you will have more time to run into the frame. I often use this method for very quick selfies when I know I can be close to the phone/camera and will only want 1 or 2 takes.

• Pros : free and easy to use
• Cons : you have to stay relatively close to your phone/camera and can only take 1 photo at a time

2. Using a Remote control

Using a remote that connects to your phone is a popular choice for taking selfies. This means you can click a button on the remote and it takes a photo on your phone. This method can also be used with DSLR and mirrorless cameras when the brand has a compatible app (e.g. you download the app on your phone and then use it as a remote to click your camera’s shutter from afar). I have used this method in the past but I find it annoying to have to hide the remote / my phone each time.

• Pros : affordable and easy to use, you can be further away from the camera, you can take multiple images per shoot
• Cons : it’s annoying to hide the remote each time, they often have fairly short ranges so you still can’t go too far away

3. Utilizing Interval Shooting

This is my preferred method for taking selfies on both my phone and camera. When using a phone, you will need to download an Interval Shooting app (e.g. Lens Buddy or Lightning Lens ). If using your camera, you will need to use the inbuilt interval shooting function (or if you camera doesn’t have this you can purchase an external intervalometer).

Choose the speed, how many photos you want it to take, and whether or not you want a delay/timer at the start (so you can get into position). For example, you may choose for it to take a photo every 2 seconds, with 20 photos total, and a 15 second timer at the beginning. I love this method because I can move around freely and pose in all different ways. It’s also great for a group setting because you’re bound to get an option with everyone’s eyes open if you have 20 takes!

I have an Instagram Reel that shows me using this feature on my Sony a1. Click here to watch

• Pros : you can easily take many photos in one go, don’t need to worry about hiding a remote, can get as far away from the camera/phone as you want
• Cons : not an option for all cameras and doing this on the phone requires an additional app

Final Thoughts on the Best Travel Tripods

I want to finish off this guide by saying that you shouldn’t feel embarrassed or worried about using a tripod in front of others. Who cares what they think?! Some of my favorite photos have been taken with a tripod and they make such amazing memories. For example, I wouldn’t have nearly as many photos with my husband and or with my friends if we didn’t travel with a tripod. So put those worries aside and just give it a try 🙂

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Incredible photos and pack of usefull info. Thanks, guys! Still in search of 1.5m height lightweight tripod for artwork process shooting.

Thanks for sharing the informative article.

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A Tripod Terribly Misjudged by Many: A Technical Review of the Peak Design Travel Tripod

This tripod was so different from all others in the market when it was released four years ago. Now that it’s obvious that many other brands have copied its unique form factor one way or another, it definitely deserves a closer look.

It has been over four years since Peak Design first launched their travel tripod as a crowdfunding project, and ever since, the tripod’s design has polarized opinions of photographers around the world. The unusual and (then) uniquely minimalistic design of the Peak Design travel tripod excited a lot of photographers enough to raise well over the targeted funding, but at the same time raised some eyebrows on those who were not instantly convinced.

The Minimalist Design

Peak Design’s travel tripod seems to have been designed with the aim of taking the concept of portability to a whole new level. While most travel tripods were designed to have the legs fold upwards to reduce the folded length, this one took an entirely different approach. Instead, the legs are divided into five shorter sections. This made it possible to make the folded length even shorter than most tripods, which would make it very easy to pack inside a regular camera bag. At the same time, the legs were made in a more flattened shape instead of the usual rods, which made it more possible to keep the width of the entire tripod thinner. This is in combination to the extremely thinner center column that fit perfectly in between the three legs to form what seems like the most dense and most compact folded form of any tripod.

The aluminum version of the PD travel tripod comes as a solid 1.56 kg compact cylinder while the carbon fiber version weighs 1.29 kg. These two variants can both carry up to 9.1 kg of camera gear. The entire tripod folds down to 39.1 cm with a beverage bottle-like diameter of just 7.9 cm. When all five sections are fully extended, the maximum height is 130.2 cm with the center column down and 152.4 cm with the center column fully extended. The lowest configuration with the center column partially removed and legs spread to the widest angle gives a minimum height of just 14 cm. 

The Unusual Ball Head

At first glance it seems that this tripod only has a quick-release clamp for a head because the ball joint was very well concealed within the groove of the central joint of the tripod and this was done for a very obvious reason. On the base of the head are three protrusions that perfectly fit within the grooves of the central joint and makes the folded form of the tripod almost without any gaps. However, these protrusions also act as the connection of the ball to the head itself, and it does prevent the ball head from having a full range of motion especially when turning the camera vertical.

The head itself does not have any knobs, but instead has rings around the circumference of the head that control the necessary movements. A ring with a textured surface can be found closest to the base of the head, and this controls the friction on the ball joint. Above that is another ring with a very small notch that locks and unlocks the quick release clamp, and above that is a button that releases the plate holding the camera. This quick release clamp follows the Arca-Swiss format which means that while the supplied plate is the same as the ones found on other Peak Design accessories, it is compatible with most Arca-Swiss mount tripod plates, L-brackets, and rotating brackets. Rings were used instead of knobs to rid the assembly of anything protruding and bulky. The ball head was designed to keep it as non-intrusive as possible, however if any tilt has to be done, the user would have to raise the center column a bit.

The Minimalist Center Column

One of the most unusual features of this tripod was the remarkably thin center column. It was obvious that it was made that way and followed the shape of the hexagonal legs and so that the entire width of the tripod would be thinner and easier to store. However, the concern lies in the fact that it might not be as stable given the width.

What was not as obvious was that the frame that encases the center column was much longer than what is seen on other tripods. This meant that there was more surface area on the center column that was being stabilized by this frame when locked in. Regardless of whether it was fully extended or not, about 20% of the entire length is being stabilized by the frame, which virtually makes it even more stable.

Application and User Experience

Like any other piece of photography gear, this tripod is better used for certain kinds of photography than others. With the main goal of making the tripod as portable as possible while still being generally usable, Peak Design basically created an entirely unique experience for whoever uses this tripod.

Using the tripod does require a bit of time to get used to the controls since rings are being used instead of knobs, but this is just a consequence of a new design approach. All in all, it does provide a viable solution to the challenges that travel photographers and traveling photographers encounter, all while carrying Peak Design’s minimalist aesthetics and functional design approach. As far as for other uses, I personally think that this tripod is usable in most landscape photography scenarios, especially since the center column can be shortened to achieve a much lower camera angle without having to swap out heads. This can also be quite useful for outdoor content creators as well as anyone who just needs camera support on-the-go. Given the height and the trade-offs on the ball head, this might not be the best to use inside a studio and not the best to use for when significant height is required. However as a tripod in general, it does the job while offering unique portability.

What I Liked

• Slim but sturdy build
• Unique head controls
• Detachable center column

What Can Be Improved

• Limited ball head range of motion
• More size options
• Perhaps colored accent elements on future versions

Nicco Valenzuela is a photographer from Quezon City, Philippines. Nicco shoots skyscrapers and cityscapes professionally as an architectural photographer and Landscape and travel photographs as a hobby.

Nice review. It's a shame that the design has been copied so much albeit with cheaper materials and construction.

The review is not really very reviling. Several similar reviews exist for a very long time. I never heard of someone complaining about flip locks, which I prefer every day of a week because I see if the locks are closed, as opposed to the twist locks. Interesting would be to see a compare to the Benro Cyanbird, which shares with the Peak Design the revolutionary elliptical leg. This reviewer failed to mention this detail. Of course such light tripod has a limited application, and is not a replacement for e.g. my Manfrotto. However when I travel and fly, my Cyan-bird is in my luggage.

They mentioned it in the Minimalist Design section. "The legs take the shape of a seemingly flattened hexagon..." They referenced it again in the next section. "One of the most unusual features of this tripod was the remarkably thin center column. It was obvious that it was made that way and followed the shape of the hexagonal legs..."

"...did not sacrifice stability and usability in more demanding situations" [snort!] I absolutely *loathe* mine, and wish that I had never bought it. I have no problem with the head, center column, or any of the other things that most people complain about. Rather, I do not like how insecure the leg locks are. I very carefully adjusted the tension on them, and it worked reasonably well for a while. But then I took it on a trip to arctic Norway, and discovered that when it gets very cold it is pretty much impossible to tighten the screws enough to keep the damned thing from drifting down. I had to abandon a day of shooting during the trip and go buy a new (expensive...) tripod the trip to get my work done. Idiotic design, Peak. FWIW, I have the aluminum version, not carbon fiber. I suppose that could make a difference in the thermal properties, but it would have been useful to know that before purchasing.

This. I demo'd one out and was really disappointed in the rigidity of it. Ended up getting a used Series 0 Gitzo travel tripod and a RRS head off ebay for it. might not pack -quite- as small, but it's 10x the tripod the Peak Design one is, and cost less.

I have the aluminum version and I love it. I've traveled all over Europe and Japan with it.

I watched a CF version get blown off of a cliff in Australia from a sudden gust of wind, thankfully the Sony camera it was attached to protected the tripod from a 15 foot fall to the rocks below.

Haha. It's good to know a Sony camera is good for something. ;-) Kidding.

I really wanted to like it but that ballhead wasn't worth it

This PD tripod is insanely overpriced as well as functionally flawed. The Ulanzi x Coman (aka Zero Y) copycat is not only half the price but addresses many of the design limitations of the PD original. I honestly don't know why anyone would buy the PD version at this point, and I don't know why PD hasn't released a V2 that addresses the complaints. The manager of San Francisco's PD retail store has said on YouTube that this is the company's single most profitable product. Why be complacent?

The major problem with this tripod I’m not sure you touched on. And for landscape photography this is a big issue. Basically you can’t pan with it. In order to do that you have to loosen up the whole ball and it doesn’t stay fixed horizontally. Forget merging panorama shots.

There are many tripod/heads that dont pan. We all know this going in and purchase accordingly. Regardless, this can be easily rectified with a $25 panning base.

The PD tripod is overrated and overpriced. The original list price of $600+ was insane. Out of curiosity, I bought a used one for $300. I used it a few times and found insufficient for my needs. I own vastly superior tripods that are lighter, taller, stiffer and cost far less. The PD head design is novel but counterproductive. You have to extend the center column to use it. That drastically reduces stiffness of the entire system. Truly, some of the "copy cat" tripods like Heipi are actually better designed because of their more conventional heads.

The Heipi is slightly shorter both with the center column down and extended. You can also add a different head to the Peak Design. The PD is stupidly expensive, but a lot of cimments on here seem to just want to bash them in general.

Another way to compare the Heipi and PD is that they are very similar height wise, both requiring the central column to be raised to go from 50/51 inches to 59/60 inches. They both take whatever head you want (PD has that ability). But the PD has its own standard/built-in head if you want to go minimalistic. This description sounds totally different, as it is toned in the opposite direction.

I agree that there are better tripods for specific uses, but the Carbon version has replaced my other tripods almost all the time and can always go with me. The limitations of the ball head are easily overcome with inexpensive compact accessories which make the ball head like a leveling bowl on a video tripod: a very small rotating adaptor (Camera Panoramic Panning Base with Arca Swiss Style Plate, 3/8" Screw Aluminum Alloy Panorama Ball Tripod Head with Bubble Level for Tripod Monopod DSLR Cameras, Load Capacity 22 LBS at Amazon) can enable easy panning for panoramas, and recently relatively inexpensive geared heads make careful composition easier (my low-end Benro model is bulky but Leofoto makes more compact ones), and an L-bracket on the camera makes vertical and horizontal compositions stable and balanced. The vibration damping of the feet and legs is superior to any other I have used. If high winds are blowing, use the hook under the center column to connect a bungee cord to the camera bag under the tripod, or use some other weight or a tent stake to anchor the tripod! All the accessories can be left behind and the tripod can still be with me.

I recently took a fast trip through Spain with the CF Peak Design travel trip. I only used it a few times for early morning/evening work, with a Nikon Z8 and 24-120mm Z lens. For the purpose, it was a find combination. It won't replace my regular tripod, but if I need to go light, this tripod is what I'll use.

My peak design tripod travelled the world with me and braved wind, water and was great. I eventually replaced it with a monster rrs tvc34l and sold it. After less than a year, I find my self shopping for a new one because I miss it's portability. I specifically like the aluminum version for the added weight stability in moving water and wind.

I don’t think I I will ever understand the love for this tripod. It does one thing very well: it’s compact. Beyond that it is essentially useless as any sort of actual camera support. The legs when extended are extremely flimsy. Pushing down gently on the tripod causes the legs to bounce, and the whole thing is easily twisted as well. There is just extremely minimal rigidity in the legs and, well, that’s it. Something like the Leofoto LS-284 is massively more stable, less expensive and only a little bigger. Not to mention the PD’s head that requires partial extension of the center column to use.

I just don’t get it.

It really comes down to how light and compact the tripod is. I had no stability problems with it, while doing night photography along the Roman Bridge in Cordoba, Spain with a Nikon Z8 (which isn't a light camera). But, in that particular trip I had to compromise, so I went with the CF Peak Design. I do love my Leofoto LS-324C though and use it most of the time.

I demo'd one out and was really disappointed in the rigidity of it. Legs had alot of flex and vibrations took a long time to settle down.

Ended up getting a used Series 0 Gitzo travel tripod and a RRS head off ebay for it. might not pack -quite- as small, but it's 10x the tripod the Peak Design one is, and cost less.

Good informative article - thank you!

The writer could have been more helpful to his readers by giving the dimensions and weights in inches, pounds, and ounces as well as in metric equivalents. The lion's share of Fstoppers readers are in the United States, where metric is not used regularly by many. I don't want to do math in my head just to understand what an article is saying - it interrupts the flow of my reading.

I am really surprised that a Fstoppers editor and / or proofreader did not catch this omission and correct it before the article went up on the site.

Fewer and fewer things are in imperial units. Younger people are more accustomed to using metric. People involved in any kind of Maker activities use metric. I think it is less and less necessary for writers and video presenters to make these conversions for us. Its really time for us to join the rest of the world and the younger members of our own society and learn metric units.

The old axiom when it comes to tripods is:

"Light ... stable ... cheap ... pick two"

Well, after reading all of the comments here form people who have used this tripod, it seems that you only get to pick one of those attributes, as this model is both expensive and unstable.

I picked mine up with the early bird promo.

I hate the ballhead. It's difficult to adjust and the range of motion due to the design is quite limited and extremely frustrating.

The tripod is not sturdy. The legs flex a lot without any weight on the the tripod.

It is decent tripod if your number one priority is travel size amd that's all that matters. Beyond that it's been quite disappointing in my view.

I would have thought the would have come out with a much improved v2 by now as well.

I’ve had the alu version since day one. TBH it’s replaced my other tripods. It’s lighter, easier to pack/carry and to use. Yes, there are others that are better for specific tasks, but for general use this is great for me. It may not be for everyone, but it works great for me. If you have one and don’t like it, Peak have a ‘sell a used one’ service, so you can recoup some of your expenditure. A better option than whining and slagging it off!

Have you found yours to be extremely stable? Like good enough for VERY slow shutter speeds with big heavy lenses?

No, but that’s not what it’s designed for. It’s a travel tripod designed to be easy to travel with and provide general stability. For specific use, as I indicated, there are other options. If you need VERY slow shutter speeds and a VERY big heavy lens, then there are other tripods but they may not so convenient to travel with.

Thanks for the info. The one thing I can't compromise in a tripod is stability. I don't care if a tripod is big, heavy, or expensive ..... but it absolutely must be very stable.

Peak Design Travel Tripod (Carbon Fiber) review

Peak design has never made a tripod before and it wants you to pay over $600 for this one.

Digital Camera World Verdict

There are cheaper travel tripods than this, and taller ones too, but nothing that offers this performance, this design cleverness, and yet folds down into such a neat, compact and portable package.

Size and neatness when folded

Serious rigidity and weight capacity

Dazzling design details

Not the tallest

Some hex key fiddling

Don’t look at the price!

Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test.

Key features

Build and handling, performance.

The Peak Design Travel Tripod tells you pretty much everything you need to know in the name. But Peak Design specializes in innovative design, as seen in its very clever camera bags, straps and camera clips… so it’s no surprise to find the company’s new travel tripod is unlike any other.

The best travel tripods need to be adaptable and rigid, obviously, but they also need to be small, light and portable. If you just want the best tripod all round, it's not so hard to find some great candidates, but if you want a tripod portable enough take on your travels but still sturdy enough for night shots, selfies and long exposures, the list gets a lot narrower.

One of Peak Design’s chief aims has been to cut down on wasted space, or volume, when the tripod is packed away. It’s achieved this with legs and a center column that dovetail precisely when the tripod is folded, and aren’t just a bunch of tubes pushed together (no disrespect to other tripod makers).

This is a very compact tripod when folded too. It’s not just narrower and neater than rival tripods, it has a closed length of just 38.5cm. This is achieved without the usual travel tripod trick of extending the center column and folding the legs up around it. Instead, the Peak Design Travel Tripod has a low-profile head that protrudes very little and can be packed away where it is, with no fiddly folding required.

The short length has been achieved with 5-section legs, which helps achieve a maximum height of 153cm with the center column extended or 131cm without. The carbon fiber version tested here has a weight of 1.27kg. There is a much cheaper aluminum Peak Design Travel Tripod version with all the same design features but a little less stiffness and vibration damping (Peak Design reckons the carbon fiber version is around 20% stiffer).

Neither is cheap – the carbon fiber version especially – but Peak Design is offering a lifetime guarantee and has included some amazing design touches, like a detachable weight hook in the bottom of the center column that slides to reveal a smartphone clamp, and a clip-on holder for the hex keys used to attach the tripod plate to the camera and configure the head and center column.

There’s also a bag which offers a very snug fit, loop attachments for a shoulder strap or backpack strap and an inner pocket containing a special tool for maintaining the cam locks on the legs, should they need it.

The Peak Design Travel Tripod packs away very small but it’s pretty quick to open out and set up. The cam locks on the legs are right next to each other so you can release them all at the same time with one (strong) hand to extend the leg sections. The rubber feet on the end have chamfered edges to offer a flat surface regardless of leg angle, even with the legs outstretched in the low angle mode.

The center column and low profile ball head take a little getting used to. First, because of the upside-down design of the head, you have to raise the center column just a little to get proper articulation, and further still to be able to turn the camera on its side to shoot vertically. On many tripods, this is a recipe for the wobbles, but not there. The Peak Design Travel Tripod feels solid as a rock, even with the center column raised.

The ball head is locked not by a knob on the side in the usual way, but with a rotating collar. There’s no friction control – you loosen the lock to point the camera and tighten it to lock it in position. It’s a very firm lock, and there’s no ‘creep’ – the camera doesn’t ‘droop’ when you tighten it.

Compared to most Arca Swiss plates, Peak Design’s looks tiny. What’s more, you have to fix it to the camera baseplate with the hex key supplied. It’s a bit of a fiddle, but Peak Design insists it’s necessary. This approach gives a grip of iron, whereas butterfly nuts or coin slots can’t match the tightness and keep loosening as you move the camera (well they do for us, anyway).

The camera plate is a standard part used across the Peak Design range, so you can unhook you camera from the tripod and slot it straight into a Capture Clip, for example. The plates are so small that you might find it easier just to get extra ones and leave them attached to your camera(s) rather than messing around with hex keys.

The smartphone clamp is very clever, not least because it clips straight into the tripod head’s Arca Swiss rails – though you have to insert the correct side first, or it doesn’t go in properly.

All the controls, knobs and clips on this tripod have a beautifully firm and precise feel – except the head clamping ring and the quick release lock dial just above it. These feel a little sloppier and more plasticky – though both work just fine.

The Peak Design head attaches directly to the top part of the center column. You can use a regular third party head, but you have to get a separate adaptor kit. There are also kits to replace rubber feet with spikes and to produce an ultra-lightweight configuration where the inner leg sections are replaced with long ‘feet’ and the tripod becomes a low-level mini-tripod.

The Peak Design Travel Tripod is way more rigid than you might expect. The five-section legs and the spindly-looking center column don’t inspire much confidence, but once it’s set up it feels as steady as a rock. Indeed, Peak Design quotes a maximum payload of 20lb (9kg) and there aren’t many camera-lens combinations that even approach that. 

The company says that it’s been designed to handle full frame DSLRs and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses – or longer, and with our camera/lens combo its grip and rigidity were very impressive.

It also resists twisting very well, and while the lowest leg sections look pretty spindly, we didn’t see any flexing or bending. Even that skinny center column is tougher than it looks. The pull out locking knob looks a bit twee, but there’s nothing twee about the center column’s rigidity or wobble-resistance.

With a maximum height of 153cm, the Peak Design Travel Tripod doesn’t go as high as some. But there’s no photographic rule that says all pictures must be taken at eye level, and with so many cameras today offering tilting or vari-angle screens, tripod height is hardly the concern it used to be. If you are a six-foot viewfinder fan with an aversion to stooping, though, it’s something you might want to take into account.

We’d need to spend a long time with this tripod in a variety of conditions to get a proper sense of how it will bear up, but straight out of the box, its compactness and its rigidity are really impressive.

Basic aluminum tripods are affordable but heavy. Carbon fiber tripods are lighter but cost more. And travel tripods which combine lightness, small folded size and good extended height and rigidity cost more again. So although the Peak Design Travel Tripod looks expensive compared to a basic aluminum model, it’s in the same ballpark as other specialized lightweight travel tripods – and it’s a lot cheaper than a Gitzo Traveller.

So is it worth it? We can’t comment on its long-term durability yet, but for sheer folded size, compactness and weight, it’s already a step ahead of its rivals while feeling every bit as rigid.

There are cheaper travel tripods than this, and taller ones too, but nothing that offers this performance and yet folds down into such a neat, compact and portable package.

• Peak Design Travel Tripod (Aluminum) review • These are the best travel tripods right now • We pick the best tripod for all round photography • These are the best cameras for travel • The best camera backpacks right now

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Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com

Peak Design Travel Tripod review: The nicest tripod you (probably) shouldn't buy

Android Central Verdict

Bottom line: Peak Design's latest offering is one of the more expensive travel tripods I've seen, but it's well-built, compact, and as cleverly designed as you'd expect. The stock head doesn't allow for smooth panning, but you can use an adapter to add your own fluid head.

Footprint of a water bottle

Uses the popular Arca-Swiss plate

Easily height-adjustable using cam locks

Integrated phone mount

Very lightweight

Extremely expensive

Stock head doesn't offer panning

Adapter needed to use third-party heads

Why you can trust Android Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

As a traveling videographer (well, just a videographer at the moment), I've always had an obsession with two categories of gear that make my life a lot easier: backpacks and tripods.

After years of trying bag after bag, Peak Design more or less ended my search for the former with its Everyday Backpack line, which I've been a huge fan of since the original 20L model. Now, the San Francisco-based company aims to similarly shake up the tripod market with its Travel Tripod — a sleek, compact tripod with the clever design traits that Peak Design is known for.

The Travel Tripod is available in two material configurations — aluminum and carbon fiber — and two different price points. I've been testing the latter version since January, and it's since become a mainstay in both my traveling and home filming rigs.

Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod What I like

Peak Design gets a lot of things right with its first foray into tripods. The Travel Tripod comes in aluminum and carbon fiber configurations, and both share a remarkably striking design. I don't generally think of tripods as particularly good-looking products; they're there to serve a purpose and stay out of the shot, but the Travel Tripod looks great and feels incredibly well-made.

It feels like Peak Design thought of just about everything with its first tripod.

It's also, as you might expect if you've used any of the company's other products, cleverly designed. Most travel tripods, like the Sirui T-025X I was using before, feature circular legs that fold upward along the center column to fit more easily into side pockets on backpacks, but Peak Design had a different idea in mind. The Travel Tripod has much flatter, almost triangular legs that allow it to compact down to a footprint that's roughly the same size as a water bottle.

Not having to fold the tripod legs up saves a decent chunk of time when breaking down after a shoot, which is especially helpful when I'm leaving a time-sensitive press briefing or event. It also means that the tripod fits easily into the side pocket of a backpack, though you can also use Peak Design's Anchor attachment points to attach a strap if you'd rather not carry a whole bag.

Those legs are managed using aluminum cam locks, with four extension points and five sections per leg. You can extend the tripod all the way up to 60 inches (5 feet) — not quite as tall as my bulkier Manfrotto 190XPRO3 legs can reach, but it's better than most travel-oriented tripods I've used. There's also a convenient holder clipped onto one of the legs for the two included hex tools (one 4mm and one 2.5mm), which can be used for any maintenance on the Travel Tripod.

The main advantage of carbon fiber is its low weight, and the Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod weighs in at just 2.81 pounds (versus the 3.44 pounds of the aluminum alloy model). That makes it effortless to carry around, but not so lightweight that it can't support fairly heavy gear loads; Peak Design rates the Travel Tripod's capacity for up to 20 pounds.

That's partially thanks to the decision to stick with a sturdier aluminum center column, even on the carbon fiber version. That center column can be easily extended or retracted using the rotating knob at its base, which you can pull out a bit for an easier grip

At the bottom of the center column is one of the more clever design tricks of this tripod. There's a hook for hanging a counterweight like a backpack to the tripod (helpful for stabilizing the tripod with particularly heavy gear), but with a simple twist and pull of that hook, it detaches and reveals a hidden smartphone clamp that fits perfectly into the stock tripod head. It's a brilliant yet dead-simple tool that ensures you'll never need to carry a separate tripod mount for your phone.

As you'd expect, the Travel Tripod works remarkably well with Peak Design's other products.

Speaking of the stock head, I really love the ultra-low profile Peak Design managed with its compact ball head. The Travel Tripod uses the popular Arca-Swiss mounting system, which accepts the same plate used in many other tripods and even Peak's other products like its excellent Slide straps . If you're already using those types of products, this means you don't have to swap plates on your camera before moving between gear.

To mount your camera on the Travel Tripod, you wedge the Arca-Swiss plate between the aluminum stopper (which also features a handy spirit level) and the retention clamp, then twist the locking mechanism to hold it in place. There's a rotating dial sitting underneath that you can twist to allow the tripod head to move freely along the ball joint, then twist back to lock it in place at any angle you like.

If you remove the counterweight hook and phone clip from the center column, you can actually remove the head and center column from the tripod legs entirely, then replace them upside down to get low-to-the-ground shots. The Travel Tripod is great for getting nearly any type of static shot.

Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod What's not so great

The Travel Tripod is an amazingly versatile tool for photographers ... but I'm primarily a videographer. Most of my camera work involves a lot of slow pans and following moving subjects mid-shot, none of which is really doable with the Travel Tripod by default. The ball head is great for getting virtually any angle without much fuss, but without a fluid cartridge there's just no way to get smooth camera movements.

If you're a videographer, the stock head won't do you much good.

Luckily, as with most other tripod legs, you can swap out the head for one of your own like a fluid head, but first you'll need to purchase the separately sold Universal Head Adapter . A $30 part may not seem like a big deal, but when you're already paying an arm and a leg for the tripod itself, it's a bit hard to swallow.

That adapter is also a bit of a pain to install. It uses three small screws in addition to the 3/8-inch thread to lock tripod heads into place; this prevents the head from rotating or wobbling during operation, a problem I constantly ran into with my previous travel tripod, but it also takes quite a bit of setup time and can badly scratch up the bottom of your tripod head. It's not the end of the world, but you certainly won't want to be swapping tripod heads very often.

And while using a third-party head is essential for panning shots (I've been using the iFootage Komodo K5 ), it also means that in most cases, the phone mount no longer works with the tripod since it's designed with the stock head in mind. That's a shame, since the added versatility the phone mount offers is one of my favorite features of the tripod.

Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod Should you buy it?

Of course, the biggest issue most people will run into is the Travel Tripod's price. It's a wonderful product, and it's quickly replaced both my Sirui travel tripod and my heavy-duty Manfrotto tripod as my go-to sticks for all types of filming — but at a whopping $600 for the carbon fiber model, it's a hard sell for just about anyone, especially if you're a videographer who will need to shell out even more money for the Universal Head Adapter and a fluid head.

For just over half the price, you can pick up the slightly heavier aluminum model instead at $350, but that's still a hefty price for a tripod that's almost entirely focused on photography. Generally, stabilizing features like fluid heads are what drive prices up in the first place, and there are plenty of cheaper tripods on the market if you don't need those features.

But if you can look past the high price, you're getting an incredibly well-thought out tripod with a myriad of clever design traits and a slim, compact profile. It's light enough to move around with ease, even when fully extended, and it packs down quickly so you can move from one set to another at a moment's notice. I don't know that I can recommend the Travel Tripod too strongly to other videographers, but I'm certainly happy to have it in my rig.

Peak's best backpack just got better. Peak Design's latest offering is one of the more expensive travel tripods I've seen, but it's well-built, compact, and as cleverly designed as you'd expect. The stock head doesn't allow for smooth panning, but you can use an adapter to add your own fluid head.

Hayato was a product reviewer and video editor for Android Central.

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The Best Bike Phone Mount

By Amy Roberts and Christine Ryan

Using a smartphone mount while biking is a boon for anyone who wants easy access to their device. But with phone prices approaching—and topping—the $1,000 mark, you want to be sure your device stays firmly attached.

After riding with 27 smartphone bike mounts over 120 miles’ worth of smooth and rough roads, we’ve concluded that the Quad Lock Out Front Mount and Quad Lock cases (which come in iPhone , Samsung Galaxy , and Pixel versions) are the ones we’d use for our own phones.

Everything we recommend

Quad Lock Case for iPhone Devices

The best bike phone mount case for iphone.

These phone-specific cases, in sizes fitting all recent models of the iPhone (back to and including the 5/5S/SE series), lock into Quad Lock’s clamp-on mount.

Buying Options

Quad Lock Case for Galaxy Devices

The best bike phone mount case for samsung galaxy.

These phone-specific cases, in sizes fitting all recent models of the Samsung Galaxy (back to and including the S8), lock into Quad Lock’s clamp-on mount.

Quad Lock Case for Pixel Devices

The best bike phone mount case for google pixel.

These phone-specific cases, in sizes fitting all recent models of the Google Pixel (back to and including the 3 series), lock into Quad Lock’s clamp-on mount.

Quad Lock Universal Adaptor

The best bike phone mount adapter.

This adapter, which adheres to the back of compatible phones and cases, locks into Quad Lock’s clamp-on mount.

Quad Lock Out Front Mount

The best bike phone mount base.

This clamp-on mount fits any handlebar size; once you’ve locked your phone into it (using a Quad Lock case or the Universal Adaptor), the phone stays safely and securely in place.

Budget pick

Nite Ize Wraptor

No-tool installation.

Although not as rock solid as the Quad Lock system, this mount held phones the most securely of any silicone-strap models we tested, and it should be just fine for occasional use or for bike-share riders.

Upgrade pick

Peak Design Everyday Case for iPhone 15

A magsafe bike mount case for iphone.

This MagSafe-compatible phone-specific case locks into Peak Design’s clamp-on mount. It also comes in sizes fitting all the other variations of the iPhone 15, as well as older models of the iPhone (back to and including the 11 series).

Peak Design Everyday Case for Galaxy

A magsafe bike mount case for samsung galaxy.

These phone-specific cases, in sizes fitting the S21 through S24 series of the Samsung Galaxy, lock into Peak Design’s clamp-on mount. They also let the phones charge with most MagSafe chargers, but they may interfere with stylus accessories.

May be out of stock

Peak Design Everyday Case for Pixel

A magsafe bike mount case for late-model google pixels.

These phone-specific cases, in sizes fitting the Google Pixel 6 through 8 models, lock into Peak Design’s clamp-on mount. They also let the phones charge with most MagSafe chargers.

Peak Design Universal Adapter

A nearly flat bike mount adapter.

This adapter, which adheres to the back of compatible cases and is flatter than the QuadLock adapter, locks into Peak Design’s clamp-on mount. It’s compatible with MagSafe accessories, but wireless charging may not work.

Peak Design Out Front Bike Mount V2 With Additional Collar

An aluminum bike mount base.

This clamp-on aluminum mount fits almost any handlebar size. Retractable tabs and a strong magnet are easy to use and hold your phone tight—as long you’re using a Peak Design case or adapter. The system is pricey, though.

We looked for …

You don’t want your phone to rattle or shake in the mount —and you really don’t want the mount itself to come loose on rough roads.

The best options use a phone case that locks onto a handlebar or stem mount, but you have to buy either the system’s case or an adapter.

If you use your phone on bike-share rides, choose a mount that fits in a pocket and is super easy to put on and take off .

Riders with newer phones should consider a mount and case compatible with current charging technologies, such as MagSafe.

The Quad Lock cases (available for iPhone , Samsung Galaxy , and Pixel ) and the Quad Lock Universal Adaptor , combined with the company’s Out Front Mount (which we prefer to the stem mount that comes in Quad Lock’s case-and-mount kits), proved to be the confidence-inspiring solutions for securely attaching any smartphone to any bicycle. In our tests, phones vibrated hardly at all—let alone rattled or shook—in the Quad Lock products, no matter how bumpy the road became. Both the phone cases and the universal adapter twist to lock into place on the mount, which in turn clamps onto a bike’s handlebars.

The iPhone 8 Plus case we tested didn’t interfere with phone functions, and based on the Quad Lock cases we’ve tested for other guides , we’re confident that it would protect the phone in daily use. (Also, you can use the cases and adapters with Quad Lock’s many other mounts, for car dashboards, running armbands, and more.) The indented socket on the back of the case was among the least noticeable of the case-type bike mounts we tested. The Universal Adaptor sticks out from a phone’s case (or back), like most such adapters, which you may find annoying; if that bothers you, you might consider buying a separate “bike ride” case for your phone.

The Nite Ize Wraptor is a simple, well-designed option for riders who want to be able to mount their phone on their own bike or a bike-share bike, and who generally ride on smooth, paved roads . The silicone straps that attach phone to mount and mount to bike feel much sturdier than those of other, similar mounts. Because of the stretchy nature of silicone, we did find that our test phones would vibrate more in the Wraptor than they did in the pricier Quad Lock mounts when we rode on rough terrain, but it was nothing like the rattling we witnessed with other silicone mounts, and even some case-based mounts.

The Wraptor fits handlebars of all sizes and is a cinch to install and remove. Likewise, the straps fit phones of all sizes, and they don’t get in the way of the phone’s screen or buttons—a problem we had with other silicone mounts. You can also easily rotate the phone from portrait to landscape (and vice versa) even as you pedal. The entire mount is small enough to tuck into a pocket when not in use.

The aluminum Peak Design Out Front Bike Mount and polycarbonate cases (available for late-model iPhone , Samsung Galaxy , and Pixel phones) and the Peak Design Universal Adapter work in much the same way as our top pick, the Quad Lock system. The Bike Mount’s arm clamps onto your bike’s handlebars, and the phone case (or adapter) clicks audibly into the 2.25-square-inch silicone-softened base. Where the Quad Lock mount uses a twist-into-place locking mechanism, the Peak Design mount combines retractable aluminum tabs—released by two buttons on the underside of the base—that fit into a square cutout on the back of the phone case with a very strong magnet that grabs and holds the case . This belt-and-suspenders design kept our phones solidly in place on rough roads and rocky trails.

As with the Quad Lock, we recommend the Peak Design cases in other guides , and we’re equally confident they’ll protect any phone well; also like Quad Lock, Peak Design sells other phone mounts and accessories, including car mounts , motorcycle mounts , and tripods . Unlike the thick Quad Lock cases, Peak Design’s cases work seamlessly with wireless-charging systems such as MagSafe. Peak Design doesn’t have as deep a back catalog, though—perhaps because the company started making phone cases years later than Quad Lock—so owners of older models will have to make do with the Universal Adapter instead of a dedicated case. You’ll also pay about $40–$50 more for the Peak Design system.

The research

Why you should trust us, who this is for, how we picked and tested, our pick: quad lock bike mounts, budget pick: nite ize wraptor, upgrade pick: peak design bike mounts, the competition.

Amy Roberts, the original author of this guide, researched, tested, and wrote about fitness gear for Wirecutter. She had owned several smartphone bike mounts, mainly so she could follow Google Maps biking directions. Senior editor Christine Ryan, who did additional testing for the 2022 update of this guide, has overseen Wirecutter’s cycling-gear coverage for seven years; in a previous life, she commuted by bike the 36 miles from San Francisco to work in Menlo Park, California, two or three times a week .

A smartphone bike mount is a worthy investment for bike commuters or recreational riders who want to use their phone for directions, whether on their own bikes or on ride-share bikes. It’s also of use to someone who wants to record their rides for fitness purposes but doesn’t need the bells and whistles of a dedicated cycling computer.

We began our research in 2019 by looking at how cycling-enthusiast publications and websites, such as Bicycling and Cycling Weekly , reviewed mounts and which models were their favorites. We also searched for best sellers on Amazon, as well as on several cycling-specific online stores, to see what people buy (and how happy they are with their purchases) and what the in-the-know retailers choose to sell.

Bicycle smartphone mounts come in a wide range of designs. We looked at three of the most common types of mounts, the first of which consists of two parts: a phone case or a stick-on adapter (to put on your own case) and a compatible base that attaches to the bike. The second uses silicone bands or plastic brackets to hold up to an extra-large smartphone. The third fully envelops a phone—you view its screen through a clear plastic cover.

From our initial list of 29 mounts, we nixed several because of iffy reviews or stock issues. We then called in 22 mounts for testing, including both the phone-specific and universal versions of the two-part systems.

We tested with both an iPhone 8 Plus—to represent an extra-large model and one for which the mount companies make a specific case—and a Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, which served as our more regular-size smartphone and the one on which we’d test the adapters. We eliminated a few mounts right off the bat if the phones didn’t fit well in the cases or mounts, if they seemed particularly insecure in the mounts, or if some part of the mount impeded the usability of the phone screen or buttons.

Amy Roberts installed each remaining mount on the handlebars (31.8 mm diameter) or stem of a Trek Lexa road bike. She took each for a 2-mile spin on the roads of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, where she was working remotely. That short stretch alone contained four different surfaces: gravelly old asphalt, rutted dirt, newly poured concrete, and very recently repaved asphalt.

• how easy (or not) it was to install and remove the mount on the bike, and any tools it required
• how easy or difficult it was to affix and remove the phones on the mounts
• whether the phones could be mounted in portrait or landscape view, and how easy it was to switch views
• the convenience and aesthetics of the mount location on the bike and the phone’s viewing angle while riding, and if the latter could be adjusted (and how easily)
• how much (if any) rattling, shaking, vibration, or other movement the phones experienced over the different surfaces, and if any part of the mount came loose during that brief trip

Taking the six mounts that performed the best so far, Amy tested them on a borrowed mountain bike. Two mounts didn’t fit on the much skinnier (22.2 mm) handlebars, so out they went. She rode with the remaining four in varying conditions and until she was confident in her picks.

In 2022, Christine Ryan tested six more mounts, some newly available and some suggested by readers, against our existing picks using a 2020 iPhone SE and a Pixel 3a. She installed the mounts on the drop handlebars (31.8 mm) of her Marin Cortina cyclo-cross bike and on the flat handlebars (22.2 mm) of her Cannondale Scalpel mountain bike, and rode seven-mile loops through San Francisco on surfaces that involved smooth pavement, not-so-smooth pavement, a little curb-hopping, and some rocky trails.

A Quad Lock case (available for iPhone , Samsung Galaxy , and Google Pixel ) or Universal Adaptor used with the company’s Out Front Mount held our test phones supremely stable over all sorts of road surfaces. We recommend this combo above other mounts if you’re a regular rider who intends for a smartphone to be your frequent copilot when you tool around town.

The sockets for both the phone case and universal adapter twist and lock firmly onto the bike’s mount bracket and won’t let go without your releasing the safety lever, which you can do with one hand.

We found it easy to put the iPhone 8 Plus case on our test phone. It fit well, didn’t interfere with the side buttons or wireless charging (this did not always hold true for newer iPhones, though; see Flaws but not dealbreakers) , and had a lip that was high enough to protect the phone if it were to fall facedown on a flat surface. The socket on the back, while noticeable, was one of the least bothersome of any case we tested.

Quad Lock makes cases for most iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Pixel models; people who own other phones can use the Universal Adaptor, which sticks firmly to a phone or case with a high-bond adhesive. The company suggests affixing the adapter directly to either your phone, if the phone is made of “suitable” material (very few are), or to a case made of a material on the approved list . Amy didn’t see the list before we purchased the test cases for her Samsung Galaxy S8 Active—and there are limited case options available for that phone anyway—but still, even on her unapproved TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) case, the adapter remained sturdily attached.

The Quad Lock Out Front Mount, which is made of glass-filled nylon, clamps onto 31.8 mm handlebars with a single Allen bolt; it comes with a hex wrench as well as the plastic shims to fit 22 mm and 25.4 mm bars. Quad Lock sells a pricier Out Front Mount Pro , which we also tested; it’s made of anodized aluminum and designed to be more aerodynamic. The non-Pro feels plenty sturdy, though, and we believe that few recreational riders would want to spend the extra cash for improved aerodynamics. Plus, the Allen bolt on the Pro screws in from the bottom, making it harder to attach than the non-Pro mount.

Quad Lock sells bike kits that include either a phone case or the Universal Adaptor with the company’s Handlebar/Stem Mount . Amy tested this mount; although she found it stable and secure, she liked it less than the slightly pricier Out Front Mount, for several reasons. This mount is best attached to the stem of the bike, but you can’t adjust the phone’s viewing angle there. It can also go on the handlebars, but the mount wouldn’t fit lengthwise on her test road bike in the narrow space that wasn’t taped, and it jutted out awkwardly on the mountain bike’s skinnier bars.

It also has two means of assembly, both of which are tool-free but not without flaws. The first, a pair of strong silicone O-rings, is reusable but not easy to put on and take off; it’s also unclear how many times you could do this before the rings would snap. The second, a set of zip ties, provides greater peace of mind but isn’t reusable. In addition, the kits come with a fitted rain cover (also sold separately). Amy found it a struggle to get it on and off, and given that most new phones are water resistant anyway, it seems unnecessary.

As we note in our guide to the best iPhone cases , Quad Lock offers additional mounts for many other uses—including car dashboards, motorcycles, and running armbands—that work with their cases and universal adapter.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Though the Quad Lock case’s mount socket isn’t as obtrusive as those of similar products, it still creates a bumpy dent on the back of the phone that may bother some people. The Universal Adaptor adds enough bulk that we wouldn’t want it there all the time; you might consider buying an approved case specifically for use with the mount.

Amy found it tricky to align the socket with the mount, often fumbling with it and peeking under the phone to see why things weren’t matching up; she did discover that depressing the release lever can help get it to go on with less futzing.

You can’t change the phone from portrait to landscape mode without releasing the lock on the base. Amy didn’t find herself needing to do so very often, as portrait is generally the orientation that works best with apps. Still, other mounts, including our budget pick , do this more readily.

For some people, the biggest downside of the Quad Lock case was that the thickness of the mount point prevents wireless charging from working on some Qi chargers . For example, while the Quad Lock case worked fine with several flat Qi chargers we tested, the case did not allow charging with the single stand-style charger we had on hand. For the iPhone 12 and 13 in particular, a MagSafe charger won’t work at all if a Quad Lock case is installed, and the case makes it less likely that third-party wireless chargers will be able to juice up the phone. QuadLock has since addressed this problem by offering alternate, MagSafe versions of each of its cases for the iPhone 12, 13, 14, and 15. You just need to be sure to choose that type of the case, which costs an additional $10.

The Nite Ize Wraptor is a great choice for occasional riders, and for anyone who wants to easily add or remove a phone mount from their own bike or a bike-share bike. It won’t hold your phone as motionless as the Quad Lock mounts, but it’s less than a third of the price and will work with the case you already have.

With the Wraptor, silicone straps both hold the phone in and attach the mount to the bike. The ones that secure the phone to the mount are wider and thicker than most others of this style. Nite Ize says the Wraptor fits regular- and plus-size phones with or without a case; t he straps on ours accommodated our iPhone 8 Plus in a Speck Presidio Grip case ( our pick for the iPhone 8 Plus for more protection ) and held our smaller Samsung Galaxy S8 Active firmly. They also didn’t cover the buttons or screen in a way that impeded the use of the phone, unlike some silicone mounts we tested.

One unexpected use for this mount appeared during the pandemic, when many of us were indoors riding bikes attached to smart trainers and spending a lot of time in virtual cycling games. One of these games, the Zwift app, introduced a steering feature that only works if you attach your phone (running the game) to your handlebars, and the Wraptor proved ideal for that purpose.

A hefty silicone strap secures the mount to the bike’s handlebars; you stretch the strap around the bars and hook one of the strap’s holes on the peg at its base. On the mount, the phone rotates between portrait and landscape orientation, clicking into place every few degrees as you turn it. The whole thing is compact enough to tuck into a pocket when you’re not using it, making it especially convenient for bike-share users.

Because silicone is inherently stretchy, the test phones vibrated more in this mount than in the Quad Lock when we rolled over bumps and potholes. Of all the easy-on, easy-off silicone mounts we tested, though, the Nite Ize was the most stable; the one from Vup , for example, shook and bobbed at even the slightest change in surface texture. In fact, this mount fared better than two of the more expensive—and ostensibly sturdier—case-style mounts, the Tigra and the original version of the SP Connect .

Although we saw no indication of wear during our tests, and we’ve used similar straps for years with no problem, we still recommend inspecting the straps regularly.

If you’ve already invested in the Peak Design phone case ecosystem, we recommend a Peak Design Out Front Mount , which works with an Everyday Case (available for late-model iPhone , Samsung Galaxy , and Google Pixel phones) or a Universal Adapter . The mount-and-case combo costs about $40–$50 more than a similar Quad Lock setup. But that higher price gets you a rock-steady phone mount that’s less fussy to use than that of the Quad Lock system, plus a great-looking, protective case that’s less bulky than the other options we tested.

Unlike the Quad Lock cases, which twist and lock onto a bracket, the Peak Design cases click straight onto the mount’s 2.25-inch-square aluminum base, eliminating the kind of trouble we had aligning the Quad Lock case. The back of each phone case (and adapter) has a recessed, 0.8-inch square cutout that mates with a raised metal square on each base. Retractable tabs on the raised square extend under the lip of the cutout; in addition, a strong, MagSafe-compatible magnet concealed under the cutout holds the phone case firmly to the base, which is covered with a silicone “cushion.”

(While holding a phone and case locked onto a mount and facing downward, we compressed the two release buttons under the base to retract the tabs—so the magnet was the only thing keeping mount and case together—and shook as hard as we could. Mount, phone case, and phone all stayed stuck together, at least until we accidentally hit one edge of the case. Then the phone and case fell to the floor.)

As with the Quad Lock system, to switch between landscape and portrait mode you have to remove the Peak Design case from the mount and reattach it. (Our budget pick lets you turn the phone while it’s in the mount.)

We highly recommend the Peak Design Everyday Case in our guide to the best iPhone 15 cases , praising its looks (its polycarbonate body is covered in a dark-gray nylon) and functionality (the buttons work, and its TPU border has ridges to help protect the phone if you drop it). Despite the cutout-and-magnet affair in the case’s back, the Everyday Case isn’t noticeably thicker than our favorite no-frills iPhone case . Perhaps most importantly, Peak Design’s cases are all MagSafe compatible; its cases for Samsung Galaxy and Pixel phones also include the MagSafe magnet and may allow you to charge your Android using a MagSafe charger. (The magnet will, however, prevent Samsung’s S Pen stylus from working.)

Peak Design started making phone cases in 2021. This may be why it produces cases for relatively recent models only: If you have an iPhone older than the 11 series, a pre-S21 Galaxy, or any Pixel before the 6 series, you’ll have to settle for Peak Design’s Universal Adapter. That said, the adapter is definitely slimmer than Quad Lock’s, and although Peak Design warns that it may not allow wireless charging, our 2020 iPhone SE charged just fine on a MagSafe stand while wearing an adapter-equipped case. (Peak Design advises attaching the adapter only to the back of a case, not to the back of your phone.)

The hinged aluminum arm of the Peak Design mount encircles your handlebars and is secured by a single Allen bolt; the mount comes with the appropriate wrench. The current version of the mount comes with four sets of plastic collars that make the arm fit onto 22.2 mm, 25.4 mm, 31.8 mm, and 35 mm handlebars (that is, the most common mountain-, hybrid-, and road-bike sizes). The Allen bolt on the Peak Design mount screws in from the bottom—not from the top, like the more-convenient Quad Lock mount—but the bolt comes with a washer that keeps it from falling out entirely (as such bolts invariably do) when you unscrew it.

This clamp system worked well on the handlebars we tried it on, but it won’t work for aero-shaped (that is, not round) handlebars, tapered handlebars, or handlebars in an unusual size . The company sells a Universal Bar Mount with a silicone “hook and ladder” band that you can strap around your handlebar or stem. We haven’t tested it, but we’ve used the same sort of silicone bands with bike lights (and like them). They don’t always keep the lights from tilting up or down a bit, but we haven’t lost one yet. The universal mount could also be handy in any situation where you find yourself frequently wanting to move a mount between bikes.

Like Quad Lock, Peak Design has an array of mounts and accessories for its phone cases that includes desk chargers, car-dashboard mounts, wall mounts, motorcycle mounts, and more.

Two-part mounts with phone-specific cases or universal adapters

The Thule Smartphone Bike Mount is unlike any other mount we tested: It has a hefty base that attaches across the center of the handlebars, and a spring-loaded bracket plus silicone straps to hold in any size phone. It’s bulky and time-consuming to install, but once Amy had it in place on the road bike’s handlebars, her phone stayed put. Unfortunately, the mount wasn’t compatible with our test mountain bike, even with the included plastic shims.

Available only for iPhones at the time of our testing, the Morpheus M4s Bike Kit, from Germany, had a phone case with a very nice fit and feel, but its lip was lower than the 1 mm minimum that Apple recommends for screen protection. Also, as of spring 2023, Morpheus products are no longer available in the US.

The concept of the iOmounts Nomad Universal Bike Phone Mount was great: You stick a magnetic disc the size of a half-dollar to the back of your phone or a compatible phone case, loop the mount base around the handlebars, and pull it tight like a zip tie. And in our original tests, the magnet indeed kept the phone stable and secure. However, the base was challenging to get snug and downright frustrating to release and remove, and the mount was incompatible with Qi charging due to that metal disc. A company named Klock Werks acquired iOmounts in late 2020 and sells a very similar version called the Nomad Universal Phone Mount ; we foresee it having the same difficulty with wireless charging, however.

We tested nearly the entire line of Rokform bike mounts , including both the Rugged and Crystal cases for our iPhone 8 Plus, the Universal Mount Adapter for our Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, and the V4 Pro Series Phone Bike Mount . None were as good as the Quad Lock mount, yet they cost more. The V4 Pro Series Phone Bike Mount appeared to be sturdier than the Rokform Pro-Lite Bike Mount it replaced, but it’s still pricey.

The SP Connect Bike Bundle —with cases available for iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones (as well as other Android models) and a Universal Adapter for anything else—is more adjustable than its predecessors. However, to switch between portrait and landscape mode, you still have to adjust the back of the case itself using a small plastic “stand tool”—not convenient to do mid-ride. (The tool, which comes with the mount, was unlabeled and unmentioned in the packing material—we only discovered its name and purpose by reading the user’s manual for the case, not the mount, on the SP Connect site.)

The Tigra Sport FitClic Neo line is similar in concept to the Quad Lock and Rokform models but not as well executed. The case for the iPhone 8 Plus obstructed the phone’s side buttons. The process for locking and unlocking the phone and mount, involving a skinny plastic lever, isn’t very user-friendly. The standard mount felt more stable than the out-front one, but our test phones rattled more in both locations than we’d like.

The Topeak Ridecase for iPhone lacks an adequate protective lip and isn’t wireless-charging compatible. Also, extracting the phone to swap it to a different case was challenging.

The Fidlock Vacuum Phone cases aren’t compatible with wireless charging either, according to user reviews on the company’s own site and elsewhere .

Mounts with universal-fit silicone straps or plastic braces

The low-profile, forged-aluminum frame of the Delta Cycle X-Mount Pro can fit only under a bike’s stem cap—there’s no other way to attach it, and no way to adjust the angle it sits at. The sturdy silicone bands hold a regular or extra-large phone securely, though in portrait orientation only.

The Vibrelli Universal Bike Phone Mount , which holds a phone using silicone corner straps and a spring-loaded plastic bracket, is far less involved to mount than the similarly styled Thule. But its base felt less sturdy, with a plastic ball-in-socket mount that you tighten with a plastic ring nut.

With a spring-loaded bracket and plastic ball-in-socket mechanism, the Roam Universal Premium Bike Phone Mount resembles the Vibrelli; where it differs is in the handlebar mount, which is overly complicated, annoying to attach, and extremely wide (it takes up nearly 2 inches of handlebar space).

The Zéfal Universal Mobile Mount uses a plastic ball-in-socket mount similar to that of the Vibrelli and Roam models. However, rather than just pulling apart its plastic bracket arms, you have to push a button to spread them; once spread, they felt very wiggly, even while locked in place. The mount has little “feet” that fold forward to support the bottom of your phone, but they obstructed the silicone corner straps when in place.

With both TrailKase products from Bikase that we tested, the test phones rattled and shook over every bump. The TrailKase with Q/R 360 Degree Bracket had a heavy, metal mount base that projects quite a lot, while the lower-profile plastic mount for the TrailKase Universal Phone Holder felt flimsy.

The Topeak Omni RideCase DX seemed sturdy. Unfortunately, its wide silicone brackets obscured the home button on both the iPhone 8 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S8 we tested it with.

The Ram X-Grip Phone Mount  has  four spring-loaded arms with rubber knobs that grip your phone. Unfortunately, unless we positioned the arms in such a way that the lower ones barely made contact with the bottom of our iPhone SE, the upper ones held and activated the volume buttons on one side and the power button on the other. (Also, the mount comes with a tiny vial of quick-set glue but no instructions for what to do with it; after digging around the Ram Mounts site, we deduced that you’re meant to glue the rubber knobs onto the metal arms before using the mount—which might be something you’d want to know up front.)

The Gub G-85 Bicycle Phone Holder we tested, one of a few variations on a theme from the same company, is impressively solid for its price (it’s made entirely of aluminum) but complicated to assemble. And if you don’t want to scratch your expensive phone, or possibly let it slip out of the four metal prongs that grip it, you’ll need to stick four teeny-tiny cushions included with the mount onto those prongs. A jeweler’s loupe might come in handy.

The Vup Universal Bike Cell Phone Holder  is an easy-to-install, inexpensive silicone-bracket mount popular on Amazon. Unfortunately, the test phones rattled, quaked, and bounced way too much on our rides, and the lower strap got in the way of the home button on the iPhone 8 Plus.

Another low-priced Amazon best seller, the Ailun Silicone Strap Phone Mount Holder , felt so much flimsier than similarly styled mounts that we didn’t dare test it on a bike. Its straps could also get in the way of a phone’s home button.

The lower strap of the Team Obsidian Silicone Bike Mount covered both phones’ home buttons, and we struggled to stretch the thick silicone straps onto the 8 Plus in the Speck Presidio case.

Getting our phones in and out of the Delta Cycle Smartphone Holder XL  and Hefty Holder was challenging, and both are large, awkward, and, frankly, ugly.

The Nite Ize HandleBand felt durable and secure. However, the wide straps cut across and blocked part of the phone screen.

Mounts with waterproof universal-fit phone holders

The Topeak Smartphone Drybag , which we tested in its 5-inch size, was a tight fit on the iPhone 8 Plus in its case. However, we were more concerned with how much the test phone rattled and bobbled up and down at the slightest pavement change, regardless of whether the bag was mounted to the handlebars or stem.

The Bikase Handy Andy 6 , which attaches with two Velcro straps, was easy to put on and take off, and Amy noticed minimal phone movement and shaking on the road. But the plastic window reflected so much glare that she couldn’t see the phone screen at all. (There seem to be no new versions for later phones.)

This article was edited by Christine Ryan.

Great Phone Mounts for Your Bike , Bicycling , June 1, 2021

Josh Ross, Best waterproof cycling phone cases reviewed , Cycling Weekly , October 14, 2021

Meet your guides

Amy Roberts

Amy Roberts is a certified personal trainer (NASM-CPT), a running coach (USATF Level 1), and a regionally competitive runner. She also served as a staff writer for the Good Housekeeping Institute for nearly five years, working closely with the engineers and other scientists to interpret product test results.

Christine Ryan

Christine Ryan is a senior editor at Wirecutter overseeing the teams that cover travel, outdoors gear, beds and linens, home decor, and more. (She also edits and writes about cycling equipment, which gives her an excuse to sneak away from her desk and go for a ride.) Previously, she was an editor at European Travel & Life, Gourmet, and Sunset.

Further reading

The Best Bike Handlebar Bag

by Sam Schild

After testing dozens of bike handlebar bags, we’ve chosen five that can carry all your riding essentials, no matter where you’re headed.

The Best Bike Panniers

by Eve O'Neill

After spending four years testing dozens of panniers, we’ve chosen six that’ll be great for daily duty no matter what you’re toting or where you’re going.

The Best Commuter Bike Lights

by Lindsay Warner

After testing some 115 lights over the past 10 years, we can recommend the best headlight and the best taillight for most people who commute by bicycle.

The Best iPhone Cases for the iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max

by Nick Guy

We’ve tested dozens of iPhone 12 cases—and iPhone 12 mini, Pro, and Pro Max options too—to find great options for a range of styles and needs.

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Travel Tripod

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We spent 4 years redesigning the tripod from the ground up, creating a travel tripod that packs down to the diameter of a water bottle—without compromising height, stability, or features.

Traditional tripods have always suffered from needless bulk and wasted space, so we made it radically faster to setup and takedown. Our tripod features ergonomic adjustment points, built-in mobile compatibility, and thoughtful details at every turn. Plus, it’s built for life on the road: durable, 100% serviceable, and backed by the Peak Design lifetime guarantee.

Tripod includes legs, ballhead, protective soft case, ARCA-compatible Standard Plate, mobile mount, hex tool with carrying clip, and bushing removal tool for maintenance. See Specs section below for details.

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Pro performance. half the size..

The Travel Tripod brings you pro-level stability, load capacity, and deployed height, yet packs down to the diameter of a water bottle. A ground-up redesign of the traditional tripod, the Travel Tripod is the result of 4 years of engineering.

Groundbreaking Architecture

Spatially efficient design eliminates wasted volume when packed down. Packs down to the diameter of a water bottle. No protruding knobs.

LIGHTNING-FAST DEPLOYMENT

Unique design allows quicker, easier setup/takedown.

Secure, fast, and ergonomic camera quick release.

Fast-locking, low profile leg cams.

Legs deploy in seconds, without having to flip over like traditional travel tripod legs.

PRO-LEVEL STABILITY & FEATURES

20lb weight capacity (optimized for a full-frame DSLR + telephoto lens). Stability and vibration damping performance comparable, if not better, than most tripods in its class. Low and inverted modes position your camera inches off the ground
. Integrated load hanging hook
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ERGONOMIC BALL HEAD

Ultra-smooth, omnidirectional Compact Ball Head.

One single adjustment ring. No bulky or confusing knobs
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Simple locking ring for total security.

Compatible with all PD plates and most 3rd party Arca-type plates.


Removable pins allow use with most Arca-type L-brackets
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For your phone, too

Built-in and stowable mobile mount.

Securely grips any phone/case
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Built to Last

Weather and impact-resistant materials.

All parts are serviceable, cleanable, and replaceable.

Includes a padded, weatherproof case.

Guaranteed for life.

What is in the box

• Tripod (Legs + Compact Ball Head) x1
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SKU/Part Number:

TT-CB-5-150-AL-1 (Aluminum)

TT-CB-5-150-CF-1 (Carbon Fiber)

Alloy: 1.56 kg (3.44 lbs) Carbon: 1.29 kg (2.81 lbs)

Weight Capacity:

9.1 kg (20 lbs)* *Optimized for pro setups, up to full-frame DSLR + telephoto lens

Instruction

Product Manual

Collapsed Dimensions:

Length: 39.1 cm (15.4”)

Diameter: 7.9 cm (3.125")

Deployed Dimensions:

Max height (center column raised): 152.4 cm (60")

Max height (center column down): 130.2 cm (51.25")

Min height (low mode): 14 cm (5.5”)

Tabletop Mode (center column raised): 57.2 cm (22.5")

Tabletop Mode (center column down): 35.9 cm (13.125")

Leg Sections

Aluminum cams

Ball Head, Hub, Load Hook: Powdercoated A380 aluminum

Legs: Anodized 6061-T6 aluminum (Alloy), Carbon F’n fiber (Carbon)

Quick Release, Adjustment Ring, Center Column Knob: Anodized 6061-T6 aluminum

Locking Ring: Polycarbonate/ABS blend

Feet: ShoreA60 TPU

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Everyday Case for Pixel 6

Slim, protective, and mountable phone case.

var chrismark = 0; Regular price $39.95 $31.96

Everyday Case for Pixel 6 Pro

Everyday Case for Pixel 7

Everyday Case for Pixel 7 Pro

Everyday Case for Pixel 7A

Everyday Case for Pixel 8

Everyday Case for Pixel New Colors

var chrismark = 0; $39.95 $31.96

Everyday Case for iPhone 11

Everyday Case for iPhone 11 Pro

Everyday Case for iPhone 11 Pro Max

Everyday Case for iPhone 12 & 12 Pro

Everyday Case for iPhone 12 Mini

Everyday Case for iPhone 12 Pro Max

Everyday Case for iPhone 13

Everyday Case for iPhone 13 Mini

Everyday Case for iPhone 13 Pro

Everyday Case for iPhone 13 Pro Max

Everyday Case for iPhone 14

Everyday Case for iPhone 14 Plus

Everyday Case for iPhone 14 Pro Max

Everyday Case for iPhone 15

Everyday Case for iPhone 15 Plus

Everyday Case for iPhone 15 Pro Max V1

Var chrismark = 0; $49.95 $34.95.

Everyday Case for iPhone 15 Pro Max V2

Everyday Case for iPhone SE

Nomad x Peak Design Rugged Case New Collab

Rugged mountable phone case for maximum protection.

var chrismark = 0; From $59.95

Peak Design adapter for third-party phone cases.

Ball Mount Adapter New Options

Adapter for 3rd party ball-and-socket phone mount systems.

Magnetic phone mount for car dashboards.

var chrismark = 0; From $44.95

Car Vent Mount NEW

Magnetic phone mount for car vents.

var chrismark = 0; From $64.95

Mobile Creator Kit

Locking phone mount for tripods, GoPro mounts, and Capture.

Ultra-compact magnetic phone tripod with ballhead.

var chrismark = 0; $79.95

Mobile Wallet New colors

Magnetic minimalist wallet with optional kickstand.

Locking phone mount for motorcycle handlebars.

var chrismark = 0; $99.95

Locking phone mount for motorcycle stem nuts.

Out Front Bike Mount V2

Locking phone mount for bicycle handlebars.

Locking phone mount for any handlebar.

Adhesive-backed magnetic phone mount for flat surfaces.

Articulating magnetic charging phone stand.

Everyday Bag Divider

Replacement for dividers

var chrismark = 0; $14.95

EDB v2 // Key Tether

Everyday Hip Belt

Padded hip belt accessory for Everyday Backpack

Sternum Strap

Replacement Sternum Strap for Everyday Backpack

External Carry Strap

Replacement Everyday External Carry Strap

Camera Cube V2 Dividers + Pockets

Replacement Camera Cube Dividers.

var chrismark = 0; From $4.95

Sternum Strap // Backpack (V1 & Travel)

Replacement Sternum Strap for our Everyday Backpack

Camera Cube V1 Dividers + Pockets

Travel External Carry Strap

Replacement Travel External Carry Strap

Replacement Travel Tripod Bag

A replacement zippered soft case for your Travel Tripod.

var chrismark = ""; $24.95

Travel Tripod Tool Kit

Replacement Tool Kit for Travel Tripod.

var chrismark = ""; $19.95

Travel Tripod Phone Mount V2

Replacement Phone Mount for Travel Tripod.

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• Camera Gear
• Backpack Zip
• Field Pouch
• Range Pouch
• Backpack 30L
• BACKPACK 45L
• DUFFELPACK 65L
• Packable Tote
• SMALL WASH POUCH
• PACKING CUBES
• CAMERA CUBES
• Corporate Gifting
• CAPTURE (CLIP ONLY)
• Micro CLUTCH
• ANCHOR LINKS
• CAMERA CUBE
• Replacement Parts
• Everyday Case for iPhone
• Everyday Case for Samsung
• Everyday Case for Pixel
• Nomad Rugged Case for iPhone
• Universal Adapter
• Offroam Mount
• Universal Bar Mount
• Out Front Bike Mount
• Motorcycle Bar Mount
• Motorcycle Stem Mount
• Ball Mount Adapter
• Wireless Charging Stand
• Mobile Tripod
• Mobile Wallet
• Creator Kit
• Wall Power Adapter

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Tripods & Accessories

Pro-level performance with unmatched portability..

Travel Tripod

Ultra-compact, full-featured pro tripod.

var chrismark = 0; From $379.95

Ultralight Conversion Kit

Convert the Travel Tripod into an ultralight backpacking tripod.

var chrismark = 0; $29.95

Universal Head Adapter

Use Travel Tripod legs with any standard tripod head.

Spike Feet Set

Spike feet for extra grip on slippery/loose terrain.

Replacement Travel Tripod Bag

A replacement zippered soft case for your Travel Tripod.

var chrismark = ""; $24.95

Travel Tripod Phone Mount V2

Replacement Phone Mount for Travel Tripod.

var chrismark = ""; $19.95

Travel Tripod Tool Kit

Replacement Tool Kit for Travel Tripod.

FIND A PD RETAILER

What's it like to use the most thoughtfully designed gear in the world? See for yourself.