How heavy should a travel tripod be?

When it comes to travelling, the weight is a serious consideration for a tripod. You need it to be light enough to bring with you without much effort – yet, it also needs to be stable. 

A good average weight for a travel tripod should be 3 lbs (1.3 kg). Look for a carbon fibre tripod which tends to be lighter than the aluminium ones.

Don’t worry too much about the tripod weight rating, which is a measurement of how much the manufacturer thinks the tripod can hold – usually these are inaccurate, and can be ignored.

In our experience, how you travel with a tripod and camera gear can be made a lot more pleasurable if weights are kept to a minimum – choosing the right camera bag is a good first step, but finding a lightweight travel tripod will mean that you’re not lugging around a lot of weight.

If you’re backpacking or hiking, having the lightest tripod is advisable, but you’ll need to find the right balance of lightness: rigidity to suit the camera body and lenses that you’ll be attaching to the tripod head.

You should also check out our article on do you need a tripod for travel photography.

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