Today I found myself buying a smaller tripod, something I never thought I’d do. For years I’ve relied on sturdier, heavier tripods made by IFootage (I have 3) — reliable tools that give me confidence in all conditions. But the reality is, they’re getting harder and harder to carry onto a flight with all the restrictions now in place, we are also doing this as economy and therefore do not want to pay extra just to take a tripod on board especially on longer trips and when travelling light.

This new one is tiny. In fact, it’s so small that it will probably fit in my coat pocket. Made by Neewer, it extends to about 20 inches when fully set up, and when collapsed it’s only around 7 inches long. That’s a huge difference compared to what I’m used to.

The big question is reliability. With its light weight, I’m not expecting it to handle strong winds or heavier camera gear with ease. Still, it feels like a practical compromise, especially with a holiday coming up where portability is more important than anything else.

Will it stand up to the test in real-world conditions? Only time will tell. For now, it’s a handy little addition to my kit — not perfect, but perhaps exactly what I need for the kind of photography I’ve got planned.