Designed for Heavier Gear & Challenging Terrain

Review by Dave Williams

When it comes to tripods, we should be thinking carefully. That three-legged implement is the thing we entrust to securely hold the most valuable items in our gear-haul: our camera and glass! To that end, together with camera straps, I’ve placed enormous energy in ensuring my tripod is up to the job with zero compromise. 3 Legged Thing tripods perform exceptionally well, and in the Legends range, “Nicky” is a step up from a traveler’s tripod toward something that’s suited perfectly to landscape photography and videography. 

The lack of a central column means that what we lose in compactness, we make up for in stability. Each leg is made up of four sections that extend to give the tripod a total height of 61.41​”​ (1.56m), so it affords a vertical advantage over many compact systems, while still being suited to travel. Despite its size, it weighs in at only 5.29 lbs (2.4 kg), being made of 100% pure, 8-layer carbon fiber, offering enormous strength and a maximum load of 132 lb. (60 kg.) 

Up top there’s a flat plate or a bowl, both of which are included in the box. The construction of Nicky, as with everything that comes out of 3 Legged Thing’s “Chicken Shed,” is top-quality and nothing has been missed. The rapid latch system used to adjust the angle of the legs is compounded with the use of durable, raised twist-lock O-pads that secure the extending legs and afford improved rotation, grip, and water dispersement. 

3 Legged Thing offers excellent customer service and their products are designed and built with great care and precision, and Nicky is no exception to this. When it comes to taking care to balance our camera atop the ideal tripod, I have no doubt this tripod is the one. ■