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[JamesMcKernan]

Hi guys,

First post on the forums and I'm hoping to get a positive reception. I am a 4th year university student studying product design and I am currently doing my final year project. For this project I have to design a complete product of my own conception and right now I am at the research stage. The product I am creating is very much a legitimate design and the research is the key to its fruition.

So what is this product I speak of? Well, I wouldn't be posting on this forum without good reason. The product I am designing is a combination of a trekking pole, for hiking/hillwalking/skiing/any activity involving walking poles, with that of a camera tripod.

I'm posting on this forum to get some feedback from the genuine people in my target market. I would really, really appreciate if you could take the time to fill out my research survey, it should only take a few minutes and hopefully shouldn't bore you. This survey will go a long way to helping me establish the specifications of my product and the requirements and needs of the user. There is a more detailed description of the product and the idea behind it on the survey.

I understand I am a new user but hopefully I will be able to post the link to the survey in due course.

Thank you very, very much for taking the time and please, if you have any comments, questions or wish to share an opinion do not hesitate, everything helps.

[tenohfive]

Just to clarify - tripod, or monopod? If the latter there are existing products that already fulfil that role - Leki, Hama, Manfrotto etc all make something along those lines.

If the former I'd be very curious - as off the top of my head I can't conceive of anything would work. Good tripods that are stable and able to support the weight of body and lens (but cheap) tend to be heavy. (You pay a real premium for lightweight models - £100 plus generally.) Even the heaviest walking pole tend to be a fraction of the weight of a cheaper tripod. So you're either talking massive compromises in terms of performance (probably both as a walking pole and as a tripod) or high cost of materials/manufacturing. And that's without factoring in the actual idea itself. It sounds like a massive headache.

So if you've got an idea I'd be curious to hear it. I'll certainly do the survey when you post it up. There are a few keen amateur photographers on here so I'd imagine you'll get a few more completed.

[Walk-n-Roller]

Where are these walking pole monopods available? Are they literally just a lightweight walking pole with a thread at the top? That would be ideal.

[JamesMcKernan]

Just to clarify - tripod, or monopod? If the latter there are existing products that already fulfil that role - Leki, Hama, Manfrotto etc all make something along those lines.

If the former I'd be very curious - as off the top of my head I can't conceive of anything would work. Good tripods that are stable and able to support the weight of body and lens (but cheap) tend to be heavy. (You pay a real premium for lightweight models - £100 plus generally.) Even the heaviest walking pole tend to be a fraction of the weight of a cheaper tripod. So you're either talking massive compromises in terms of performance (probably both as a walking pole and as a tripod) or high cost of materials/manufacturing. And that's without factoring in the actual idea itself. It sounds like a massive headache.

So if you've got an idea I'd be curious to hear it. I'll certainly do the survey when you post it up. There are a few keen amateur photographers on here so I'd imagine you'll get a few more completed.

Agreed it is a tall order, but my work as a designer is to create a product where there are no compromises. It is difficult to convey the design or even the idea to people when that thing does not yet exist, particularly based on a description from another person. I chose to go forward with this design in particular because it is difficult. It's hard to convey a detailed design and just the idea itself to people from so many different backgrounds.

[tenohfive]

Not knocking it, just trying to make sure you're aware of how big an ask it would be to integrate a tripod and walking pole. I'm a keen amateur photographer and keen hill walker; knowing what I expect performance wise from both it seems like a job and a half to get both into one walking pole.

On the monopod front:
http://www.harrisoncameras.co.uk/Bags-a ... tAodr1cADw
http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-mefo ... taodqxgacg

There are loads of others. They've got their place for some people but they only add a couple of stops of exposure, and don't help any with assisting with framing etc. I'm not a fan - in the same price range I'd rather just take a Gorillapod as they're cheap but light.

[gman]

Agreed it is a tall order, but my work as a designer is to create a product where there are no compromises. It is difficult to convey the design or even the idea to people when that thing does not yet exist, particularly based on a description from another person. I chose to go forward with this design in particular because it is difficult. It's hard to convey a detailed design and just the idea itself to people from so many different backgrounds.

This reads like one of those randomly generated emails...so I'm out

Seriously, though, I used to carry a DSLR and walking poles on hilwalking trips so I was looking at pole/monopod combos. Got a smaller, more lightweight compact recently and it's got image stabilisation built in - most cameras have this now, so I don't think there's the need to carry a tripod/walking pole hybrid (whatever that would look like) unless it's for long exposures in low light or extreme telephoto wildlife shots. I reckon most walkers are happy with image stabilisation & the proper photographers you see on Rannoch Moor etc would want a real tripod.

[Tinto63]

You can already buy a very good walking pole that can be used as a monopod with the addition of a camera mount. That is providing you are willing to use Pacer Poles. I've had a pair for several years and find them excellent in use, Probably better with a compact camera but perfectly usable with a small DSLR.

On the design problem of making a tripod out of walking pole, I think this would be very difficult without using very light, strong (and expensive) materials - carbon fibre or titanium or similar, but another solution might be to make a pair of walking poles where each pole could split into two legs and be easily linked to the other pole to make a "quadpod".

Anyway, here are a few views of a Pacer Pole with a camera attached:

camera mount on pole

with Nikon D3200

with Canon G11

with Canon G11 and showing pole extended

[rohan]

This reads like one of those randomly generated emails...so I'm out

I'm interested in how you spotted that gman.

No disrespect to Mr McKernan if he is genuine but following your post I checked his profile.
Joined WH 3rd Nov,2014 , 1st post 3rd Nov.
Number of Munro rounds 6 (number of munros 6... on his 7th round?).
4th year student? oh well he could be a mature student or a very fast walker who started young
On the Munro compleatist list ? -no, oh well could be one of the many who don't record their rounds.

I think gman you are right to avoid the research questionaire but I will add my tuppence in the interest of the discussion. I find most things that try to serve more than one function at once are second rate at both. Having said that I am a keen phototgrapher with a DSLR AND a pair of pacer poles that I love. I have never tried them as a tripod, using my rucksack /rock or similar if I need a solid perch

[gman]

This reads like one of those randomly generated emails...so I'm out

I'm interested in how you spotted that gman.

I was joking, I'm pretty sure he's a genuine student with an idea for a project, but he has difficulty articulating his idea at the moment so there's a tendency towards marketing speak. He has made the same request on UKC and photo forums with the same response - possibly a good concept but need more info to give feedback.

[brpro26]

You could always use your walking pole to make yourself into a tripod....that's my best advice

[Michael Thomson]

Worth keeping an eye on TrailPix, which is a pretty interesting way to do it