I have a Manfrotto basic tripod, which is well made and a good bit of kit, though I accept for truly professional photography it isn't substantial enough. And therein lines the problem - without some heft a tripod will not perform as well, especially in wind.
However, for an away trip canoeing, where I had to fly with all my kit including the folding canoe, it was too heavy. I bought a really cheap plastic small tripod(<£25) thinking it would be rubbish, but its actually quite reasonable, and whilst its only small, it far more stable than a Gorillapod type, which I've tried before, and manages my Canon 700D with an 18-135mm lens for long exposures. It doesn't have a quick release type mount, so you have to screw it in each time you use it. The very fact that it isn't very tall means its still quite stable. It looks like this discontinued one though not sure its the same one as this claims to be aluminium where mine is mostly plastic:
https://www.wexphotovideo.com/velbon-ex-mini-tripod-with-2-way-head-1547622/I've also tried those really small bendy leg tripods, but they're not able to handle anything other than a small compact.
The reality is that for most use, I'd be better off with a beanbag perched on top of stuff, and I rarely take a tripod now.