SIRUI P-306 Professional Lightweight 6-Section Aluminum monopod

I had bought two of the Sirui P-306 monopods at the same time. One for me and one for my daughter. The monopod does collapse enough so that I was able to pack both of them into my carry-on luggage for out trip to the UK. I did have to take off the ball heads though. The twist locks worked very smooth and secured quite well. I would like to note that when each section is fully extended and locked into position you do get a bit of flex in the monopdod. I'm a leaner, and I lean on the monopod to steady my camera for the shot. I was able to minimize the flexing by moving about 1/4-1/2in of each section back in before locking. I have seen many online videos stating this should be done no matter which monopod you own. Before I gave the Sirui to my daughter I showed her mine to gauge her reaction about having one, since she never expressed an interest in it. I removed the compass from mine, and the first thing she asked about was to silly compass! When she open her box she was extremely happy to see that hers had a compass. Goes to show that Sirui knew what they were doing when they included the compass. The strap itself is non adjustable, ok for me though. The padded grip is nice and secure, doesn't slide or move. The ground spike is easy to operate, I haven't had to use it though. I think that rocks and dirt may clog the opening if you don't have the spike extended.I would definitely recommend the Sirui P-306 Monopod to you. If you are budget minded and unsure if you'll use a monopod, this Sirui monopod is perfect. I'm 74" and once I added a ball-head to this monopod it was the perfect height, and I even had to collapse it a little. Which only made it more steady. My daughter is 68" tall and she has no issues with using it either. We love our Sirui P-306 Monopods!

It's compact, yet expands to heights taller than i can use. (full disclosure, i'm only 5'3" tall and i have a 3" tall ball mount on it) It's light, yet sturdy enough to hold my D500 with a 600mm lens stable in most situations. But i don't typically carry that large of a lens when I carry this monopod. I dragged this thing all over Japan for 2 weeks and it served me very well. "no tripod" signs sell very well over there. ha ha. At first I didn't like how it has 5 stages of adjustment where most of the other mono-pods i've used have 3. But after using it for a while i found i got to where i could get it set up just right very quickly. At 15 1/2" It's 6" shorter than my Benro when fully collapsed, but only 2" shorter when fully extended to its 61" max height. It weighs about the same.as for negatives, yes, the 5 joints do make it slightly less ridged than my Benro when fully extended. I typically don't extend the bottom smallest section though which helps with that. For carrying around when traveling or hiking this is my go to. For track days or other events where I won't be moving locations constantly and i'll be using my big glass almost the whole time, yeah, i'll grab my slightly more stable Benro.I would buy it again, and I have recommended it to friends.

I must say I really like how quick and easy a camera can be mounted turning the wheel to screw it into the camera and then turning the rod while holding the camera in place.It is a sturdy rod with little flex when extended, very useful and perfectly sufficient for most occasions when using modern image stabilized zoom cameras.I only wish it was more compact and lighter, but it's perfectly good when considering the reasonable price and how sturdy it is.But because of the dimensions and the weight it's not a monopod I'd really want to carry around as camera nerd luggage 'everywhere' I go when taking my camera with me, the way I originally hoped it would be.It's about as easy to conceal as an AR-16 or a Javelin launcher are, unless of course you happen to carry a messenger bag, a back-pack, or a big purse to store it in.

I like the sturdiness thus far and that it travels well when collapsed

It's definitely a solid monopod. I keep it next to my bed at night to fend off potential burglers.Easy to use, simply twist and extend - I use it for real estate photography and it's quick to adjust. Has a retractable ice pick on the bottom that is very handy. Like I mentioned, its solid metal and would make a great baton if you have to work in sketchy neighborhoods.

This is a HEAVY DUTY monopod that is not only hefty, but very well and solidly constructed. You can mount a camera directly on the pin for forward facing photography, but mounting a tilt and pan head allows one to also use this monopod for selfies. I has a very thick neoprene covering over the top section that allows for a very secure grip. The device is also heavy enough to use as a weapon if one needed to. I took it on vacation and one of my cameras stayed permanently mounted on this. If functioned flawlessly.

This is a well made monopod but it feels heavier than I thought it would. All my other tri and monopods have the lever type lock and I just got used to that system. This is a twist lock leg and I just can't seem to get the hang of it yet. So if you are used to this system, this is a solid monopod, much less expensive than comparable name brands. Since I don't use a tripod or monopod that often, I couldn't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a lighter carbon fiber one. So if weight is a big concern, look elsewhere. If you are on a tight budget, couple this with the Tripod Monopod Metal BALL HEAD Quick Release Plate By Fancier (see my other review) for less than twenty bucks and you've got a pretty beefy and reliable setup.Pro: Solid well built monopod.Con: A bit heavy. I didn't care too much for the twist lock system, but that's just me.