Travel tripod options (also, how to evaluate a tripod)

So I've been doing photography for a while (my first "real" camera was a Canon 10D) and I've been using a Gitzo 1127mk2 (which is quite old/discontinued) for many years.  It's got a rated capacity of 11lbs which I've always assumed I should really be using less then half that.  While I like the tripod, I've been really thinking it's not really great for travel or strong enough for doing landscapes when I'm traveling by car with my 5DmkIV,  battery grip, 24-70/2.8L w/ nodal rails + Acratech GP ball head.  Or perhaps something longer/heavier like my 70-200/2.8L/IS.

Long story short, I've got a ~2 week trip planned to South America and decided to pick up a more travel oriented tripod that packs smaller and hopefully new technology would allow it to be lighter and/or stronger. 

I decided to order two tripods to compare to the 1127mk2: Benro FGP18C and the Feisol CT-3441S.  Going in I figured the Feisol would be a far superior tripod and the Benro would be a compromise, but some of the features (especially the ability to rotate the center column) seemed really nice.

So the Feisol is rated for 44lbs and Benro 22lbs and both are very noticeably less stiff than the Gitzo.  The legs have a lot more flex and the design of the Benro causes more flex on the center column clamp (honestly, this was something I was afraid of with the Benro).  I know Gitzo is top tier, but I have to admit I'm surprised by how much more flex is in the legs of the other two.

Part of me is wondering if in the last ~10 years if CF tripod theory has changed and rather than being stiff, tripod manufacturers are adding some flex in order to provide dampening?  Or is my old Gitzo just under rated and these Asian tripods that much lower quality?

I'll go with, "those are trade-offs you get in travel tripods. You're comparing apples and oranges."

The smaller, lighter products are less stiff, period. And you should also consider other products in that class: Manfrotto and Three Legged Thing to name two.

You don't explain what you intend to do with it. But if you get a tripod with a hook on the center column, you can hang additional weight to add stability. Thus, the device with the higher weight rating is what you want.

By definition, a stable — and sturdy — tripod is a cubic
meter concrete block with the head of your choosing.
More stable you die… not much for travel though.

From this point on, it's all compromise: the lighter and
smaller, the more prone to movements in two of the 3
axises — and this includes torsion, the most neglected
movement but responsible of the greater evil.

I understand that tripods are a compromise (travel or otherwise).  I was honestly expecting more from the Feisol since it has more CF layers, the legs are larger diameter and it's a newer design which weighs the same as my 1127.  Not sure if the old style Gitzo locks are superior or it's a function of the number of segments or just how the CF layers are done, different resins, etc.  The Benro was sorta a hail-mary... a fair bit heavier, but some cool features- which as I sorta expected compromised the design.  I expected it to be worse, but wasn't sure how bad it would be.

I ended up doing a test with my 5Dmk4 + 70-200L/2.8ISII @ 200mm indoors on hardwood floors.  For each tripod I'd focus on an object about 12ft away and then tap the camera and count the number of seconds before it would settle down.  Gitzo was ~3sec, Feisol was ~5sec and the Benro was 7-8sec.

My travel photography is a mix of international travel and hiking/outdoor related.  I tend to do a lot of low light/night/long exposures on my tripod.  Mirror lockup, remote shutter and weight on the tripod center column hook.  Longest lens I'd be using on a travel tripod is probably 200mm (or at least I don't expect a travel tripod to be optimized for longer).  Last year we hiked around Five Fingers in the Austrian Alps and it was very windy so I see the value in a good quality tripod.

Right now strongly considering picking up a used Canon 70-200L/F4IS (1st gen) for travel since the 2.8 tends to be left home due to its weight on these kinds of trips.  When I'm driving to Yosemite or Death Valley, my 70-200L/F2.8ISII is one of my primary lenses, but I'm mostly traveling in my truck so a heavier/bigger tripod isn't an issue.

Anyways, the Benro and Feisol are both going back and I ordered a Gitzo 1545T and RRS TQC-14 MK2 to compare.  The 1545T is the same weight as the 1127 and the RRS is supposed to be noticeably better then that and only 0.3lbs more.

synfinatic wrote:  the Benro and Feisol are both going back…

Feisol have very good legs but they are not stable when facing
lateral torsion. An other problem is their levelling base; it has 12
threads/inch screw where 16 or 20 would be needed. I only test-
ted their top of the line gear… didn't pass.

I have 4x serie 5 (3 and 4 segments) for on location work and
they are the only ones I tested for lateral torsion and passed.

My ideal tripod for wildlife would be the Algonquin or Killarney 
but none was available at the time in Europe.