May 13, 2014
Tripod Feet Replacement
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| Tripod's Rubber Feet Replacement |
One of my essential items while shooting is a tripod. I got a Manfrotto 190CX3. It’s a carbon fiber tripod with 3 leg sections. It's light and sets up fast. Everything was perfect except for one rubber tripod foot. It’s quite loose compared to the other rubber tripod feet. This single rubber tripod foot already fell off several times. I was tempted to glue it permanently but I avoided the idea since I was thinking that there might come a time that I may need to remove it (e.g. feet upgrade, bottom foot/feet all worn out).
The most unfortunate thing happened, I lost this tripod foot! How? I was in Thredbo, NSW Australia and was enjoying the snow. Since the snow is soft on top, I tried to bury the tripod every time I shoot to make it more stable. Of course, I pulled the tripod afterwards and one of those instances I noticed that one of the feet was missing!
It’s a bit irritating to lose something in the middle of the snow and haven’t got any idea how to replace it. I don’t know where to buy cheap tripod rubber feet and I want to buy immediately. Good thing one of my friend read on a forum that they got their rubber feet in one of the local hardware store!
If you’re in Australia, Bunnings is a familiar hardware store. I searched the documentation of the 190CX3 on Manfrotto website – particularly the outer diameter of the lower legs, and found out it was 16 millimeter. With this in mind, I went to Bunnings and asked for rubber feet and directed me to one part of the store. Wow, there’s so many of these and they're quite cheap! It's probably cheaper compared to the original Manfrotto tripod feet! Below is what I bought:
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| Rubber 'Tips' as Indicated |
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| 16 millimeter (5/8 inch) Hole |
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| Replace All with One Spare! |
For Manfrotto 190CX3, the lower tube of the tripod has an outside diameter of 16 millimeters (5/8"). If your tripod is the 190CX Pro4 or the 055CX series (or others), the size of the outside diameter might be different. Check the documentation on the manufacturer's website. If you can try out the rubber tips in-store, then you don't need to know the diameter.
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| How Rubber Tips Fit the Tripod |
If the tips of your tripod is worn out or they start to come off, it's best to replace it. In my case, it came off in the most unfortunate time and there's no way I can find the loose feet buried in snow.