Boots for tripod legs...

rpcrowe

When I was in the Navy, we used neoprene "boots" to cover our tripod legs when shooting in sandy or wet conditions.

These "boots" covered about 24' up from the bottom of the tripod legs and were great for keeping sand or moisture out of the joints.

I have not been able to find any commercially supplied "boots". Does anyone know of anything available on the commercial market. Right now, I am wrapping the bottom of the legs in Saran wrap and securing it with rubber bands. This works O.K. but, it a pain to put on. I might try large freezer bags next.

If I can't find any commercially manufactured "boots", I will revert to stopping off at my local surf shop and see if they can fabricate some for me.

Art Scott

In all the years that I have been shooting and reading every outdoor mag I could find (photo, hunting and hiking and wildnerness and boating mags) I have never even head mention let alone seen a pair of boots or stockings for a 'pod...Ihave owned snow shoies and feet for my pods but that is it.............

I could see where this could e real handy and I would have to disassemble my 'pods for cleaning after some of the outdoor adventures I put them thru......

keep us informed of your progress please...........

rpcrowe

My "bootie experience"
The first booties I had experience with were made out of canvas. They kept the tripod legs fairly dirt and sand free but, did not protect from moisture. I had a set (for a motion picture tripod) made from neoprene that slipped over the bottom of the tripod legs and was tight enough that I didn't need any ties or Velcro to hold them on. They worked great.

I have not used a tripod in nasty conditions in years but, I just got my Giottos MT8180 tripod and a Bogen/Manfrotto 3124 Gimbal camera support and shot the Thunderboat Unlimited Hydroplane tryouts at Mission Bay, San Diego. I knew that I would have to setup the tripod in the sand so I just stopped by my local camera shop and asked if they had booties for a tripod. Which, of course, they did not.

So I guess that I will have to get a set fabricated. Some folks use PVC piping with end caps which they slip the legs of the tripod into. I don't know what holds the PVC on the legs, I certainly would not want to use tape because of the residue.

Anyhow, I will keep you updated on my search for the Holy tripod Grail.

By the way - I just love my new Giottos. It is the first reasonably light weight tripod I ever had that is tall enough (without using the center column) for me to use without bending over. I am about 6'1" tall.

I found a good use for the hook at the bottom of the center column which is normally used to weight down the unit. I swing my camera bag from it and keep the bag out of the sand and moisture also.

gluwater

You should contact LensCoat. They can probably custom make something like this. Dgrin user Scott Elowitz works for them. Optech is another company that you could try contacting to custom make something. Both companies come highly recomended.

claudermilk

Aren't those Giottos pods nice? I'm loving mine. Giottos specifically mentions the moisture/sand-resistant design of their twist lock clamps, doen't that work for you? I really haven't put mine to the test, but the light sand it's encountered has been no problem. I've also taken one joint apart just to see what's in there & it looks like it will survive being put into water just fine.

rpcrowe

Moisture and Sand resistance...
Yes, I love the Giottos tripod. I have not used all of the bells and whistles on this tripod but, I am very impressed with everything about it.

I have recently used the Giottos to support a 30D with a 400mm f/5.6L lens and a manfrotto 3421 Gimbal Lens Support. That was a fairly heavy package (the Manfrotto alone weighs 1.8 pounds) but, the Giottos did a superb job. The MT8180 is tall enough that I (I am 6'1") can use it without having to stoop or to extend the center column. This makes it easy to follow rapidly moving subjects such as the 150+ MPH hydroplanes which I shot this last weekend. (see image) I am looking forward to shooting wildlife with this rig next month at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge below Albuquerque, NM. Unfortunately due to scheduling problems, I will be a bit early for the masses of snow geese and sandhill cranes that provide awesome images during fly-out and fly-in.

I realize that the legs are said to be moisture and sand resistant but, when I am going into some pretty harsh conditions; beaches, swamps, etc. I would prefer to cover the legs. I have always regarded the term "resistant" as being able to "resist" occasional sand or moisture contact. When I know that I will put the pod through some nasty conditions - I want to give it some help.

Living in San Diego County, CA; I have access to a lot of surf shops, many of which do custom wetsuit fabrication. I am going to try a couple of these shops to see if they would be willing to make the booties for me.

If push comes to shove - I will just buy some neoprene remnants and do the job myself with contact cement assisted by Velcro.

Actually, if I had 3 pieces of thin neoprene material about 6" x 12"; I could just wrap these around the lower leg segments and secure them with heavy rubber bands. That and the initial water and sand resistance of the Giottos legs should do the trick just fine.