Attaching spikes to carbon fiber tripod?

[wildbill]

Why gitzo skipped the spiked feet feature i don't know. Maybe they figured with global warming they're wouldn't be any ice in northern Michigan for their tripods to slip on.

$100 for the Markins add-on spikes for my Gitzo 1325 is outragous considering the price i paid for it. I've been using crutch tips slipped over the legs with 3/16 bolts as spikes but that's not 100% rigid. Has anyone drilled and tapped the feet and added their own spikes? Any other ideas?
AFAIK gitzo doesn't sell add-on feet for the 1325.


vinny

 

[Sal Santamaura]

See my post in this thread

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3537

for another idea. Not inexpensive, but quite secure.

 

[Peter De Smidt]

I too wish my Gitzos had spiked feet. While the Markins ones might help on ice, I'd prefer bigger, surveyor style leg spikes. In fact I use a surveyor tripod when out in the muck. These are wide diameter spikes about 4 inches long. When you sink these in the turf, your tripod become very secure and well damped. (At one time I had a Zone VI tripod which had great spiked feet, but it was heavy as sin.) In any case, I've been contemplating clamping similar spikes to the bottom of my Gitzo. I may simply steal the spikes from my surveyor tripod, or perhaps I'll fashion something. I need to some up with a way that allows the spikes to easily and securely attach to the bottom of the tripod tubes. If anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate it.

 

[wildbill]

See my post in this thread

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3537

for another idea. Not inexpensive, but quite secure.

Thanks Sal, but i've got the feeling that 3 carbon fiber legs from Gitzo
will set me back more than $100.

vinny

 

[Ronald Moravec]

Being a wood worker also, I work with what I know.

1" inch dowel with a spike driven ( predrill ) in the end. Bore the other to accept the leg just barely. now slit the top with a back saw so it can be compressed around the leg with a small hose clamp. Do not over tighten as you might crush the tube.

If they tend to slip off when pulling out of the ground, bore the hole a little larger and wrap the bottom of the leg with gaffer tape to provide some friction.

 

[swilf]

Spikes for tripods with rubber feet

The thread seems to be old, but anyway. There is a way of modifying such tripods, you'll need brass plumbing fittings and microphone bushings. The result looks like this:
Dead Link Removed

The process is quite simple, details are here:
Dead Link Removed

 

[wildbill]

It IS old but i would like to know the specifics of what you used.

 

[swilf]

It IS old but i would like to know the specifics of what you used.

Feel free to ask.
There is some controversy about the bushings. The image on B&H website differs from the item itself. Suppose that their image is wrong.