travel tripod?

Q: From Neils: I am looking for a travel tripod to carry a small 50mm spotting scope. With today’s airline restrictions, that mean a tripod that folds short and weighs little, so definitely CF, but I am not interested in having to remove the head every time I put the tripod in a suitcase. Given these constraints, what would be your recommendations?

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A: Good question, Neils.
I would start with the Manfrotto 7301 tripod kit, which has a folded length of 20.1 inches.

This would be the sturdiest aluminum option with a pan arm on the tripod head.

The Vortex High Country tripod is 18.8 inches folded but has a ball head without a pan arm:

Here's the Compact Gizto kit, at 21.3 inches without the head.

The price goes up on the carbon fiber tripods, but they are lighter weight and stronger.