Review on Manfrotto MT190XPRO4: Premium Aluminum 4-Section Black Tripod for Enhanced Stability by Jeff Grindley

It may be an anomaly but after only a few weeks of very light use one of the thigh joints exploded in a shower of small pieces of plastic at dusk in a place where it was difficult to find or access them all repair. It happened when I pulled that leg out of its folded position. No unusual force was used. It just seems like the mechanism that is supposed to stop the extension in its maximum position was weak and broken, allowing the lower sections to be pulled out fully and small bits of plastic splattering everywhere. I don't know if I was able to find all the pieces or not, it seemed impossible to reassemble the leg from the pieces I could find without it falling apart again when pulled out. Looking at the small parts that have fallen out that I can find, I see that they don't look very reliable. For the price of this tripod I expect a much higher reliability. Another small detail that seems poorly designed is that the plastic latches that lock and unlock the leg joints so they can be lengthened or folded are very symmetrical visually. It's needlessly confusing which side is pulling up to release the toggle switch. It becomes second nature once you play with it a bit, but the earlier Manfrotto tripods I have have switches that make it visually obvious which side to pull it up from. What's the point of not making them that way? I just think form over function. Luckily, Revain has a fantastic returns policy.