Devin was extremely grateful for our stool ultripod. A happy customer always makes my day but Devin took it several steps further. I make it a daily habit to message every customer, one-by-one, to see if their shipment arrived on time. Without prompting, he responded with enthusiasm and a complete, honest review of our product. Interactions like this is something that I really value. When that kind of magic happens, the conditions for an ultralight idea is born. Here’s Devin’s response:
It’s an incredible response and after addressing his concerns, I managed to ask Devin one last question: What would like to see us release next?
This is where the magic happens. When I first created the Stool Ultripod, I had a specific person in mind. It was a female friend who really enjoyed taking photos with her smartphone. On our last backpacking trip through the Glen Aulin trail, she got incredible candid trail and landscape shots of us. After scrolling through the photos I noticed she was not in any of them. So I wanted to make a trail-worthy tripod where she could take photos and be included as well. I didn’t consider that this product would attract solo hikers with professional photography equipment as well. This is where Devin’s suggestion comes in.
Among a few ideas, Devin is looking for an ultralight arca-swiss quick release clamp. He shared some product links and showed me some photos of his setup. For those unfamiliar, it’s a lot of work to screw on and off a camera to a ballhead every time Devin wants to take a photo. This creates friction in the process where he ends up taking less or no photos at all. What Devin is asking for is a clamp that will hold an aluminum plate that’s pre-installed on his camera. This will allow him to slide in his camera and quickly attach it to the Stool Ultripod with smooth forward slide motion and a simple knob turn to tighten.
Devin mentions that this aluminum clamp (pictured above) weighs about 1.8 ounces and is the lightest available option for backpackers. He is using a standard aluminum plate by Peak Design which is also the lightest/strongest option available. I decided to buy the products so I can start tinkering with it. I prefer to think hands-on. He brings up a great point that many of the available options are bulky, heavy, and over-engineered. This is all for good reasons. Nobody wants to be the company that has things break and cost customers a ton of money in expensive camera damages. Well, we’re here to push that boundary and will make a prototype for Devin to test! I’m 100% confident we can reach for Ultralight perfection with this side quest. The goal is to create an Ultralight Ideas version of this clamp and have it weigh less than 1 ounce. The caveat is that it needs to be strong enough to hold his camera without slipping or breaking. Be advised, this will not be a “daily driver” type equipment and should only be used for short-term situations where lesser weight is essential. Any other situation we recommend using the over-engineered variety. I’ll keep you all updated on the progress. If you have anything you want us to make, put in the comments below and we’ll do our best to make it happen.
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