This is a great hiking pole. I did not get it for the camera function, I got it because when making a decent on a mountain, I find the smooth rounded top to be much more comfortable in my hand hand the traditional poles. My only complaint is the length of the pole itself. Due to the Camera mount, they made the pole longer, so when compressed, it is still longer than most poles. Some people have noted this made it inconvenient for luggage, I found it incompatible with my Osprey pack, which has "Stow-on-the-go" trekking pole attachments. It just stuck out too far when I put it on. i attached it to the side, which worked fine. Mine also did shrink slowly as I went along. I had to re-lengthen it several times. I'm thinking that was just a defect in the single pole I had. Despite all this though, with L.L. Bean's great customer service, I will happily exchange it for another. The pros outweigh the cons easily. This is a very comfortable pole, I was really glad I had bought it, I think it's very well made. Incidentally, the camera function also worked quite well.
I received this staff almost 2 weeks ago and like it very much. It is the only one I could find that extends to 70" as a monopod. This is excellent and it is very sturdy as a walking stick.
It came with an interesting attachment that I've not been able to find anything about. It is a plastic type of hook that snaps to the body of the staff. I've searched the internet and can't find any other staff quite like this one.
I have used it already as both a walking stick and monopod and got some very nice low light pictures.
This staff was used on several hikes including a climb to the top of Mount Humphreys, highest peak in Arizona. It's easlily adjusted, the sections locked securely and didn't compact even on steep climbs when a lot of weight was put on the pole. The handle is comfortable, but I haven't used the camera mount. Since I've only had the pole a couple months, I can't speak to its long term durability.
