The body frame of CT-3342/3442 is precisely milled from 7075 aluminum alloy that is used in the aerospace industry.  In addition, the carbon fiber legs are made of tournament class carbon fiber material.  With such outstanding building materials, the CT-3342/CT-3442 tripods offer and unbeatable combination of ultra light weight and extremely impressive rigidity.  In terms of price vs. performance, the CT-3342 and CT3442 offer uncompromised performance at an affordable price.  There are simply no other tripods on the market today that offer a better combination of weight, strength and price than the Feisol CT-3342/CT-3442 Tournament Class Tripods.

7075 aluminum alloy is a high strength standardized aluminum alloy material.  It costs at least three times as much as regular aluminum alloy.  Only parts with special weight and strength requirements use this material.  7075 aluminum alloy is usually used in  the aerospace industry where the combination of lightweight and high strength provided by this alloy is highly desirable.

Like aluminum alloys, carbon fiber materials also come in different grades.  Most carbon fiber goods are made of common consumer grade carbon fiber materials. However, during competitions which call for ultimate performance, such as bicycle and car races, regular carbon fiber material performance is insufficient. To meet these varying needs, different grades of specialized carbon fiber materials have been developed.  The greater the strength, the higher the cost. The specialized carbon fiber material used in the CT-3342/CT-3442 Tournament Class tripods provides super high strength, yet is even lighter than the regular consumer grade carbon fiber materials used in many competing products.

The main feature of the Feisol Tournament Class tripod series is an unbeatable combination of lightweight and amazing rigidity.  All leg tube sections are designed to have the largest cross-section diameter possible to form a very strong and steady structure while keeping the total weight of the tripod to an absolute minimum.  In order to achieve this result, the Feisol Tournament Class tripods do not have anti-rotation mechanisms on the leg tubes.  To add such anti-rotation mechanisms would have compromised rigidity and added weight (and cost).  The CT-3342 has a maximum leg tube diameter of 28mm and a diameter of 22mm on the smallest bottom leg section (3rd section).  The CT-3442 has a maximum leg tube diameter of 28mm and a diameter of 19mm on the smallest bottom leg section (4th section). By combining the maximum possible leg tube diameters for each section with the higher grade Tournament Class carbon fiber materials the design goal of achieving maximum rigidity with minimum weight was realized. The resulting CT-3342 and CT-3442 products offer a combination of high strength and light weight that is unmatched by the competition.

Tournament Grade Carbon Fiber Leg Tubes

Locking Rings covered with Soft Rubber Gel Grips