I'm using this tripod for birding with the Kowa TSN55 angled spotting scope, a fairly compact scope weighing about 2lbs. The pairing seems good so far. The tripod is lightweight yet sturdy, and easy to walk around with. So far the twist locks have been easy and quick to use. The only thing that keeps this from being a 5-star review is that the angle stop settings on the legs are somewhat finicky. I'll mostly use in the tripod in its most upright stance, so it's not that big a deal, but adjusting to the other positions is a bit clumsy.