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Archive 2014 · Gitzo basalt toughness?

  
 
wordfool
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Gitzo basalt toughness?


I'm curious how tough Gitzo's "basalt" tripods are compared to carbon fiber and aluminum. I'm looking at buying a cheap set of basalt legs that are "well used" -- mainly rub marks, but a few deeper scrapes and scratches on the legs, but the joints all look fine. Since all these dings are on the top (thickest) leg sections I don't see they're going to compromise strength much, if at all, but I've no experience with Gitzo's basalt material.


Mar 30, 2014 at 04:45 PM
dcains
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Gitzo basalt toughness?


I've had a small Basalt (G1097, IIRC) for maybe 5 years. It's gotten scuffed up, but still works as good as new. The basalt is weird stuff. It has a slippery feel, and a "plasticness" which is very unlike the super-stiff and hard CF. Might even be more durable, as it seems to "give" a bit. Seems OK for a smaller tripod, but I don't think the material would be ideal for a full-size model. HTH.


Mar 31, 2014 at 08:28 PM
wordfool
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Gitzo basalt toughness?


It is curious material and does feel more plasticy than carbon. It strikes me as more of a marketing gimmick than a material chosen for specific qualities considering no other manufacturer seems to be using it.

I ended up going for the tripod (a 2930EX) because it was so cheap ($160 including a fairly new Manfrotto 498RC2 ball head) and none of the scrapes on the legs were very deep -- it was certainly not babied but also not abused since it's otherwise in generally good condition.



Mar 31, 2014 at 08:55 PM
AnthonyRay
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Gitzo basalt toughness?


dcains wrote:
I've had a small Basalt (G1097, IIRC) for maybe 5 years. It's gotten scuffed up, but still works as good as new. The basalt is weird stuff. It has a slippery feel, and a "plasticness" which is very unlike the super-stiff and hard CF.


That's because it's technically glass. I'd forgotten about this stuff - I think Gitzo is still the only manufacturer using it. It's also really just fiberglass (basalt fibers suspended in resin), so the resin is what would give it any sort of tactile properties. Then they can weave it in whatever pattern they want (or not), depends on what the top laminate layer is.

Might even be more durable, as it seems to "give" a bit. Seems OK for a smaller tripod, but I don't think the material would be ideal for a full-size model. HTH.

I think Carbon Fiber has greater tensile strength, but in a tripod it would really depend on the laminate, design and manufacturing process.. I'd be pretty sure that a Gitzo Basalt leg would be more durable than a Slik CF for instance.

I wonder if it's possible though that its less porous nature might make it better in dirty/dusty environments like Aluminum?

Huh! Well waddya know?
It looks like Basalt has much greater tensile strength!

If we're comparing fiber vs fiber that is! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_tensile_strength (just about in the middle of the chart) Learn something new every day! I also forget something everyday too, but that's for another thread.

So, I wonder what other properties make CF the material of choice over basalt, or if there's more to it than performance.



Mar 31, 2014 at 09:03 PM
wordfool
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Gitzo basalt toughness?


AnthonyRay wrote:
So, I wonder what other properties make CF the material of choice over basalt, or if there's more to it than performance.


Probably the strength to weight ratio, which is why it's used for a lot of stuff that needs to be strong and light. Tensile strength is not really a relevant factor for tripods since one doesn't usually subject the legs to stretching. Elasticity (or lack thereof) and impact strength are probably more important, and as far as I know carbon fiber is stiffer than basalt fiber, more impact resistant and, of course, lighter.

Gitzo's basalt line of tripods strikes me as a bit of a gimmick to be honest. I only bought this one because it was cheap



Apr 01, 2014 at 01:24 AM
dcains
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Gitzo basalt toughness?


You definitely got a nice deal. Mine's been great for travel (~2.25 pounds with a Markins Q3), and I think the Basalts had the anti-rotation legs before the CF ones did.


Apr 01, 2014 at 01:43 AM
AnthonyRay
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Gitzo basalt toughness?


pipspeak wrote:
Gitzo's basalt line of tripods strikes me as a bit of a gimmick to be honest. I only bought this one because it was cheap


I don't know if it's a gimmick so much as being able to put out something with a lot of the qualities of CF for less money. I thought I remembered it was going to be "a thing" a few years ago, it could be that CF just got more plentiful, more suppliers and they've certainly refined their laminate as well. This is how many generations now? It seems like their 6X just came out and it's already old news. To me, that's the gimmick!

And I thought the reason that so many tripods have the detachable legs was to double as a monopod/prybar? Whadd'ya mean tensile strength ain't important in a tripod?

Anyway, glad you got a deal on it - let us know if you glean anything new!



Apr 01, 2014 at 11:44 PM





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