dcains
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I try not to get too deeply into these "discussions", much like the UV filter v. no UV filter threads, but once in a while, out of boredom I'll jump in. So, here goes.
A few months back I was in my garage and had both of my Gitzo's completely disassembled for cleaning and lubrication - maybe a once/year ritual. My friend showed up, and when he saw what I was doing, he asked if he might bring by his Induro for similar servicing (and to bum some of my silicone grease for the hinges and leg joints). I don't know the model number of his Induro, but it's a clone of the Gitzo 2-series, it's a C2-something, and about 2 years old. My Gitzo is a G1257.
For comparison, I can describe that my Gitzo uses stainless steel bolts, screwed from each side of the leg hinge, into a freely-rotating stainless steel sleeve. Very durable, easy to adjust for tension, tough to strip, and if replacement is necessary, there would have been no damage to the tripod's spider. His Induro has aluminum bolts, screwed directly into the spider. They're tough to adjust for tension, and trust me, if you strip one (either a bolt, or hole in the spider), you're screwed (no pun intended).
Now the leg locks. The Gitzo has very fine threads, beautifully-machined and anodized, the locks are wonderfully smooth to twist, and only 1/8 to 1/4 turn is required to fully lock them. The Induro threads are rougher, coarsely-threaded, and about 1 full turn is required to lock them tightly. The rubber grip already slips on a few of them, and there were bits of aluminum "dust" visible in the threads, indicative of wear.
The legs themselves are also quite different between the two brands. The Gitzo's are glassy smooth, both inside and out, and feel like cool metal to the touch. There are no seams or layers visible. The Induro legs feel like stiff plastic, seams can be felt inside, glue was visible on two of the leg joints, and when the legs are installed and in the closed position, one of them appeared very, very slightly out of parallel with the other two.
Now, I'll also say that my friend is a very casual tripod user, mostly around his home or in local parks/beaches, while I often fly/hike with mine, and I use it very often. My gear is also much heavier and more diverse, and when I bought this tripod, I fully intended for it to last me a lifetime. In short, for his uses, my friend's Induro really does work OK, and he's happy enough with it. How long will it last? I'm no fortune teller, but as I mentioned, build quality is very much lower, and there is already wear seen in the leg locks. But the real killer is this. I bought my G1257 here on FM used (mint condition, never used outside, box, tools, etc.) last year (as an upgrade to my older G1228) for $425 shipped/PayPal'd. New price would have been ~$575 from B&H. My friend paid $380-something for his Induro. Even if I had purchased the Gitzo new, the cost difference would have been well worth it, obviously, both in predicted longevity and resale value. Add to that, ease of use, vibration dampening, built-in R&D, and weight capacity over the Induro and other clones from China. The Gitzo's aren't for everyone, but neither are the Induro's, and clearly the biggest difference is in value. For <$200, maybe the Induro could be recommended for a casual user, but certainly not at their current pricing structure, at least IMO. I had a Feisol 3401, which had much nicer build quality, and it was much less expensive, and I also owned a Velbon A540 (like a 1-series Gitzo) which was also of much higher quality than the Induro, and it was ~$200.
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