Bring The Right Equipment: Tripods, Monopods, or just anything to brace your camera! (The Monopods!)
The Monopod
Monopods are a great idea: get stabilization, without the bulk! Get around those darn "no tripod" rules, and use it as a makeshift walking stick.
Monopods are also significantly lighter than tripods, more portable, and have less components that can fail. They can accept the various nifty heads, and are often capable of supporting a wide range of camera shapes and weights.
Like tripods, monopods have an extendable leg. The leg can be extended via locking levers or via a twisting motion.
Most have a pointed tip base for securely embedding into the soft ground. Others, have either a pod foot mounted on a ball joint, or a mini-tripod feature, where the lower end of the monopod can split open to form a mini tripod. The rest of the monopod now serves as a column. While this configuration works great, it is not a replacement for a true tripod.
