I have given this product five stars as an initial first impression after unpacking the tripod.The tripod feels solid, some may say it might be a bit on the heavy side, however i would rather have something that is a bit heavier than something that is light and at the mercy of the weather.All the screws and nobs appear to be well made and securely attached to the threads.the final finish gives the impression that some one has given this tripod some thought.i was pleasantly surprised by the amount of metal that is used in its construction giving hopes that it will perform as well as it looks and feels. some aspects of its construction is somewhat better quality than supposed "named" brands that retail at a significantly higher price.Please do not get me wrong, i will be up dating this review from time to time and if anything is not right with this tripod, then i will certainly let you know about it.updateHad it few days now and been using it quite a bit, and have to say that the tripod really performs very solidly. however i have the chance to use the tripod with a Manfrotto MH055M0-Q6 magnesium ball heavy duty head. The tripod legs are more than a match to support this heavy head and i am still impressed by the performance and sturdiness any all positions (even with the substantially heavier head on).But please do not get the idea there is anything wrong with the head that is attached to the tripod when delivered because there isn't, i now use this head with a smaller tripod and it is working fantastically.Please keep looking in for further updates and longer use. I am still keeping the five star rating for now.