Top Travel Tool: Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand Review
I’ve taken hundreds of photos on my trips to dozens of countries over the years, but I have very few photos of me on my travels. Now that I travel with my husband, our photo collection consists of photos of nature, architecture, food and him. So I was really excited to try out the Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand on a recent trip to Maui. I imagined I would be able to snap some fun photos of the two of us and couldn’t wait to find other great uses for my new tripod. It came in handy on the very first evening we were there. It was around sunset, and the pool area gave us front row seats to a sunset over the sea. There were few people around to ask to take our photo, and those who were sort of nearby were either in the pool or enjoying a romantic moment that would have been awkward to interrupt. Luckily we had the GorillaPod Stand.
It wrapped itself nicely around a nearby palm tree and we got our photo together poolside, catching the last rays of sun. We then decided to go in the water. I jumped in the hot tub and my husband couldn’t resist hopping in the pool, where for a few moments he had it all to himself. I set the GorillaPod Stand on the ground, between the hot tub and the pool, and was able to take a photo from the hot tub without the risk of dropping my phone in the water.
The next day we decided to drive down the road to Hana, which is a great, very popular way to discover the island. The trip involves many stops along the side of the road to take in beautiful views and explore parks and waterfalls. On one of the stops, I realized the GorillaPod Stand, when placed on a stone picnic table, was perfect for keeping the phone level and steady when taking a panoramic photo.
As much as I love panoramas, I have to admit one of the things I love to take photos of when on vacation is food. While sitting poolside the following day I realized the GorillaPod Stand was great for taking photos of snacks, given that sunscreen and warm temperatures made it easy to lose one’s grip on the phone.
Even with no sunscreen involved, the GorillaPod Stand just made using the phone’s camera easier. On our drives around the island, I used it to hold the phone steady while taking photos out the window.
Overall, what I liked most about the GorillaPod Stand was that it was light and easily fit into any bag and was constantly coming in handy. You could literally set the thing anywhere and take a great photo. I’m headed to Norway in a few weeks and am excited to take it for another test run!
Win a GorillaPod Griptight on Facebook: http://bit.ly/GorillapodFB
This was a review of the Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand by Tripping blog editor, Anis Salvesen. All of the opinions here are her own.