Falcam TreeRoot Carbon Fiber Quick Lock Travel Tripod with Inverted Ball Head

The rave reviews of this tripod that have appeared on the web in the last few months are spot on. I will add a few comments, especially in areas that I have not seen addressed elsewhere. The materials, design and build quality are superb, similar to that of my Gitzo and Arca Swiss equipment. When folded up, it's sleek, smooth, and very pleasant to hold and carry. The legs pack nicely against the triangular center post making it easy to pack the tripod on the side of a backpack (or inside). They are readily deployed and quite sturdy, with little flexing or vibration occurring when fully extended. The legs can be disassembled and cleaned, and extra limiting gaskets are included if needed. Hex wrenches are also included for adjusting tension at the top of the legs as well as in the ball head. As many reviewers have noted, the design of the center post is exceptional, with a triangular, honeycombed metal structure that can be separated into two segments with an ingeniously designed spring-loaded clip. It works beautifully. The mechanism for attaching a camera onto the F38 Pro Quick Release Trigger head is intriguing and reminds me of the quick release used for ski boot bindings. It is a trigger mechanism similar to the Falcam F50 quick release kit, with an internal spring that provides significant force on the jaws when closed. The trigger/spring is loaded by pulling a lever on the side of the head back into a locked position. When a base plate is set into the base of the head, the trigger is released and the cocking lever swings forward with significant velocity coupled with simultaneous closing of the jaws of the base on the plate, locking it in position. The distance that the lever travels is a function of the size of the plate being attached (and its bevel angle). For the Falcam F38 plate (and Arca-Swiss), the lever moves most of the way forward and locks into its new forward position. Moving the lever further forward appears to apply some additional force on the plate. To release the plate, the lever is pulled back to open the jaws of the base. Pulling the lever out of the forward lock position requires significant force, making it unlikely that the release mechanism might be accidentally activated. This is a nice protective mechanism. However, with some plates (e.g. Peak Design and Oden plates), the lever travels only about half of the distance in its forward motion and does not lock. The plate/camera are still very firmly attached because of the force of the spring. The tripod fully extended is quite sturdy and can hold a Canon R5 with an100-500mm lens and 2X extender with no problem. Similarly, a Hasselblad 500 with a 180mm telephoto is nicely held. It also securely holds a Canham 4x5 wood field camera, although I will continue to rely on a heavier Gitzo tripod in most situations. Removing the rubber covers to expose the points on the feet is very difficult, even with gloves. I have succeeded with only one so far and may need to resort to pliers to remove the other two. I rarely need points, so I will leave the rubber covers on. The manual states that the head should not be immersed in water. Why? Will this lead to loss of friction in the ball head, or loss of function of the quick release mechanism? Or will it cause corrosion of the head or quick release spring mechanism? It doesn't really matter, since I don't immerse my camera in water either. But do I need to protect it in a rainstorm as much as my camera?