The Best Flexible Tripods For Every Camera Shape And Size

Are regular tripods bending you out of shape? Flexible tripods can inspire you to take photos and videos at impossible heights and angles. They’re a great (and tiny!) addition to any camera bag.

When you’re looking at flexible tripods, versatility is the name of the game. We’re talking about a tripod that can wrap around trees, hang from a bridge, or magnetically grip to the side of a cement mixer. These things can even bend into selfie sticks, hand-stabilizers, and shoulder mounts. Flexible tripods are the perfect companion for an impromptu shoot, or a quick time-lapse video in an urban area.

But flexible tripods aren’t just versatile, they’re also portable. Most flexible tripods can fit into bags or pockets because they’re almost always less than a foot tall. Inspiration can come at the most inconvenient time, so it’s handy to keep a flexible tripod in the car or in a camera bag! There are a lot of flexible tripods out there, and they all have their quirks. That’s why we’ve combed through to find the best flexible tripods for everybody’s needs.

Of course, you don’t need a fancy DSLR to take advantage of a flexible tripod. Your phone probably has a great camera built into it! Some of the tripods that we’ve recommended come with a clamp for phones, but you’ll generally want to attach an adapter to your phone if you want to use a tripod. While you’re at it, you may want to grab a Bluetooth shutter remote to make everything easier.

Joby GorillaPod 5K ($139)

The Joby GorillaPod 5K is the best professional-grade flexible tripod that money can buy. It’s a strong, but very potable piece of hardware. Because it’s made with a durable rubber, the GorillaPod 5K only weights 1.5 pounds. But it can hold up to 11 pounds, which means that you can comfortably attach a large DSLR with a telephoto lens to it.

See those awkward, beady legs? They can articulate with a surprising amount of detail in every direction, which means that they can wrap around objects at all kinds of angles or stand on uneven surfaces. Not to mention, you can transform the GorillaPod into a selfie stick, hand-stabilizer, or shoulder rig by adjusting the legs.

This is a great tripod for serious photographers and videographers. It’s ridiculously durable and strong enough to hold a telephoto lens, so it’s particularly useful for high-altitude photos and video. The big downside to this tripod is the price point, but would you rather hang your equipment off the side of a building with a $138 Joby or a $54 Joby?

Well, if you’d rather hang you equipment from a $54 Joby, then check out the GorillaPod 3K. It’s smaller than the 5K and it’s a bit weaker. It’s still a great option for somebody who’s looking for a professional-grade flexible tripod, just don’t put more than 6.6 pounds of equipment on it.