I'd been looking at the Gorillapods for a while to keep in my bag for
use in mobile lighting setups. However, the Gorillapod SLR (which has a
high enough weight rating to hold up a flash, swivel, radio receiver,
and possibly an umbrella) is $65 , and that's just too much to pay for
something I might
use at some point. However, I recently found a cheaper alternative, the
flexible tripod from MaxSaver.net (a site referred to a few times in this community--that's how I stumbled upon it). It has the same 6lb weight rating as
the Gorillapod SLR, but is a fraction of the cost ($10!).



In the above picture, the MaxSaver flexible tripod is supporting a
heavy duty umbrella swivel, hotshoe with miniphone jack, a Cybersync
receiver (and my Cybersync camo holder), a Vivitar 285HV, and an
umbrella. In order to attach the umbrella swivel, I used this stud (I had a few lying around).



It's a pretty neat little tool to have lying around just in case you ever need it.



It's possible that the joints may loosen with time and causing it not
hold as well as it does now, but from this little test, I'm impressed.
For as little as it costs (and weighs), I think every strobist
backpacker should carry a couple of them. It probably wouldn't fair
well in wind if using an umbrella, but it worked fine in the calm
evening air. ;-)