I'm embarking on a trip to Europe to backpack around next year for a couple of weeks. When backpack I mean city hop on planes, trains, boats, and buses. Mainly going through Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, and other places around southern Europe. I currently have a Sirui BSRT025 tripod. It was a good first attempt until I started using it. It is not stable and seems very top heave when fully extended. Two weeks ago I pulled the trigger on the new Manfrottow 294 4 piece aluminum tripod. I actually like it a whole lot, but.....just too heavy for traveling around with in a backpack with all my clothes and gear. So I'm now on a hunt for the perfect solution. I mainly will shoot landscapes when using the tripod, both in city and out in the country. I'm trying to guess the right height, since I've never been to Europe I'm no positive what is actually a useful size. My gear currently is an Canon XSI, EF-S 15-85mm and 70-200 f4L. I plan on having a Canon 5D mk III by the time I go, and will probably end up with the 24-70L to go with it.