Slik Tripod review

I recently got a Slik Mini II (amazon link) because I wanted something with a little more flexibility that the Joby Gorrila pod (amazon link), but still not too heavy. I've never had a "fancy" tripod, so I have no idea how this compares. Someone on http://backcountrypost.com/ mentioned doing a gear review, so here goes.

The Joby is ~$50 and the Slik is ~$80. And 14oz vs 28oz, I wish I had just bought the Slik and skipped the Joby.

I'm pretty happy with the stability of the Slik, but I never extended the center column. I'm not sure how well it would work with a heavier camera or a longer lens, but the price and weight make it a pretty good deal for my setup. The only thing that gives me pause is the locking mechanism for the legs, they are plastic and seemed a little "fragile" when the temperature was in the 20s. Hopefully, they will hold up.

A couple photos for comparison.
The camera is a Nikon D5100 with a 18-105 lens that weighs 36.45 oz. The ball head is solid enough that portrait mode photos were no problem, landscape mode was very stable.

The chair is a "normal" dining room chair to give an idea about height. Without any legs extended, the Slik is very compact and easy to fit in the side pocket of my pack.

With the legs completely extended

With the center column extended as well.

The legs have 3 positions (angles), this is the most extreme.

Middle position of the legs.

Steepest angle of the legs.