Triopo Tripod Spare Parts & Accessories Reference

It took me a lot of time and effort to locate a distributor / re-seller of Triopo tripods that holds a complete line of Triopo Spare Parts and Accessories.
Quite in vain, I would say, as most re-sellers may keep a limited stock of first need parts, like a spring loaded hook, in order to fulfill their guaranty obligations. On the other hand most of them are ready to exchange a faulty product with a new one, or issue a full refund; but this takes time and money sending back your equipment, not to mention the frustration involved.

Considering the low price tags of Triopo products, I cannot blame a re-seller for not keeping a stock of spare parts as it is a slow moving stock and requires an extra investment which may be considered a dead capital. Take this also into consideration when you resent established brands like Gitzo, Manfrotto etc for charging what they charge for their products. :-)

Doing a little further digging I found out that Triopo is exporting only 30% of their production without having an established network of distributors, therefore skipping overhead costs is another reason for low prices, but also for lack of spare parts which rely on the discretion of a re-seller or so named "distributor" to hold them or not.
Finally I did what I should have done in the first place. I got in contact with the Triopo headquarters in China.
Astonishingly immediate response, politeness and willingness to help in all my questions and requests.
In order to share my good experience with anyone that would like to purchase spare parts or accessories directly from Triopo.cn, I have prepared a list of most wanted spares and accessories below.

Top Mounting Plates & Studs
New Triopo Top-mounting Plates are made of Aluminium with a plastic covering. The new plates have a hex cavity accepting a steel nut acting also as a tool, which tightens the plate on top of the center column via the reversible stud.

∅58 mm Top-mounting Plate for Triopo GX tripod series with dual 1/4"-20 and 3/8"-16 reversible stud and a 13 mm hex nut, made of chromed-steel.

∅50 mm Top-mounting Plate for Triopo GT series of tripods and monopods, with dual 1/4"-20 and 3/8"-16 reversible stud and a 13 mm hex nut, made of chromed-steel.

Center Column Rubber Rings & Spring Hook

The two, new version, orange colored soft-rubber rings/bumpers; one going under the top mounting plate and the other between the spring loaded hook and the bottom of the center column.

There are also black semi-soft rubber rings/bumpers with the top one slightly different in design. This fits more snugly between the top-mounting plate and the top of the center column acting also as an anti-twist device.

Center Columns
Triopo accessory center columns come in different types depending on material Alu-Mg alloy or Carbon Fiber as well as in several diameters according to the tripod they are intended. Illustrated bellow are three different types of the same diameter. If you intend to order, be sure to mention your tripod / monopod model in order to avoid any mistakes.

Long Center Column ∅28 mm, made of 8X Carbon Fiber for specific tripods of both the GT and GX series.
The accessory center columns come with bottom rubber ring and spring loaded hook pre-installed.

Short Center Column ∅28 mm, made of Alu-Mg alloy for specific tripods of the GT series with monopod function. It has a 3/8"-16 threaded hole on one side and a 3/8"-16 stud on the other. It serves both as a low shooting center column and as a center column or monopod extension. Note that this short column does not have an anti-twist groove.

Short Center Column ∅28 mm, made of Alu-Mg alloy for all tripods of the GT or GX series with a ∅28 mm center column. It has 3/8"-16 threaded hole on both sides and a 5 mm wide longitudinal anti-twist groove. It serves as a ground level shooting center column. Be sure you mention the groove when ordering.

Center Column Assemblies
Listed bellow are a few center column assemblies that can be ordered as a package. Some simple assembly instructions are illustrated in the photos for reference. Center columns come in different diameters as ∅28 mm, ∅25 mm, ∅24 mm or ∅22 mm to name a few. Once again if you intend to order, be sure to mention your tripod model in order to avoid any mistakes in the center column diameter.

∅28 mm Carbon Fiber long center column assembly for GX series of tripods. Contains Center Column, Top-mounting Plate, steel reversible Stud with Nut, bottom spring loaded Hook and Orange Rubber Rings.

∅28 mm Carbon Fiber long center column assembly for GT series of tripods. Contains Center Column, Top-mounting Plate, steel reversible Stud with Nut, bottom spring loaded Hook and Orange Rubber Rings.

Alternatively ∅28 mm Carbon Fiber long center column assembly for GX series of tripods. Contains Center Column, Top-mounting Plate, steel reversible Stud with Nut, bottom spring loaded Hook and Black Rubber Rings.

∅28 mm Short Center Column extension with Top-mounting Plate and reversible Stud with Nut.

∅28 mm Short Center Column assembly for GX series of tripods. Contains Center Column with groove, Top-mounting Plate, steel reversible Stud with Nut, bottom spring loaded Hook and Orange Rubber Rings.

∅28 mm Short Center Column assembly for GT series of tripods. Contains Center Column with groove, Top-mounting Plate, steel reversible Stud with Nut, bottom spring loaded Hook and Orange Rubber Rings.

Alternatively ∅28 mm Short Center Column assembly for GX series of tripods. Contains Center Column with groove, Top-mounting Plate, steel reversible Stud with Nut, bottom spring loaded Hook and Black Rubber Rings.

Leg Foam Grips
Another option are the extra accessory leg Foam Grips that also come in different lengths and diameters according to the tripod model they are intended to.
The accessory Foam Grip illustrated is of a Closed type which in my opinion is superior to the after-market cushioned neoprene sleeves available both in fitting and price.
On the other hand a Closed type Foam Grip needs quite an effort and a special technique to be inserted on the top tripod leg section of an already assembled tripod. Therefore, there will be a dedicated How to Fit a Closed type tripod leg Foam Grip article describing the technique soon.

Closed type 5 mm thick Foam Grip with ∅29 mm internal diameter for the Triopo GX-1328 tripod.

Leg Mounting Screws
Some things may go wrong when adjusting or taking apart a tripod leg for maintenance. For example, to damage the hex cavity of a screw when over-tightening leg hings, or simply lose a screw or washer during maintenance. Triopo can supply screw sets of the appropriate type.

Screw set for one leg hing includes two screws and outer and inner washers.

10 mm Flat-hex-head bolt-screw for leg angel lock.

A small illustration indicating the placement of the screws on the tripod legs.

Leg Teflon Anti-Twist Inserts

Leg Teflon Anti-Twist Inserts illustrated for reference.

Leg Teflon Anti-Twist Inserts come in sets according to the leg diameters of the specific tripods.
Pictured above from left to right for ∅31 mm, ∅28 mm, ∅25 mm and ∅22 mm legs.

Leg Lock Constricting Cone Rings

The cone rings come also in sets according to the leg diameters of the specific tripods.
Pictured above from left to right for ∅31 mm, ∅28 mm, ∅25 mm and ∅22 mm legs.

An explicit drawing of the twist leg lock and placement of the rings for reference.
(Photo by courtesy of Triopo.cn)

Feet Rubber Caps & Rubber/Steel Spike Combos
Either your tripod has simple Rubber-Cap feet or Rubber feet with retractable spikes there are sets available. Even if you want to convert/upgrade your older rubber-cap type feet into the latest rubber feet with retractable spikes you may do so, by ordering a set of feet and by following my detailed instructions in How to Upgrade Triopo GT-3228X8C Tripod with Retractable Steel Spikes.

Set of three plain semi-hard Rubber Cap feet.

Set of three spare, threaded plastic inserts with appropriate pegs for the installation of retractable steel spikes.
They come in different diameters in order to match the diameter of the last section of the tripod leg.

Full set of three retractable Steel Spikes with Rubber Feet and corresponding threaded plastic inserts with appropriate pegs. The accessory parts pictured above match the Triopo GT-3228X8C traveler tripod last leg section diameter. Both inserts and Rubber feet come in different diameters in order to match the diameter of the last section of the tripod leg.

For any other parts or further details about ordering, purchasing, shipping or payment methods you may come in contact with Triopo's service department.
They use FeDex and PayPal as far as I know, but they are open to discuss other methods of shipping or payment that suit better your needs.
Although it may sound tiring, I'll point out once more that if you intend to order, take note to mention the exact tripod / monopod model you need the spares / accessories for in order to avoid any misunderstanding with dimensions/diameters. If it helps, you have my permission to use any of the photos above for the purpose of better definition of the parts/accessories you need as long as they are not modified and the copyright is preserved.

I hope you found the article useful, thank you for viewing.
All Photos & Photosynths: © 2012 S.C.Vlachos

Referenced Articles:

How to Upgrade Triopo GT-3228X8C Tripod with Retractable Steel Spikes







Relevant Articles:

Triopo GT-3228X8C Carbon Fiber Traveler Tripod Review
Triopo GT-3228X8C Carbon Fiber Traveler Tripod Update

Triopo GX-1328 Carbon Fiber Classic Tripod Review