Carbon Goodness

Not Italian though.
Unfortunately.
I could have gone Italian, but it's like I enjoy eating.
Italian carbon goodness was more than I could afford.
Sort of.
Anyways, I got my monopod today, you know, for my 80-200 lens.
I mean holding that thing is like doing curls and I didn't want one arm to get bigger than the other.
Especially when shooting volleyball, it's like bring it up, put it down, bring it up, put it down, bring it up, etc.
So a monopod it is:

I could have gone with the usual stuff like Manfrotto or Gitzo or the other Italian goodness but decided to try this new company called REDGED.
I compared all the carbon tripods and decided on REDGED because of weight, the twist locks, and well, price.
The RMC-532 I got can support about 30 lbs, and folds down to about 18 inches.
Or 480mm for you folks using that other measuring thingy.
It also weighs a little over 1 pound, which was the lightest monopod I looked at.
It comes with a nice case:

Though the case may be too short if you add a head.
My tilt head is on the way, so we'll see when it arrives.
It's a five section monopod, I figured I'd want the most adjustment since I may use this standing and/or sitting:

The twist lock was the deal winner.
You can grab all four locks at once and extend all in one motion.
I'm a bit partial to Manfrotto, I have one of their tripods, but I'm not liking the clip locks much after getting my hands pinched every once in a while.
I'm liking these twist locks better.
Gitzo makes some nice carbon twist lock stuff, but it's sort of costly.
Okay, it is costly.
Though not as expensive as some other brands.
Thing is, I'm just not willing to spend PRO prices on something I'll only use occasionally.
At less than a hunski, the REDGED carbon monopod fit my bill.
Wallet I mean.
Carbon goodness:

While REDGED is a European company, I have no doubt this thing is manufactured somewhere in the East.
The carbon capitol of Earth.
So why carbon?
The usual reasons.
It looks PRO.
Actually carbon has better damping properties than aluminum, just like bicycles.
I mean we all knew that, non?
Also after lugging around my aluminum tripod around, I learned that light is good.
We all know that too.
So there ya go, REDGED carbon goodness monopod.
Now my pictures will be like a thousand percent more awesome!
Or something.