I have more tripods and monopods than my local photography shop. However, most have issues - missing parts, too heavy, too light etc. or, more often than not, I never have one handy when I really need one.

To get around this I always carry a washer and .25 inch bolt as well as about 4ft of cord in a pocket. These go together to create a very handy "tripod". I tie the bolt to the end of the string and this screws into the thread of the camera. The other end of the string goes onto the large washer (as big as you can get). Then I stand on the washer and pull up on the camera. You need to get the length right and some cord can be a bit too stretchy. But get it right and the whole thing can make a pretty reasonable tripod substitute. I have found it great when getting shots in very crowded areas. You can buy a sooper version of this for about $40 US. Mine cost 1$.

Crikey Steve, what a coincidence, I made up four of these flexible mono pods three weeks ago and handed them out at the meeting, I thought I had invented the idea not having seen any before, but anyway, instead of string I used fine plastic coated trace wire used for angling, which has zero stretch, and you can melt the plastic coating which when put two pieces together fuses & creates a strong bond, the hardest part of the job is drilling a hole through the centre of the bolt, unless you have access to a friendly lathe turner.    Cheers, Don.

PS, the thread on the bolt needs to be UNC, not UNF, to match the camera thread.

Great minds think alike Don. Got another one to post on using a cut down monopod that I like. have a look at my next gadgets post.