What happened to Benbow (the tripod company)?

swanseamale47

swanseamale47

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wayne clarke
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I'm courious as to what happened to Benbow the tripod company. I've seen similar designs around but my orignial mk2 (big heavy lump) is still going strong, as is my monopd. They were really popular and well made. Did they just go bust or what. Courious.
 
The original Benbo is tough as old boots. The first Unilocs were much lighter but nearly as tough. I have one of each and have stuck with them twice as long as any previous tripod I've owned. I also have one of the Benbo branded monopods, which I prefer to the Manfroto I used before.

Benbo Tripod in use HX90 DSC00704.JPG
 
Topsy said:
I used top use one many years ago I loved its flexibility but hated the weight. BenBo, short for Bent Bolt the ingenious method of getting that flexibility.
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Yes, the weight is a killer, I got one with the "golf" type bag, a bit easier to carry, but no fun at all on a long walk :giggle: I only made that mistake once.
Glad they are still going. They were and still are cracking tripods.
 
Good to hear that they are still going, albeit under a different name. I have two - the original Benbo when a Benbo tripod was simply that, with no model numbers, and a Trekker. I like the flexibility, and the way that they telescope meaning that the ends can be in sand or water without problems on folding down.
 
The Paterson, website suggests Benbo tripods are back being made in the UK.

"Over the last few months both these beloved British brands have undergone signi{cant manufacturing changes to not only enhance their place in current markets but also to expand into new markets in America, Europe and the Far East.

Many of the darkroom items were fully assembled at our Tipton premises. They comprised a vast array of moulded products, from our injection moulding facility, and some selected bought out parts.

Assembly involved collating in some case 20 separate parts to be assembled with a significant amount of double handling as well as demanding much needed warehouse space.

The cycle times and packaging requirements were reviewed using Lean manufacturing principles and now 80% of the moulded parts are assembled during the cycle times at the injection moulding factory. This assembly includes packaging and incorporates the additional bought out goods.

This means that products supplied into the Tipton warehouse are {nished products, barcoded and ready for distribution. The challenge required with the BENBO tripod range was different. BENBO tripods had been made the same way for 30 years and had used predominately the same supply base.

This has now changed with all bought out components including drawn tube, aluminium castings and sub contract services Made in the Midlands. This review of the supply base has achieved a reduction in costs and expedited the making process.

In house we have also modi{ed our production of the leg assembly reducing the manufacturing time tenfold by the innovative use of a swaging machine to attach the leg head castings to the leg tubes."

(my bold)

The Branding of British Success – Paterson Photographic Equipment

Worldwide Paterson is best known for the high quality darkroom equipment it manufactures here in the UK. In the late 80s it also took over the manufacture of Benbo Tripods and has continued to develop this range of tripods, beloved by both Landscape and Natural History Photographers.
www.patersonphotographic.com www.patersonphotographic.com


The tripod sales page is here:

Tripods – Paterson Photographic Equipment

Worldwide Paterson is best known for the high quality darkroom equipment it manufactures here in the UK. In the late 80s it also took over the manufacture of Benbo Tripods and has continued to develop this range of tripods, beloved by both Landscape and Natural History Photographers.
www.patersonphotographic.com www.patersonphotographic.com

The web page for Uniloc seems dead, but the gmail email address is live (sort of). I got a slightly odd, but ultimately helpful, response from it a few months ago, and received a free replacement rubber foot for my 40+ year old Kennet Engineering Benbo monopod.
 
myotis said:
The web page for Uniloc seems dead, but the gmail email address is live (sort of). I got a slightly odd, but ultimately helpful, response from it a few months ago, and received a free replacement rubber foot for my 40+ year old Kennet Engineering Benbo monopod.
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I contacted them a long time ago by email and I have to say that they seemed disinterested so I just gave up. Maybe whoever is in charge should employ a grandchild to do them a proper website :D
 
woof woof said:
I contacted them a long time ago by email and I have to say that they seemed disinterested so I just gave up. Maybe whoever is in charge should employ a grandchild to do them a proper website :D
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I get the impression they are no longe in business as there is no mechanism on the web site to buy anything, or any prices.

The reply to my email just asked for my address, no chit chat, no business speak, no business designed email format, just "what is your address" . A replacement rubber foot arrived in a jiffy bag a week later, so I'm guessing there is still a stock of bits and pieces lying around waiting until they decide what to do. It may well be a member of the family, or possibly someone bought the company without a clear business plan for it.

In my original email I did suggest I might be interested in replacing my long gone Benbo tripods with a Uniloc model, but that wasn't responded to.
 
woof woof said:
Mine has a an extra bit fitted to allow the legs and the column to be locked and unlocked separately and no octopus trainer is required.

View attachment 396100
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That extra bit will make it much more user friendly. I am not sure which Bembo I have it is very heavy and now devoid of paint on the inner leg tubes, it still works as intended but I have not used it much since I gave up trying to do macro.
 
I used a Benbo for many years and got on really well with it. Once I had it in a backpack and a walker i encountered thought it was a set of bagpipes, I think genuinely. But it was the weight that got to me in the end.

I believe Uniloc were part of Jessops or were sold only by them.
 
It's funny, I used to have one but it broke just out of warranty (quite a few years ago now). I now have my late Dad's and promised myself I would use it when my trusty Manfrotto gives up the ghost.
I've had a few goes with it and I do remember the knack but try as I might I really want to love it but I just can't. It feels a quality item but there's just something about it that I can't get on with, maybe it just doesn't extend high enough for my liking, either way though I've still got it and intend to keep it, as for what happened to them, I'm not sure, sorry for going off on a tangent.
 
woof woof said:
Mine has a an extra bit fitted to allow the legs and the column to be locked and unlocked separately and no octopus trainer is required.

View attachment 396100
Click to expand...
Do you have a part number, or any ident to aid a search for that item?
I do love my Benbo, (saves me a fortune in Gym membership), and I see wh benefit that part offers.
 
I have and use 5 'original' Benbo tripods for setting up my DSLR Camera Traps, which are left out for weeks in the forests and rivers........nothing else comes close for getting solid support in ANY situation!

.
 
mstphoto said:
I had the Jessops version.
Can't remember the name but it was almost identical to the Benbo.
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I was told, by a Jessops manager, that their version was made for them by the Uni-Loc team. This was some time in the late 1990s or the early 2000s.
 
reheat module said:
Do you have a part number, or any ident to aid a search for that item?
I do love my Benbo, (saves me a fortune in Gym membership), and I see wh benefit that part offers.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I don't have a part number. You best bet will be to phone or email and dealer and see if it's still available, maybe include that picture I posted. Good luck.
 
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