Miliboo Lion 4 Carbon Tripod Review

Have you ever heard of a tripod company called Miliboo? Me neither! (If you have, then either you’re a massive nerd or you work for them. If it is the latter, then close this page now).

I was approached by the company, asking if i’d be willing to try out two of their tripods and see if i’d like to stock them in the little shop I worked in (Wessex Photographic Ringwood). So, of course, I replied saying i’d love to test some tripods - who would turn down free tripods to play with right?

After browsing their PDF brochure, I chose the Lion 4 as one of them, along with a much larger heavier one. A week or so later and a £40 fee from Fedex, they arrived. I was super excited to open them up and go out and shoot with them!

First impressions matter and unfortunately, the Lion 4 just did not impress.

I am a big fan of tripods that feature twist locks. I find them easy to operate and they suit my needs very well. Not these though, these were shockingly bad. Not only was the rubber grip badly manufactured, but they would come loose from the metal underneath. The locks themselves were strangely stiff too, making it difficult to actually tighten them in place.

The bubble level had dried glue all around it, so is this even level? Shoddy workmanship going on here which is a major put off.

Left: Vanguard Veo 3+

Middle: Miliboo Lion 4

Right: Leofoto LN-404C

The absolute biggest issue with this Lion 4 tripod though, was the questionable material of the legs. It is supposed to be carbon fibre, however, the material feels like a plastic PVC tube from B&Q, wrapped in a carbon print. The creaking it produces when under any kind of load was very loud. I took this tripod with me over to Bushy park, with my Gitzo fluid gimbal head attached, to photograph some deer. My goodness what an awful creaky racket!! Sounded worse than an elderly persons joints for god sake.

I hate this tripod with a passion and has really put me off the company infact. They told me their products could compete with the likes of Manfrotto and Benro. Not in this world it can’t. I highly recommend staying well away from this heap of junk!