Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'd like to start my review by saying that I had declared this the greatest camera accessory that I had purchased. Despite reading the bad reviews, I took the chance and bought it, keeping in mind the tips on how to minimize the "abuse" that the tripod might go through... but then two legs came off and my camera took a dive off of the "tight" mounting plate. For four days, I mounted the GorillaPod on trees, railings that overlooked mountains (Squamish, BC), bridges, and a bike. And for four days, the GorillaPod worked like a dream. It hung on solidly and there was not a bit of shake to speak of. The workflow was always the same: 1) Check the plate knob to make sure it was tight; 2) Carefully adjust the legs around the mounting point, being mindful of not applying too much stress at the point where the legs connect to the ballhead; 3) Adjusting the ballhead for the shot; 4) Carefully removing the legs from the mounting point, being mindful of not applying too much stress at the point where the legs connect to the ballhead. But on the last day of my trip, and the reason for this one star review, is that two of the legs came off and the plate failed on me. Despite the plate being double checked for tightness, I bumped the camera with my knee and the camera fell a good 5 feet onto concrete. There are scratches to the eyepiece rubber which makes using the Sony's EVF uncomfortable/painful, and the camera will fail to start up once every few times (black screen). I can no longer trust the camera to be ready for quick pics anymore. Lastly, as mentioned above, two of the legs came off. I was able to "re-attach" one of the legs, but a few minutes later when going back to adjust the leg, it popped back out again. I could not reattach the second leg as it looked like a part of the plastic had become grooved (the attached picture should be able to explain it better). Even if I could reattach the second leg, needless to say, I no longer trust the stability and durability of the tripod. Maybe I got a bad one, but my 600$ camera already took a spill... I am not willing to try it again on my DSLR. All in all, it was a shame that this product failed to do what it was supposed to do. I very much wanted to like this product and for the first four days, I loved it. Use at your own risk.