Mefoto air troubles -- fundamental design problem

[@Thomas-es5nn]

It's not a design flaw. You just don't follow instructions and use it in a way you aren't suppose to use it. To pan the ball head, you must first loosen the pan lock. This procedure isn't unique to this tripod. ALL tripod heads require you to loosen the pan lock before you can pan. DUH! That's the very purpose of the pan lock and why it's called the pan lock! With other tripods, if you don't loosen the pan lock first and you twist the head at its base, it just don't do anything (because it is locked down). What makes this tripod different is that if you don't loosen the pan lock first and twist the head at its base, it will unlock the column extension lock and thus causes the column to retract (drop). But this is by design. It's how the column operates. It's not a flaw, because you aren't supposed to pan the head when it's lock down on any tripod to begin with. Instead of blaming it on the tripod, you should ask yourself why on earth would you attempt to pan the head when the pan lock is locked down? Who does that? Nobody who knows how to use a tripod does that. DUH!