Since I travel quite a bit, I want something lighter, and more compact than the venerable Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 monopod and head. (Ideally something that will fit in an international carry-on.) So I came across the Benro Carbon Fiber Video Monopod with Fluid Head over at Aliexpress, which basically is a storefront for most all made-in-China items.

Cheesycam seems to like it for travel.

The other option is to get the Manfrotto Pro 701 Fluid Video Mini Head with just a Benro video monopod. People seem to think its better than the Benro version, and I see no reason to doubt that.

I'll post an update after I select one. Please comment below if you have any suggestions.

Update on 2013-09-05 03:47 by Mike Mu

Manfrotto MVH500AH Flat Base Pro Fluid Head (Black) - newest head was considered, but it is quite a bit bigger in size so it rules it out for travel. But it does feature a number of improvements which make it a worthwhile upgrade vs the Manfrotto Pro 701 HDV Fluid Video Mini Head .