Huh? I didn't read any kind of disrespect from your post. They were good points. If I'm going to invest in something like this I need to have my ideas firmly planted on the ground and look at all possible points of failure. Criticism is good. The biggest issue I think is "will this sell?" I mean, how many overzealous guys like me actually take an extra 15lb of camera gear into the backcountry?

The dismantling and reassembly of the tripod needs to be quick so that it doesn't become a pain in the ass.

I was thinking that while hiking the tripod is disassembled into the walking poles and camera rifle mount thing. Since most hiking is done during the daytime, there is not much need for the tripod. However, when the hiker gets to camp and the light starts to wane, the tripod can be assembled for dusk and low light shots. Afterwards, the tripod can be disassembled again for the poles to be used for the tent. But I guess there's a problem. If the tripod poles ARE used for the tent, the tent can't be set up until the tripod is done being used, so if the camper wants to use it for astrophotography in the middle of the night, he's not going to be able to set up his tent.

But then again, on nights that are good enough for astrophotography, I don't even use a tent, so I guess it isn't that bad.