I said I'd report back on the tripod.
This is the Befree Live with fluid head. It's a leap in build quality from the Compact range. The head is light years better than the Compact range and I like the fluid head, the handle for which can be set as you like. Having never used twist locks before, I found them slower than levers, but levers do encourage rapid and noisy deployment (on my 055), which I can imagine might be an issue if you're trying to be stealthy, so I'll get used to them and appreciate the benefits.
The lower legs are still only 12mm diameter and the tripod is not much more stable than the Compact Advance, which cost me £40.00 from Currys. I thought the height of 129cm with the centre column down would be fine, once the scope was mounted, but it's about 10cm too low, so the centre column has to be deployed - I'm 5'10". When I throw the tripod over my shoulder, the grippy fluid head handle acts as a 'hook' over my shoulder and back, so it's a good ergonomic arrangement, when in use and while carrying - and the whole assembly is really light compared to my 055.
The next model up - a beefier version of the BeFree - is the Befree GT. It is higher, without the centre column extended, by 11.5cm and the lower leg section is 15.5mm in diameter, which is the same as the second section of the BeFree Live. It comes with a ball head and its about 200grams heavier. It is 3cm longer when folded. I've ordered one of these to compare the two. I've also ordered the fluid head that comes with the BeFree Live, so that if I keep the GT I'll swap the heads.
This is way more than I expected to pay for a compact tripod when I set out, but I've scratched the compact tripod itch and I at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I'll be happy with either one of the BeFree's (if there wasn't a GT version, which I overlooked originally to save a bit of weight, I'd be happy enough).
The MM4 is spectacular, so I'm more than happy to support it with a good tripod (instead of the cheapest/smallest tripod), especially as I saved the price of the tripod against the overall price of the mint-used scope and new EP. The 23x EP is very nice - might have been a happy accident that it was sent to me, because I may well keep it.
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