Imagine you are on your first trip to the Swiss Alps with your family. And as soon as you get a glimpse of the pristine white peaks, all you want to do is to freeze the memory of your presence there for eternity. But there are equally excited tourists around and it's quite embarrassing to ask them to spare time to take that special photo. Moreover, how sure can you really be about their photo shooting skills? You really don’t want to be left with bad photos at this point in time. The Quik Pod provides a clever solution to this familiar problem.

Put simply, the Quik Pod is a light weight extendable mono-pod with a tilting head – a close cousin of the tripod which is so indispensable for photos taken with your camera’s self-timer. Using it is simple - just attach your camera (almost all models are supported) to the telescoping rod, set the camera's self-timer, extend the quik pod to the desired position and hold it with your hand to capture the photo to be taken, and voila the job’s done.

Although made of sturdy polycarbonate and aluminum, the Quik Pod is really light at 3.5 ounces. And goes light on your wallet too – the basic model is priced at $25. The model with adapter legs costs $30. Definitely a must-have on your travel list. Available from Amazon.

Via The Red Ferret Journal.