Out of the box it worked great. The locking knob of my chosen tripod head rubs up against the MP edge. Wish there was a better reference method for matching up the tripod head with the tripod. Read many GorillaPod reviews of different sizes and because of some bad reviews for smaller GorillaPod tripods with a DSLR and a large lens I went for a larger size that would be stronger than the smaller one. Only had it a short while so can't say how long it will last. But I like it!
This is a robust, stable, upgradable, light, portable high quality tripods. The day of lugging around heavy gears is over. This suits traveling photographers.