I'm sure just about everyone has a Selfie Stick to go along with their smartphone. As for me, I actually didn’t purchase one until September of 2024. I have always used a travel Tripod and Camera, so I was not really interested in a selfie stick. I could actually hold the extended legs of my tripod together with the camera on it and use it like a selfie stick, but it was very awkward.

Until recently, I never really used my phone for my travel photos. Now that phone cameras have improved so much and with our recent enhancements to the Mobile Trip Profile for Mobile Photo Upload allowing you to take photos and have them automatically associated to any Trip Activity, I'll be using my smartphone more often for travel photos.  Better yet is to use your phone for photos and then select the ones you want to upload to your activities later. Photo upload should be much faster if done over a Wifi connection, say at your hotel in the evening. Another bonus of taking photos with your phone is that if you have setup your phone to sync with Google Photos, all your photos will automatically be backed up on Google once you are using a Wifi connection.

I'm still not giving up my travel camera and tripod as there are several advantages that you don't get with a selfie stick. Although selfie sticks may have a tripod option, they tend to be unstable and must be placed on a flat surface. My travel tripod is far more stable, as as each leg can be adjusted to different lengths, it can easily be placed on uneven and extremely sloped surfaces. There are advantages to using a selfie stick with a smartphone that you don’t get with a tripod. If you are in a crowded area, using a tripod may not be a good option or even possible. A selfie stick allows you to quickly and easily take photos of yourself and the background. Many new selfie sticks now have an option to pair a remote button with your phone, allowing you to remotely snap photos.

Unless I give up my camera, which I stated above that I’m not, means that I will now be traveling with my tripod and a selfie stick. I looked at a few different selfie sticks, including an all-inclusive stick that had a tripod option and allowed either a phone or camera to be attached. As we travel light, only with a small backpack of around 40 liters, I needed to find the best option for bringing both a tripod and selfie stick.

ATUMTEK Selfie Stick & Tripod -Extendable aluminum pole -Bluetooth smartphone connect -Wireless remote to instantly snap photos -Tripod stand [Integrated Innovation Design] - The ATUMTEK Selfie Stick and tripod stand integrating together, combined with premium aluminium extendable stick, the selfie stick is extremely stable. The extendable pole is constructed with aviation-grade aluminum alloy with surface anodic oxidation process for which it will be sturdy and durable. [Adjustable Angle & Rotable Phone Holder] - The ATUMTEK Bluetooth Selfie Stick adopts a 270 degree rotatable phone holder design, which supports mobile phone horizontal clips and vertical clamps. The 180 degree enables you to select perfect angle when you take photos. The phone holder supports devices of which the width up to 3.54 inch. [Detatchable Bluetooth Remote & Awesome Battery Life] - The Bluetooth control distance is up to 33ft, which allows you to take photos by yourself or take group photos by taking off the remote controller. With built-in 50mAh rechargeable and recycling Lithium battery, you can continuously capture 15000 photos after fully charged via USB Type-C charging port 5V/110mAh. The Bluetooth remote is compatible with IOS 7.0, Android 5.0 and above devices. [Super Lightweight & Convenient to Carry Around] - Thanks to the hidden retractable design, it’s only 7.7 inches for folded size and extension max. is 31.3 inches. You can put it in pockets or other small bags. Whenver you want to record a beautiful moment, it always be there. Price: About $20.00 This is our Selfie Stick of choice Pros -Compact -Lightweight -Aluminum extension pole -Detachable wireless bluetooth remote Cons -As with most selfie sticks, the tripod feature is not stable and must be placed on level ground.  I consider it a 'nice-to-have' if you need it in an emergency and do not have an actual camera tripod. SYNCWIRE Tripod Phone Mount -Smartphone mount adapter clamp -Cold shoe for 1/4" screw mount -360° Rotation -180° Tilt adjustment Another option to consider is purchasing a Tripod Phone Mount.  This alows you to attached your smartphone to your tripod rather than using an unstable selfie stick tripod.  If you purchased a selfie stick with a wireless bluetooth remote for snapping photos, just use that for your photos as you normally would when your phone is on the selfie stick.  The big advantage to this is that you don't have to set a timer and run around to get in the photo before the shutter snaps.  You could also purchase an individual wireless remote if your selfie stick does not already have it. *** Other Selfie Sticks we tried *** TONEOF 60" Cell Phone Selfie Stick Tripod,Smartphone Tripod Stand All-in-1 with Integrated Wireless Remote -Extendable aluminum pole -Long extension pole of 60" -Tripod -Detachable wireless bluetooth remote Pros -Aluminum extension pole -Detachable wireless bluetooth remote -Long extension length Cons -Not as stable as an actual tripod -Longer collapsed size -Although it says light weight, it is extremely heavy compared to other sticks *If we were not concerned with traveling light and space in our backpack, we may have considered this stick due to the longer extension length. Huryfox Selfie Stick Phone Tripod -Extendable aluminum pole -Longer extension pole of 71" -Tripod -Detachable wireless bluetooth remote Pros -Aluminum extension pole -Detachable wireless bluetooth remote -Long extension length Cons -Not as stable as an actual tripod -Heavy and bulky