My buddy Tom recommends one of these gizmos. I think I’ll get one for my new camcorder.
I bought one of these Gorillapod tripods last spring and finally made up my mind to take it out in the woods and see how handy it is for hiking.
Turns out it works pretty well — it stands on benches, grasps on branches, balances on rocks… there really are about a zillion configurations. It’s lightweight and easy to use, for the most part, but it’s got some limitations …

Rick: make sure you get the one rated for the weight of your camera. The small one is rated for little point-and-shoots like mine but they have bigger ones for heavier cameras.