3 Legged Thing Taylor 2.0 Review

The 3 Legged Thing Taylor 2.0 is a new monopod from the UK-based camera support company. It’s a 5-section monopod and packs down smaller than 3 Legged Thing’s earlier monopods, making it a good choice for travel or carrying ‘just in case’.

3 Legged Thing sells the Taylor by itself or in a kit with the Docz2 flexible base. The Docz2 can also be bought separately.

The Taylor 2.0 is the first monopod in the Taylor line, the 2.0 indicates that it has the features of 3 Legged Thing’s second generation tripods and monopods.

At 1.58m / 62.2 inches (5.1 feet) tall, the Taylor 2.0 isn’t as big as the 2m 3 Legged Thing Trent 2.0. Before photographers over 6 feet tall dismiss the Taylor 2.0, bear in mind that the person in the image below is 6 feet 2-inches tall. The camera needs to come to your eye, not the top of your head.

As previously mentioned, the Taylor 2.0 is a 5-section monopod. It’s made from magnesium alloy and it weighs 677g by itself. Adding the 3 Legged Thing Docz 2 foot stabiliser bumps the weight to 1.2Kg. The benefit of the Docz2, however, is that the monopod becomes a little easier to tilt and swivel smoothly. That’s especially useful when you’re trying to follow the movement of a runner or you’re shooting video.

In keeping with the Punks 2.0 tripods, the Taylor 2.0 has rugged locks with metal knurling and chunky rubber grips. There’s also a beefy rubber-like grip at the top of the monopod, and a wrist strap to help keep your camera safe.

The 3 Legged Thing Trent 2.0 can be used to support a weight of up to 30Kg with or without the Docz2 in place.

Thanks to sprung 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 male threads at the top of the Taylor 2.0, a camera or lens can be mounted directly or via a tripod head. Meanwhile, the rubber foot at the bottom of the monopod can be removed and quickly replaced by the Docz2 stabiliser.

As it has 5 sections, the 3 Legged Thing Taylor 2.0 packs down to just over 44cm in length. That’s a good length for popping in the tripod or water bottle pocket of a backpack to take out for a day’s photography. If it were a travel tripod, I’d want it a little shorter, but it’s more manageable with a monopod. Plus it means that the Taylor extends to 1.58m. As I’m 5ft 2, the Taylor is much taller than I need for general photography, but at full-height, it’s the perfect length for my partner who is a foot taller.

As usual with a monopod, the 3 Legged Thing Taylor 2.0 comes without a head, but you can add one if you want.

It’s good to see a sprung adapter thread at the top of the monopod. It means that if you want to mount a camera or lens directly on the Taylor 2.0, the larger thread pushes easily out of the way as you screw on the monopod. It eliminates the hassle of searching for an adapter when you decide to attach a head. Conversely, if you want to directly mount a camera or lens, the larger thread retracts out of the way.

Monopods like the Taylor 2.0 are often used to support hefty telephoto lenses, such as the Nikon Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR seen above on a Nikon Z7 II. In some situations, you may find a head redundant, especially when shooting  subjects on the ground. The lens’ tripod foot collar allows you to easily slip between portrait and landscape modes. For aerial subjects like birds, however, or when using lenses without a collar, a head is a wise addition.

The Taylor 2.0’s four leg locks are ergonomically designed to be close enough for one-hand operation. A quick twist releases them, allowing the monopod’s weight to extend the leg before the locks are tightened.  The mechanism is smooth and requires less than a quarter-turn to unlock and lock.

In most situations, especially when trekking with heavy telephoto lenses for wildlife photography, I’d lean towards using the Taylor 2.0 by itself. However, the Docz2 base is a valuable extra when capturing fast-paced sports like running, football or rugby, and it’s useful for videography, especially when paired with a video head for fluid movement.

Swapping out the Taylor 2.0’s default foot for the Docz2 is a straightforward affair. It’s simply a question of unscrewing the rubber foot and attaching the Docz2 in its place. Once attached, it offers a broad range of motion that can be easily adjusted. It’s worth noting, though, the Docz2 isn’t meant to make the monopod self-standing when a camera is mounted.

The 3 Legged Thing Taylor 2.0 strikes a nice balance between portability and utility, making it a top choice for capturing wildlife, sports action, or smooth video footage. With a height ranging from 44.1 cm to 1.58 m, it’s also suitable for a wide range of uses and all but the tallest photographers.

The build quality of the Taylor 2.0 is also reassuringly robust and it feels likely to withstand significant use.

Whether you’re looking to pair it with a tripod head or plan to mount your camera or telephoto lens directly on it, the Taylor 2.0 makes a great addition to your kit if you need some support for a long lens or a heavy camera setup.