leg locks had been making awful grinding noises for years, presumably from sand and salt getting in there. this was easy enough to do with a rag for the legs and a toothbrush to get into the locks. as an aside i had always been taught to extend the tripod fattest section first, which of course meant that the lower section lock ended up under water the first time i used the tripod at the beach. while this advice is generally sound i typically have the lower section extended the width of my hand – about 4 inches – and then when working at the beach this is the first 