Is This the Best Replacement for a Tripod?

When was the last time something as relatively insipid as a clamp excited you? The Heipi Super Clamp Sabertooth C100 did that for me, offering a really practical alternative for steadying my camera, especially in places where a tripod wouldn’t be allowed. The folks at Heipi have really done something innovative with this one.

I’ve seen more than a handful of brands release photography clamps over the last few years, and something that’s common with all of them, is that the clamp has essentially two part. This works in quite some scenarios, but isn’t quite the right solution for all kinds of places that your camera might need to be mounted. Bringing a rather unique innovation to solving this problem, is Heipi’s Super Clamp Sabertooth C100 (undoubtedly named after the prehistoric animal and not the Marvel character. Yes, they’re the same company who made two fantastic tripods we reviewed some time ago

This clamp looks like it has two jaws, but on closer inspection you’ll see each arm is actually sort of split in two. And one of them even splits horizontally in two, at the edge. What they’ve essentially done, is to create a clamp for rigidly securing your expensive camera gear across pretty much any kind of surface you might need to have it on. It’s like they’ve reimagined and brought to life what a clamp for photographers really should be.

The advantage is immediately obvious. Instead of being limited to flat surfaces or perfectly round poles, the Heipi Super Clamp can conform to a much wider variety of shapes, including but not limited to railings, table edges, square tubing, and many kinds of irregular surfaces, but with a very powerful grip. And because one of the arms can open up into two flat portions, it can effectively become a tabletop tripod of sorts too.

We received the Heipi Super Clamp along with a couple of magic arms, a phone clamp, a mini ball head, and an Arca-swiss compatible panorama head. As much as I loved the design, portability and the versatility of the whole package, what really impressed me the most was the finishing quality. This was almost all metal (they say it’s aluminum alloy with stainless steel and rubber components), yet it was coated with an almost matte like black paint which didn’t make it feel cold to touch. The clamp itself is just 9.7 ounces (275g) making it easy to take anywhere with you (a very valid option as a backup for a tripod).

I took it out to my favorite waterfront, a place which has now become off-limits to tripods. The entire setup was paired with my Nikon Z8, the Nikon Z 35mm f1.4 Z lens with two Maven filters on, and my Samsung S24 Ultra smartphone, all clamped onto the railing. An earthquake couldn’t have budged it a centimeter, such was the vice-like grip of the Heipi Super Clamp once I had set it on there. It stayed there for a good 20 minutes or so, helping me snap some shots of the cool sunset that was on display. After a minute or so of observing it, I was fully confident that it wouldn’t slip down or drop into the creek below.

Head over to Heipi’s website to get one for yourself.