Not a tripod replacement, but a handy piece of kit that offers more than just its portability.
The JOBY GorillaPod 5K is one of those products I’d seen for years, but, having never seen a specific use for it, never envisioned owning. It had been very positively reviewed, so I knew that it was unlikely to be a gimmick; it simply wasn’t something I could see myself using.
Although it’s most common uses are for fixed-camera videography and for travel photography, I actually purchased the tripod to assist me with macro product photography. Whilst I own an excellent tripod that allows the camera to be positioned at (pretty much) any angle, including ground-level shots, this requires spreading its long carbon fibre legs out along the ground; which takes up a crazy amount of (horizontal space) - for positioning a camera up-close to a ground-level subject this is a truly arduous affair; the Joby 5K is perfect for this task. It’s more than just a standard tripod; the nature of its construction means that there are neither compromises nor readjustments to be made when positioning it - the legs bend in any direction to whatever degree you desire. This really is ideal for the micro-adjustments required when shooting small objects up-close.
I purchased the Kit Version of this professional-marketed GorillaPod, which comes with the 5K tripod head JB01508-BWW. I knew the head wouldn’t be as strong as say the Benro B2 (a popular head I own for a standard tripod), but for the way I’m using it, it simply doesn’t need to be; used on the GorillaPod, the most I’ll angle the head is about 45° downwards, and I’m never going to be doing this with a particularly heavy lens setup. For its weight, the 5K tripod head is actually quite excellent, so I’d advise anyone about to buy a JOBY to consider the kit version (where you get the head for about ½ price).
I haven’t used the product in the way in which its most famously marketed; wrapping its legs around a tree or pole as tripod, and I can’t foresee me doing so. However, I could see myself using this flexibility for supporting off-camera lighting equipment, for example...at the end of the day, you can attach anything taking a 1/4” screw, so overtime I can see this getting used in many ways. I’m surprised JOBY only market it as a tripod.