One leg, for the places where three are not allowed · review

SIRUI AM-404FL, 190 cm, 12 kg, 3-in-1 base review

Twelve kilograms declared and 190 cm of reach for 129 €, with a base that turns the pole into a low tripod and a collar that pans through 360 degrees without any head at all.

By Jean-Benoit Buisson

The bottom line Twelve kilograms, 190 cm in four sections, a panning collar that needs no head and a base that stands on its own: this is the only pole here built for a heavy telephoto, and it is priced accordingly. It publishes no folded length, no weight and no lock type, and it is the bulkiest support on the shelf.

On the listing

Five bullets. An innovative quick-release system in which the monopod and the tripod base use the same design — press the sleeve to release the plate, click to lock; a three-in-one design usable as a full monopod with adjustable feet, a free-standing extension pole, or a compact low tripod, named for travel, sport and video; a robust aluminium construction holding up to 12 kg with four sections reaching 190 cm, and a patented quick-release thread in 1/4 and 3/8 inch; a textured rotating collar allowing precise horizontal panning without an additional head; and extended feet of 15 cm with a reinforced base structure for a secure stand on uneven surfaces.

Twelve kilograms

Nearly twice the next figure on this shelf, and six times the cheapest pole’s rating. That is a telephoto rating rather than a camera rating, and it is what separates this pole from the seven below it.

A hundred and ninety centimetres in four sections

Every other tall pole here needs five or six segments to get close. Fewer sections mean wider tubes throughout, and the widest is the one under the camera — which is precisely where flex shows.

Panning without a head

The fourth bullet puts the horizontal movement inside the pole. On every other support here that job belongs to a head bought separately, whose own load rating then becomes the limit for the whole assembly.

A base that lets go

Adjustable feet extended to 15 cm, a reinforced structure, three configurations. The pole stands while the photographer steps away — which is not what a monopod does, and is the reason this one is also the bulkiest here.

Availability

Between 110 € and 129 € on the German, French, Italian and Spanish Amazon stores when this page was last checked.

The American and British Amazon stores carry it too, priced in local currency. Those amounts are deliberately absent from the range above, which reads euro stores only.

Everything in this section is the figure Keepa carried on the day of the last update to this page. Availability and prices shift without notice.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 13 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

What it does well, and what it gives up

Strengths

Twelve kilograms declared, the highest rating on this shelf by a wide margin
190 cm from only four sections, so the top tube is thicker than on any other pole here
A collar that pans through 360 degrees without a head, and a base that makes the pole free-standing

Compromises

A hundred and twenty-nine euros, against 80 € for the Manfrotto below it
No folded length, no weight, and the leg lock type is never named
The three-in-one base adds bulk to a support whose advantage is being quick to move

Specifications

Maximum height	190 cm, in the title and the third bullet — the tallest of the eight here, from four sections. Reaching that height in four segments rather than five or six means a thicker tube at the top than any other pole on this shelf
Folded length	Not published. Five bullets cover the quick-release system, the three configurations, the construction, the panning collar and the feet, and no packed figure appears
Section count	Four, in the third bullet, alongside the height. Four sections for 190 cm is the most favourable ratio here: the koolehaoda needs six to reach 177 cm
Lock type	Not named directly. The first bullet describes a quick-release design shared between the pole and the base — a sleeve that is pressed to release the plate and clicks to lock — which is the camera mount rather than the leg locks. How the sections close is not stated
Declared load	12 kg, in the third bullet, credited to a robust aluminium construction. It is by far the highest figure on this shelf: nearly twice the Manbily’s 7 kg and four times the Amazon Basics ceiling
Foot design	A three-in-one base, in the second and fifth bullets: usable as a full monopod with adjustable feet, as a free-standing extension pole, or as a compact low tripod. The fifth adds extended feet of 15 cm and a reinforced base structure for uneven ground. It is the only page here that claims the pole stands on its own
Material	Aluminium, in the third bullet, described as lightweight yet stable. No weight is published
Head mount	A patented quick-release thread in both 1/4 and 3/8 inch, in the third bullet, with the first bullet explaining the mechanism: pole and base share the same quick-release design, so a camera or an accessory swaps between them in seconds. The fourth adds a textured rotating collar giving precise 360 degree panning WITHOUT a separate head
Amazon reference	B0CHFFS8LC (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN	6952060056159

What people ask before they commit

What does panning without a head actually mean?

The fourth bullet describes a textured rotating collar built into the pole, so the camera turns horizontally without a ball head or a tilt head fitted. On every other pole here, panning smoothly means buying a head and adding its own load limit to the calculation — the hub above says the lower of the two ratings governs. Here the horizontal movement is in the pole itself.

Is this still a monopod if it stands up?

The second bullet names three configurations, one of which is a compact low tripod. It stands on its own base, which the hub above says a monopod does not — but the base is small, the pole is single, and the intended use remains a pole held in the hand with the feet for stability. A tripod it is not; a monopod that does not fall over the moment it is released, it is.

Why does 190 cm from four sections matter?

Because each section is nested inside the one above, so fewer sections for the same height means every tube is wider — including the one at the top, which is where a pole flexes under a camera. Reaching 190 cm in four segments, as here, gives a thicker top tube than reaching 177 cm in six, as the koolehaoda does. It is also why this pole does not pack as small.