Well I've seen the Sherpa Pro CF 635's and the two share many of the same pieces. It does seem that Velobon, or perhaps the velbon manufacturer is involved in the CT 101's construction. Similar parts include the center column (although the Swaro doesn't have the nifty two piece column for converting your pod to a "grounder"), the center column stop bottom screw piece (good news if I can acquire a hook for the column from Velbon) , The spider's metal components and design is identical, The legs are the same carbon fiber pieces. The differences are the bolts that tighten and attach the legs to the spider, the length of the leg padding (shorter in the CT 101), the leg clamps (both work well but I like the Swaro's), the feet (Swaro put rubber caps on, I'd kind of prefer the rectractable spikes on the Velbon), painted on numbered leg length indicators and a few other minor components on the spider (rubber seals, finish paint, center column screw knob, etc). Anyways this is cool since hopefully now I can add a few things to my tripod like a shoulder strap, column hook, maybe the center column, and perhaps feet if they are interchangeable. Hope others find this info useful. The Velbon is a very nice tripod, but I don't like the head very much, better to go with a Gitzo or Manfrotto, or if you want light weight, the Swaro FH. Cheers.
