Dave, these tripods are made by the Italian company Manfrotto. In Europe
(and other parts of the world) they are sold under their original
brandname Manfrott. In the US these tripods are sold under the name
Bogen. Maybe this sounds better to Americans as many believe it to be an
original home-made US product. It's just marketing.

Why do they use another part numbering system? I don't know and agree
with you that it is very confusing.

Regards,
Hans

P.s. Many other companies use different names for their equipment in the
US too. E.g. Nikon and Canon name their cameras differently in the US too.

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Hans Martens

    Wildlife & Nature Photography
       http://www.wildpicture.com
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