I have a Uniloc Major System 1220. It is very short, and extremely heavy for
its height. But it is very, very stable. I don't carry it very far in the
field. It is good if you already have a tall tripod, and/or a light tripod.
It is not very good as one's only tripod (from my experience of not being
able to carry it when I really needed a tripod, but couldn't carry the
weight).

Here in the UK, Jessops- a large retailer, has all the uniloc products
available, but with a 4-6 weeks wait. I'm not sure they are still in
production. As far as I know, the Benbos and Unilocs used to be made in the
UK. Benbo has now outsourced production to the far east (I think).

About a year or so ago, the Benbos were updated (the Trekker 2 was released,
and new ball heads). I think a few of the improvements may have moved up to
the Models 1 and 2s.

If you have a light camera/lens and will be using it while walking a fair
distance, the Trekker is good (I have used one for a while). If  you don't
intend to do a lot of macro work, a normal tripod, or one with a central
column that can be moved to the horizontal (e.g. Some models of Manfrotto,
Gitzo, Giottos, etc) may be a better idea, especially if this will be your
only tripod. I didn't think the Trekker was stable enough for my
lenses/cameras- especially the head that used to come with the Trekker
(mk1).

Ben