Gday Chris,,I have a Manfrotto 681B professional Monopod,,At full extension it is 161cm (63.4") and at minimum Extension it is 67cm (26.4") ,,it has 3 sections and only weighs 0.8Kg,

,,Made of black anodised Aluminium,,It is an awesome bit of gear Selling at $140 at Madsens in Wollongong,,,
As far as I,S goes,Leave it on,as your hands will still have a small amount of movement,(MINE DO

),,The Monopod also has a hand strap that when wrapped around your hand Provides extra Stability,,I've posted a Pic of mine if that helps,,,,,,Mat