Ditto to what everyone else has already said, I got mine because of Marc's glowing reports.
As for transport, mine still sits in the original freight box, perfectly moulded. I figure if it come to AUS in it, then it is good for everyday storage as well.
Haven't seen a better more stable tripod on anything that is field portable, and I think this is possibly half of its success.
Coming from a Meade 497 hand controller, I intially thought the Gemini 1 hand controller was like stepping back to the dark ages. After using it for 12 months though, it is simplistic...... but it just simply works!
Dont need anything else in the field.