Handle ( position lock spool retraction lock)

Notice a knob beneath the cylinder of the left side of the handle. If you loosen the knob, the cylinder will retract the ropes. (This is a blessing as you are manually contracting the HI-POD poles, the ropes automatically sel-retract.) If you tighten the knob, the ropes will stay in that position, without retracting.. This knob can be loosened and tighten, according to the desired effect. (For example, if the camera tilt is not responding immediately to your hand movements, or if the camera is slipping out of tilt position)

This spring retraction system makes the unit very easy to raise and lower. The tilt ropes are automatically retracted without the need to manually spool up the rope, making this unit many times faster than the original HI-POD.

(HANDS FREE ! ) Now let's say you are taping a drill that is in one place for long time and you do not want to hold the handle in that position. You want to free up your hands to grab something (water or food). Use the position lock. Tighten and loosen the position lock for the desired effect. In the below photo 1 is the position lock and 2 is the spool retraction lock.