I haven't bought a tripod or tripod add-on in 25 years, and back then I don't even recall carbon fiber being an option...
My monopod (
Groschupp GCS 1800) w/ removable Groschupp ball is what I used and continue to use as a portable stability device. The other thing however, is being a competitive marksman, I've also learned to significantly reduce my heart rate and stop breathing when I take a shot... The same holds true with photography. Oddly enough, while the lens companies are striving for smaller more lightweight and portable lenses, it's come at a cost, because we can no longer use our arms and legs to create a platform of stability that was anywhere near what e could previously do w/ large bulky lenses.
About all I ever do these days is product or macro photography, but in the 80's I was working for Knight-Ridder, AP and a host of other publishers. During the mid-late 80's I shot a lot of sports all around Cleveland (
including some pro), and was even selected to shoot the 89 World Canoe and Kayak Championships for AP out of Baltimore.
Once upon a time I carried 3 Maxxum-9000 bodies everywhere I went, with each having a different ISO film inside. I quit working professionally when I was informed that I would have to begin shooting color... Being a purist, it wasn't happening!
-Tim