If you get a cheap, full sized tripod, you'll end up fighting with it. Think about what it might be like to try to move around a crowded room with a 3 foot piece of 2x4 tucked under your arm.
My favorite tripod is the Vanguard VEO 235CB, a "travel tripod". It's fiberglass, and quite rigid and sturdy. It has a hook on the bottom of the center post where you can hang a weight, such as your backpack, to give more stability. Best of all, when it is fully collapsed it's just over a foot long. Still, it brings a scope or camera up to chest height.
I would bet gr8fuldoug will have something very similar.
