My new purchase.

[Razeus]

Signed up for Bing Cashback. 4% cashback on my new purchases, as well as the lowest prices, no tax and free shipping:

Manfrotto 190xPROB ($145 before Bing, $139.20 after Bing, normally sells for $150):

Manfrotto 498RC2 Ball Head ($119.90 before Bing, $115 after Bing, normall sells for $130):

And my budget for a tripod and ball head was $250. I can't complain. Can't wait.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Nice! That will last you some time. Good to see people buying quality tripods.

 

[compuwar]

Depending on your camera/lens setup, this would be the time to start saving for your next ballhead. It's been my experience that ballheads under about $300 tend to last 1-3 years depending on the weight of the lenses they need to support[1]. The legs should be fine when you get the next head as long as you don't need to shoot with a super-tele.

Paul
[1] Even "little" consumer super-teles like the Sigma 50-500, Canon 100-400 or Nikon 80-400s tend to induce creep if you shoot often.

 

[Jaro65]

This thing should last you for a while. I've bought my Manfrotto tripod probably 20 years ago, and it still works as good as new. Those things are built like tanks.