I have had this stand for a year and I have used it with a 400W and 1000W strobe, a 60'' umbrella, Einstein Monolight, and a Kacey dish. It has always been sturdy and easy to use. Carrying it around is not very fun but its obviously much easier than dealing with a C stand and its lighter than you would think a 9.5' stand should weigh. The legs are stiff and when adjusting or packing you will need to push a bit more than you would expect aside from that this is a quality stand.
I would recommend this to a friend.

Great height at 9.5 ft. The air cushioning is great for adjusting and never worrying it will slam down.. Its super sturdy holding m mono light and soft box sometimes also use a a42 in octobox so far its been perfect. really light wieght and still feels very secure. Recommended this to several colleagues.

I bought my first of these outstanding impact tripods about five years ago and since then I have gotten two more.

There are a number of reasons this is the stand to beat.

First off just to state the obvious, the price is great. It is very rare if not impossible to find a light stand of this caliber for such a bargain.

Another thing I love about this impact stand are the air cushions it is not heavy duty but they can easily hold more than 20lb and I have more than once let my strobe down and watched as it slowly made its way down rather than crashing down by accident as will otherwise happen from time to time.

I use a 35'' octagonal softbox that I have seen people holding with stands that cost twice as much. Why pay that kind of money when you can get something like this?

For my purposes I needed a stand that was tall and sturdy and this tripod is perfect. The base is nice and its not too large for my work space.

I have been working in the commercial photography business for eleven years now and I have put everything from strobes to 60'' umbrellas to large softboxes on these tripods and they are fine and sturdy.

The only thing I can think of that may be a down side to some is collapsing. I would prefer they collapse into a smaller package.

Overall this is a phenomenal buy and there is nothing on the internet that compares at this price.

Here is my problem: the description said this is a heavy duty stand but its not. If you are looking for a heavy duty stand that can be moved around and adjusted very easily then I would go for a more expensive brand. The operations can be a bit jerky and you will have to give a bit of a push when packing and unpacking. That being said it is a great stand for the money. I keep my Alien Bee B800 and some light modifiers and I have never had any trouble. I like the black finish it really makes the product look high end. Also, the air cushion is very valuable and saved my equipment more than once. Considering the extremely low price for what is essentially an average stand this is a good deal. However if you need serious heavy duty abilities look somewhere else.

I am sure that there are top brands with better quality stands but this impact light stand is very good and comes at a bargain price. The plastic is sturdy and looks and feels high end, its thankfully not the cheap feeling plastic I was expecting given the low price. The tubing is also thick and the base is wide. Those two factors together are what I think make the stand very sturdy. Unpacking it or collapsing it took some getting used to but once I did it a few times it was not a problem. All in all its a sturdy stand that will get the job done without breaking the bank. Two thumbs up impact!

I have been a pro photographer for almost twenty five years now and trust me when I say this is a very good HEAVY duty stand. I use it outside and in sometimes heavy wind and it is very sturdy. I might need a sandbag of course but the base is wide and the build quality is as good as plastic can ever be. The stand is heavy but not too heavy and I never had much trouble packing it up and traveling with it though that is not something I would want to do too often because it can get a bit cumbersome. The air cushioning makes collapsing it a bit different but it is really a great feature and has saved my equipment more than once. Overall, I am happy I bought it and at this price I think I got a great deal

The height is perfect for me and if you need something with high reach at a low price I would not get anything else. The base is wide and sturdy and the black finish is beautiful. My only gripe is that I need to give each leg a bit of a push when collapsing it. I have recommended this to a few friends.

Over the past year this stand has ended up replacing all the stands I use.

They are made well and last very long and through all kinds of wear and tear. They also don't weigh much and I move my studio around quite a bit so that was really great for me.

The only thing I had to get used to was the air cushioning. I was glad it was there but collapsing was a bit different than what I was used to.

Judging from the past year of use, this stand has met all my needs and my budget

I needed something stable and easy to move. This stand is light weight and could handle almost anything I threw at it. Fantastic product. Thank you istockonline!

If you are looking for a true heavy duty stand than I would suggest you look elsewhere. This can take some pretty heavy weight strait from the top but try moving it around a drop once you have it set up and even touching a wall will change the angle of the legs.
Additionally if you plan on on constantly opening and repacking this stand than you are in for some frustration it deploys slowly and jerkily and it collapses into a still rather large piece.
I am giving it three stars instead of two because of the price but if you have the extra money I would suggest a metal stand like the promaster LS-4.

Some of the other commentators have mentioned this and I agree-if you need to travel a lot than the large size of the collapsed stand may become an annoyance. However for a studio or only some travel this is a great stand. It can handle up to 25lb and feels very sturdy. I have bought three of them and tat I keep my light modifiers on and they get the job done. I dont see why I would get a more expensive stand when these are high quality and get the job done at a very low price. I think its a smart buy.