Impact Air-Cushioned Heavy Duty Light Stand - Black, 9'6" (2.9m)

WHOA! Talk about an upgrade from what I was using. Now to be fair, I still love my beginner hobbyist light stand. It's done me very well and I've grown and developed using it. So I will not bash it. However, I wanted a step-up and this was recommended to me. As it is just more than double the money as what I was used to, I figured it would be a heavier quality but nothing near over the top. Boy was I wrong! This light stand is just like it implies, it's HEAVY DUTY. I can't wait to use it! There is something about looking the part that is helpful when doing professional photo shoots. The other stands did the job, but honestly, looked flimsy. This stand is wonderful. The three legs will spread out much wider giving it such a better base to hold the light. I've always referred to my last stand is feeling a bit like Mary Poppins when I'm outdoors. It seems the wind catches the umbrella filter and wants to take it flying. Unfortunately, I've lost and damaged equipment because of this. This stand just feels stable. It is heavy, the bars and larger in diameter, and it doesn't feel like it will break or bend.I'm very pleased with it. Attach a flash bracket to the top and I'm ready to roll. This is a great addition to your photography needs. Take the plunge and buy the upgrade. It's so worth it!

This is a great stand! I was pleasently surprised by this light stand. Very sturdy and easy to use. The only complaint maybe is the dial you twist at the very bottom to extend the legs, but that it about it for me. I've got a Mettle 600 watt strobe with a 60" Fotodiox Octagon softbox on it. And it holds it up just fine! I'm so confident in it that I don't even have to put bricks or weights on the legs to keep it from tipping over like I had to with my cheapo's I used for my Canon flashes. I love how high the stands go. I don't need to goto 9.5' but it's nice to be able to. And I love the wide stance for it as well. Helps it be very stable, and it also gets very compact to fit into my car's trunk. So all in all a great stand! I will be buying another one!

I had done a lot of research trying to figure out which light stand to purchase and finally decided on the Impact Air-Cushioned Heavy Duty Light Stand. Once received, I was not disappointed. The stand was much heavier (duty) than expected. All the parts function very well and I have had no problems with it supporting various softboxs or a 42" umbrella and 430 EX II flash. The air-cushioned action works great as well. The term "heavy-duty" definitely describes this stand. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting a good quality light stand.

After having this stand for a year with limited use, it has fallen apart. The plastic pieces that go in between the metal pieces have fallen out and now it's impossible to tighten it up and which means no stability. A few of us have tried putting them back where they belong but they no longer stay and so I'm on the hunt for a new one already.

I couldn't decide between the  Pro PBL Heavy Duty 10' Light Stands, Air Cushioned, Set of 2 With Velcro Ties, Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting & Accessories  and the  Impact Air-Cushioned Heavy Duty Light Stand - Black, 9.5' (2.9m)  so I ordered both. The Impact stands arrived first and I took them out of the box. The first thing I noticed was the brushed aluminum finish, the second thing I noticed was the plastic locking collars. The plastic concerned me, but the action raising and lowering the stands was smooth and the air cushion worked well even when supporting weight.Soon the Pro PBL Heavy Duty 10' stands arrived. I took them out of the box. The first thing I noticed was the gloss black paint on the aluminum. The second thing was the metal locking collars. I put these stands through the motions and was happy with the action of all joints and extending sections. The fatal flaw was noticed when I extended the upper section and tried to lower it while supporting weight. The section stopped completely and would not lower. Only after removing the weight and wiggling the top section was I able to retract it. I took the stand apart to find the problem. The rubber gasket is too soft and the air pressure forces it out against the walls of the tube binding it and preventing movement. With the weight removed, this doesn't happen, but the point of an air cushioned light stand is that you can smoothly and safely lower the weight. This is a critical design flaw and effects the basic function of the light stand.Side by side the products are very similar.Impact pros: - Slightly thicker aluminum with a more scratch / chip resistant brushed finish. - Joints are attached with bar rivets that traverse the diameter of the tube. Similar to a bolt. - Larger diameter leg and upper section aluminum tubes. - Air cushion works every time, with or without weight, and is very smooth. - Threaded stud is well finished and the inset is tapered at around 45 degrees. It is secured by a press bar.Impact cons: - Price - they are twice the price of the PBL stands. - Plastic locking collars make me a bit nervous, but have held up well with no problem so far.PBL pros: Price - They are very affordable and still good quality. Metal locking collars are a plus.PBL cons: - The paint chips easily which doesn't look as nice as the brushed aluminum on the Impact stands. - Joints are attached with pop rivets instead of a bar or bolt that penetrates the diameter of the tube. These rivets are not well spread on the inside. Some are not spread around the circumference of the hole, but only spread to cover the hole partially. Eventually, these will pop out and need to be replaced with bolts. - The aluminum tubes for the legs and upper extension are smaller in diameter than the Impact stands. They still seem quite sturdy, however. - Air cushion uses a small hole instead of a valve. This, in itself, is not a problem. The air cushion lets air out too quickly causing weight to drop rapidly. There is just enough air cushion to keep the retracting extension from slamming into the base, but not by much. - The top extension tube has a soft rubber gasket that binds to the middle extension tube when bearing weight. Weight must be removed before top extension tube can be retracted. For me, this is a deal breaker. There is no way to lower the upper extension tube while it is weight bearing. All four stands I purchased exhibited this behavior. It appears to be a design flaw. The impact stand uses a stiffer gasket which does not bind under weight. - Threaded stud is machined but not finished. It has very sharp edges and is slightly taller than standard studs. The inset is a 90 degree corner. It is secured by a pop rivet.Conclusion:I am impressed with the quality of the PBL stand. My budget is tight enough that the %50 cost savings is a big deal. I would have chosen the PBL stand over the Impact stand if the retraction of the upper extension tube wasn't a problem. The air cushioning could be a bit stronger to lower weight more smoothly, but it works well enough. Eventually, some pop rivets would come out of the holes and need to be replaced by bolts. Just hope this doesn't happen on a shoot.Budget aside, I would choose the Impact stand even if the extension tube problem on the PBL stand were fixed. However, I would like to see metal locking collars and bolts connecting the joints. This will keep the stands in service much longer.In the end, I returned the PBL stands and kept the Impact stands. They cost more, but they function well. I am satisfied with my purchase.I hope this review is helpful. I was not able to find any other reviews of the PBL stand before purchasing it. There are hundreds of reviews of the Impact stand on Amazon and B&H Photo.

I purchased these after reviewing about 40 lightstands and reading the reviews. Get these ones.Built solid thick and strong. They hold my Bees and my sofboxes 30x40 no problem, even when I throw on my 70" Octobox, they don't teeter. The only down side is that they m appear tall when closed. But I have a smaller car and they fit in my trunk no problem, I also never close them down, I always use them. In short Get these, great product, and Impact also sells the casters to put on the bottom for easy maneuvering.Update: 2015 still working great! I use these stands about 1-2 times a week, still work great!

Value for money this is superb

I had been debating on buying this light stand for some time; I finally took the plunge and bought on December 23/13. I got my parcel yesterday; my delivery was late by 3 days.I like how sturdy it is, the coating is smooth, and the weigh isn't heavy but not light either. I love the air-cushion in the light stand; I can gently lower my lighting without fear of smashing my external flash to bits. I do wish the legs had the same treatment; I nearly clammed my finger while trying to fold the legs. There is no travel bag so you will have to purchase one. Overall, I would highly recommend this light stand over the Cowboy Studio brand; not only just in price but quality, and sturdiness.

This is a sturdy tripod! I bought my first one, was impressed, and bought another one after 3 months. Very stable to hold my 3 foot and 5 foot wide octagonal softboxes even in location shoots.

Very good

When I received the package, both box and the light stand were damaged. You can see from the photo that how bad the handling was.