inexpensive off brand light kit stand?

Rippie

Rippie

Veteran
I just bought a 1x1 LED panel and was looking for an inexpensive stand solution.
(I'm a sound guy but have my own kinos and c stands )

I'm looking for a kit stand like you'd find in an Arri tungsten kit, but hopefully way less $.
Something with a wide enough base and also decent height.

Figured there was enough chinese knock offs out there that someone might be happy with.

(i got the light cheap and want to keep the investment low. For times when it needs a extremely
sturdy base, I have numerous C stands)

Thanks guys
 
Manfrotto do a lot of smaller stands, they are pretty much the official "low budget" stand that isn't a brand of dubious quality.
 
Reasonable budget light stands go on ebay for about $20-25. As long as you sandbag them and the light isn't too heavy they'll do fine. Aluminium stands of that design won't stand up to being fallen on by someone who trips over a carelessly placed power cable no matter how much you spend. I wouldn't want to put too much weight in the wrong places even on Arri genuine stand of the same design. They are not c-stands and can't be as strong without weighing as much as one. The cheap ones are definitely flimsier but I don't feel a great deal safer with the quality ones. Aluminium needs to be thicker than steel by roughly the same amount as it is lighter than steel to achieve the same strength. You can squeeze a bit more efficiency out with design in one direction but when you come at it sideways (the weakest point) it's going to be destroyed whether completely or just in one place. The light still comes down. The extra or PA loitering there still cops it.

I used those stands recently on a location shoot. I was worried because it was the least controlled situation I've used them in. The ceiling was high so most the lights were at full extension. After giving a big safety talk to assembled cast and crew guess who it was that tripped over his own cabling? I let time pressure make me sloppy with coiling up cables, moving lights between setups. Luckily nothing came down and only my ego was damaged and a lesson learned. They worked out fine but I would have had much greater peace of mind with better stands.
 
I've got a few of these. They are very nice for the price. I like them more than the Arri kit stands and waaaay more than the Lowel stands.
 
Look for metal fittings… and with cheaper tripod-style stands, you may eventually need to keep a screwdriver & small adjustable wrench handy to tighten the collars and the locks.

I've got some stands that are pushing 2 decades… they need to be tightened often.

I wouldn't put anything very heavy on this type of stand though...
 
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