The first thing of note about the Impact 13′ light stand is that it’s actually not that heavy. Heavy-duty yes, but not that heavy. Sounds odd right? Well, all I can say is that when compared to some of my small light stands it’s a comparable weight BUT it extends to a much larger height! I was so happy to see this that I immediately threw it in a bag and flew off to a photo competition taking place in Austria. Weight is important when you are trying to fit all your gear within the requisite baggage limits but I had no issue choosing this stand over some of my existing ones. You never know when a bit of extra height will come in handy!
You can see that the Impact 13′ stand has a reasonable base spread to it. If you jack this thing up to full height though you’ll definitely want to weigh it down with some sandbags or something similar up to about 8ft the legs will give you good stability.
Jumping back to my story about Austria quickly, you can see the 13′ stand in use in the background of this image that I shot. In this case, I was holding up an Elinchrom Ranger Head, probably about 10 or 11ft off the ground. This image was actually the winning image in the photo contest that I was taking part in there and I put the height of this stand to good use!
I tend to be pretty rough on my light stands, they don’t stay in a studio. They get strapped to backpacks and skied around mountains, they get thrown in piles in the back of my pickup truck when I’m heading out to shoot and they rattle around in cases in the bottom of aeroplanes. If it can last a couple of months of that kind of abuse then it’ll stay with me a lot longer. The Impact stand past with flying colours and has become my ‘A’ stand that I choose above all others. Primarily for its excellent height to weight ratio. It’s also air cushioned so if you loosen the screws too quickly it will gently lower itself and not trap your fingers. I used to recommend a specific Induro light stand to people when they asked what I prefer for my big lights in an outdoor environment, but I wouldn’t hesitate to point them in this direction. Again for the price, I think you’re getting a very good deal.