Weight for light stands?

[Redneck]

My heart stood still for a second when one of my AlienBees flipped over during an outdoor shoot a couple of days ago. Luckily it survived with a few scratches.

What do you use to put some more weight on your light stand when shooting outdoors? What is most practical?

[ldelacruz]

I strap my Vagabond to the lowest point possible. I also never use an umbrella, either bare bulb or softboxes.

[RKDauph]

Walmart leg weights in the sports department. 12lbs x 2 for $5-6. And they have velcro.

[KenJulio]

You could order this sandbag for 8.99, then run down to your local hardware store for some pea gravel for like 4-5 a bag.

TexasPhotoForum.com: Photography: ePhoto Photography Studio Stage Film Light stand Sandbag HEAVYDUTY SADDLE BAG SAND BAG HOLDS MAX WEIGHT 18 LBS by ePhoto INC YELSANDBAG

Vigoro 0.5 cu. ft. Decorative Stone Pea Pebbles - 40206018 at The Home Depot

[Redneck]

Thanks, great replies.
@Lonnie
I'm getting the Vagabond Mini which won't provide enough weight, I guess.

@Ray
That sounds promising and practical. I'll look for it next time I go to WM.

@Ken
Good recommendation, too. Thanks y'all.

[danchez]

fill some empty milk cartons with sand. Built in handle for easy carrying, take some bungee cords with you to wrap around the light stand. Another idea that I have, but haven't tried yet. take some fence posts with you, drive them into the ground a foot or so and bungee it to your light stand. Of course this depends on where you are shooting(soil vs concrete), how long you will be there, how windy it is etc etc. Someone needs to come up with a light stand that has built in spikes that can deploy when necessary and you just step on them to drive them into the ground.

[groovyone]

Originally Posted by RKDauph

Walmart leg weights in the sports department. 12lbs x 2 for $5-6. And they have velcro.

That is what I am using. Strap one on the two "back" legs and have one leg forward.

[49884]

Originally Posted by RKDauph

Walmart leg weights in the sports department. 12lbs x 2 for $5-6. And they have velcro.

+1 that's what I use

[STP Images]

If you have ever purchased an EZ-UP awning, they come with heavy duty weight bags with a gussetted boss for a clip. I have two EZ-UP awnings from my racing days and took the bags and filled them with aqarium gravel. Each of the four bags weighs 10 pounds and I purchased some $5.00 carbiners from Whole Earth Provisions on Shepherd. I then hang the bags from the light stand adjusters by the carbiners. Cheap, easy to transport and we used all four of them in the "wind tunnel" of Harlingen TX the last two days. Had steady 25 mph wind and gusts to 40 and didn't have a light stand even THINK about tipping over.

[ldelacruz]

Originally Posted by Redneck

Thanks, great replies.
@Lonnie
I'm getting the Vagabond Mini which won't provide enough weight, I guess.

@Ray
That sounds promising and practical. I'll look for it next time I go to WM.

@Ken
Good recommendation, too. Thanks y'all.

The mini won't but my Vagabond II works like a charm. I don't gave to have an assistant on most days.

[andyz]

In another thread some months or years ago, I mentioned I filled a few of those cheap zip up bags you get at conferences with sand. They zip close, they have straps to secure them and some are creased automatically in the middle. I actually put the sand in gallon bags, secure them with duct tape, and put them in the conference bags. They work well and are "free" plus the sand.

[L Stegall]

I like the ankle weights as well - got some @ Target and they wrap around the base and weight it down. Easy to lug around, inexpensive, simple.

[MT Stringer]

I think I have some of all of the above. Two sand bags made of canvas filled with play sand (in zip lock bags).

Two cotton hand bags from the craft department each of which has a ten pound barbell weight inside. I used a tie wrap to keep the bag from coming open and hang it on the light stand by the handle.

And a couple of leg weights that work well also.

At one event, I just hung my gadget bag on the stand. Heck it had a couple of super clamps, a 50 foot extension cord and a few other things (duck tape!) so it was plenty heavy to stabilize the light stand.

[Anthony Martinez]

A folding shovel (the Army didn't take one of the ones they issued back, so I use it), a ball of parachute cord (550 cord), a few tent stakes, and an empty sandbag or three are all you'll ever need to secure lighting devices in almost any situation you're likely to encounter. All of that together weighs maybe 7lbs total. You can use the shovel to drive stakes, and 550 cord to anchor things. Or you can use the shovel to fill sandbags on location and then dump them back out so you're not carrying around the weight of a filled sandbag everywhere you go. Gives you options. The 550 cord can also come in handy for suspending diffusion sheets or pretty much anything else between two objects.

[Wendy]

Ankle weights work like a charm for me and are very easy to velcro onto the legs of the stands.