This light stand is very useful. It folds down fairly small (though not as small as the compact double fold types) and is reasonably light. It is easy to sling it over your shoulder in the case, and an excellent addition to any photographer's kit.
I wouldn't recommend this for anything heavy, such as a monolight or big softboxes, but for hot shoe flashes and umbrellas it does the job very well. If you're using it outside with modifiers such as umbrellas, weight down the base with something heavy, like your camera bag, or the slightest breeze will send it crashing to the ground!
GRIPES:
The plastic buckle on the case broke immediately, but after I repaired the strap it works fine. I attribute the problem to a bad sample, but nonetheless the quality of the case is not brilliant. Despite this, for my quick location kit, I can fit the stand plus an umbrella and swivel bracket into the case without problems.
You need to keep the provided plastic cap, or a substitute, on top of the light stand stud whenever you put it in the case, or it will wear a hole in it in no time at all. On the other hand, while my case has a small hole in the end, it causes no problems and shows no signs of getting bigger.
CONCLUSION:
Overall I recommend this product. Unless you need something very tall, or something to hold a large monolight or softbox, this light stand will do the job for you. The only problems I found were with the case, and both were easily fixable and preventable once you know. At this price, long-term build quality does not matter, but I've had it for about a year and had no problems with the stand itself.