K&M Ruka Ultra Lightweight Music Stand Black

The measure of usefulness of a lightweight music stand is its stability and ease of set up. This stand weights only 1.3 pound (0.6 kg) so it is ultra lightweight. I have pulled the stems and the bookholder to about 4.5 ft (1.4 m) high and put a 2.5 pound (more than 1 kg) heavy music book on the stand. It is still relatively stable. Stems pulled at full length, when the music book is opened to one side, say page 1 (i.e. the weight of the book is on the right hand side), the stems and book/sheet holder tend to bend slightly toward the right side, but not bad enough to cause to tilt. In a sit down position, where only one of the three sections of the stem is used, there is no issue at all. The ledge which hold the music book is 1.25 in (3.3 cm) wide. So it can easily hold an one-inch thick music book without slipping off. This is good compared to some other lightweight stands where the ledge width is less than one inch. The spread of the legs can be adjusted depending on the space available in front of the musician. Of course, the wider the spread of the legs, it is more stable. The base of the book holder is designed in such a way that the center of gravity of the music book (sitting on the book/sheet holder) is close to the vertical rods. This is in contrast to some other brands that the base of the sheet holder sits on an adjustable joint which is away from the vertical rod, making the music stand easy to tilt over. In terms of ease of setting up, it is intuitive and requires no instruction, although a graphical instruction is printed on the box. There are total of four thumb screws to make adjustments. It remains to be seen how long (or how many times of usage) the screws will hold tight. I will come back if I find reliability problems. The stand comes with a bag with a handle, but no shoulder straps. Since it is so light weight, I can hold the bag (with the stand in it) with my index finger on the handle. Hence it is not detrimental for lacking the shoulder strap. The bag is not made of heavy duty fabric. The legs of the music stand has rubber shoes at the end and they should not puncture the bag. Overall, I am happy with the purchase (considering quality, functionality, and price) and would recommend to others.

I bought this stand to use at various TubaChristmas events, and discovered that it is indeed very light. It's also as sturdy as the heavier folding music stands. When I carry me 'stuff' for TubaChristmas, I use a Santa bag, and didn't want something that would be too heavy and tear through the bag. Now my problem is remembering where I put it after last Christmas......

This stand is very lightweight, which I really appreciated on a band trip to Germany. It would be nice if it folded up smaller, similar to how a REAL K&M stand folds. This is most definitely NOT a K&M product. I’m surprised Amazon allows this deception.

Never thought I would get excited about a music stand but this one has me doing backflips!!! Well maybe not but it will certainly save me from many aches and pains. Extremely light and no skimping on quality. Worth every cent. I only wish I hadn't hesitated a week or so to purchase.

I just got this item here. This stand is really light, and it will be really good for my travels to various music festivals during the summer. HOWEVER, this is not a K&M product, even though the name of this product seems to suggest it is. Unlike on this webpage, the packaging that the music stand came in does not say "K&M" anywhere. K&M music stands are top-notch, very stable and sturdy. I bought this product because it was represented as a K&M product. While I am happy with the purchase and I am not returning it, I do feel deceived by the seller. For the product, it's a 4.5 star; for the lie, it's a 1 star. My impression is that Amazon is really incapable of policing merchants making false claims or selling fake products. Other than this one, I have had quite a few experiences in which the products just did not seem real or was subpar. Anyway, the product is good, but to those who are drawn to this product because it appears to be a K&M product, just know that it is not. K&M does not even have a line of products called "Ruka". See K&M's official website here: [...] . This is clearly a violation of K&M intellectual property right, and defrauding of consumers. Amazon should start policing false use of brands more effectively.

I needed a light weight stand and a bag to put it in. It fits easily in my harp bag. I have a 5' tall harp so moving it around can be a challenge. This stand is just what I needed. Easy to unfold, fold and store in the bag, transport and use. That is about 5 stars...

This stand is very light in weight, and if that is your primary concern that's good, but therein lies the rub. I believe the construction is all plastic, which of course results in the light weight. The trade-off is that to me it does not feel sturdy. The K&M Heavy Duty stand, about the same price, is significantly sturdier- but made of metal. I switched from a large binder to an ipad and thought this stand would work and be lighter to carry- but it is too flimsy in feel- not going to do it. I certainly would never put more than a few pages on it. Back to the K&M stand, which can hold a modest size binder with confidence. Yes, it is heavier, but significantly more sturdy. I would not use this lightweight stand for an ipad, nor for a binder or even a folder. In my experience it is useful only for a limited number of pages.

I ordered this stand a couple of years ago, and was extremely happy with it - it served me well and went everywhere with me to my gigs, and it was very sturdy yet incredibly lightweight and high quality. However, after finally breaking one of the bolts on the stand after a couple of years of abusing it with heavy binders, I ordered a replacement one recently - and received a completely different, cheaper, standard, heavy wire stand that was just shoved into the original packaging. The seller this time was called Etailz. If you buy this stand, I recommend that you click on the New and Used buying options, and purchase from the seller Sam Ash, who is the seller I originally bought this stand from the first time in 2014. I returned the crappy scam stand to Etailz, and have now received my second stand from Sam Ash (which is priced exactly the same), and now am once again in possession the original, awesome lightweight aluminum stand which I cannot recommend more to you. It's the best folding stand I've ever had. Just be mindful of who the seller is when purchasing.