I've been using my new lightstands for a couple of weeks now. I'm impressed them for the price, but remember that, it's based on the price. They're lightweight and relatively easy, but a bit slow to put up and very, very basic.

Specifications

The stands are the Konig KN-LS10. They have a centre column supported by tripod legs with bracing. The legs fold back onto the centre column reducing the packed length to just over 80cm. Fully extended and they reach to 2m.

I was using a cheap ebay flash/umbrella ball head on the top of each stand. This sticks out the top of the bag but that's not a major headache when they'll spend most travelling time in a car.

Stiff Joints

The only concern in setting-up was that the leg joints felt stiff when opening them, resulting in some flex in the legs themselves. This hasn't bent them, but over time it may. Hopefully, the joints will slacken allowing for easier opening before any bending occurs. Actually I'll probably pre-empt that by seeing if I can lubricate or loosen the joints safely. From what I can see, it would be better if the bracing on the legs were smooth moving and the where the legs attach to the centre column should be stiffer.

Vertical Extension only

I'm missing having a boom arm so now the bottom-outside edge of reflectors can catch against the upright tube when I want to angle the flash down. I guess that's common with all lightstands that only extend vertically. Using a different flash bracket could help achieve a better angle, but only slightly. Ideally it would need a boom arm.

Max Weight

The stands are rated as safe for supporting 2.5kg. That really isn't much, but in essence it should hold a speedlight plus any basic modifier I'd want to add it to. I'd worry about adding a large softbox, partly due to the additional mass but also due to the angle at which that force would be applied. There's no counterbalance on these stands.

With or without sandbags

Whatever is added on top, these stands are so lightweight that their stability would really benefit from a sandbag or two. I'd quite happily use them without sandbags indoors with umbrellas as long as I was sure that nobody would knock them. Any chance of that happening (and if we're being realistic, there's nearly always that chance), then I'd weigh them down. Outside, I'd be happy using them without sandbags but only with just a flash head and no modifiers. That's what I'd use them for, but if I had to advise anyone about them, I'd say always use sandbags.

Conclusion

Overall, I'm glad I purchased these, especially at the price. These stands should be the benchmark for budget stands. I really can't imagine them being my main stands in future, they'll do adequately for now and will be my backups later on.

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