I have had this for several years now, and once you put it together once or twice, it's easy! I actually bought an "extender" from Petersen which allows me to stand rather than sit at a gig. When you're taking the bus or the train, this is the perfect accessory. I also have the travel bag which is great for holding tuners, cork grease, extra strings, pencils, etc. You get the idea. I have a little arthritis in my hands, so I always keep one of those rubber "lid grippers" in the travel bag so I can grasp and tighten the coneectors securely when setting up or taking down the stand. I've used this outside many times. Only once, on a really windy day, did it give me a little scare. I noticed other players with Manhasset metal stands were having similar trouble that day. I don't play from huge fake books that weigh alot, so I haven't had a problem with music being too heavy like someone else reported here.

The P2K is the best folding music stand that my son has ever had! It is light weight and easy to set-up, but it is also very sturdy and stable. It is compact, easy to carry,and looks sleek and professional on stage. I would also recommend getting the carrying bag that is available to go with this stand.

This stand is a good compromise between a wire stand and an orchestral stand. If you play outdoors, you probably won't want this stand. Its a bit light and unstable if there is a lot of vibration and wind. If you play indoors in one place a lot, then don't get this stand. You would probably be better with a slightly less portable, more stable stand like the Voyager. What this stand is good for though is if you really really really have to move around a lot, but don't like flimsy wire stands. Its quite a good compromise between the two. Look at it as a much much more stable and equally portable "wire stand" but not as stable as an orchestral stand.I would have liked a single-piece tripod type setup for the legs, rather than 3 separate pieces that lock onto the pole, but its okay.

The bottom line, in answer to others, the only stand sturdy enough for outdoors is one of those heavy duty Manhasset or other heavy stands, which of course, are not very portable nor fold down. Even a solid wooden stand will be blown over and the Manhasset would recover better, albeit scratch up instruments pretty bad. I had a cheap metal folding stand and was mortified when it (being inherently unstable) fell over in my house from the weight of my music and SCRATCHED my beautiful new $6000 wood harp. I vowed to never let a metal stand near my harp, not even a Manhasset. So I was interested when I read about the Petersen. I bought two and am amazed. It is affordable, the base is sturdy, it has locking knobs on both sides to lock desk flat. Remember to loosen when you fold up. You can write on your music on it because it's a flat surface. You can't do that with metal folding stand. It will hold a light and the tube extends way up. I found out by accident as there are metal locking pins for standing musicians. I just discovered the metal desk extenders today. Nothing else portable matches these features. If it were to fall over, it won't damage my harp unless driven by tornado winds or severely overloaded. A folding tripod base as mentioned by another would only be another part to break, raise the price, and would provide a weak point. As with any plastics, don't over tighten the knobs or leave near a heat source and it will last a very very long time. I didn't know there were cases. That's a nice thing.

I think the Peterson stands are a wonderful product for the seated musician traveling on gigs, but for performers who wish to stand while playing, the stands do not accommodate anyone exceeding 4' in height. I have handled the stands for years and love their sturdiness and general design, but have always been frustrated with their height restrictions.