I use the mini bogen for fob/section and stage lip. Works well in all three situations. When opened up, it's about 3' at the smallest and probably 7 at the highest. Very unobrusive. If I was doing only stage lip, I'd hacksaw the vox mic stand like Moke does. The kick drum stands I've used always seem like they would be unstable if knocked. The boom stand cut in half would be more stable in my opinion.