Topic: Help with stands? Lowel omni stand, anyone?

[blindcan]

Anybody have experience with these stands? This one looks like it has most of the features I desire (lightweight, fairly compact, 8-9' height, small footprint). I don't like are the yellow collars, but that's nothing a can of black spray paint couldn't fix.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=1366&A=details&Q=&sku=32101&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
It's a little more than I wanted to spend, but it fits my needs. plus, the suggested retail is $100, so $65 seems reasonable. There's a better picture on the Lowel page:
http://www.lowel.com/stands_poles.html
I read through an earlier thread on the Savage LSC8 stand, which is considerably cheaper.
http://www.adorama.com/SALSC8.html
I see at least one person picked that one up.
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,71184.0.html
How is that working out? It seems to have similar specs to the Lowel, but maybe not as well made?
My 3rd option is the Smith-Victor 8' stand. In between the other 2 in price, and otherwise fits the bill. Haven't seen them discussed much here.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=1366&A=details&Q=&sku=114161&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
Thanks for any input. I gotta get me a stand to replace my clunky On-stage mic stand with boom pronto!

[blindcan]

Well I went for the Smith-Victor stand, which is fine except for the fact that it is not 8 feet. At full extension it is only 7.5 feet. This is interesting because S-V makes a 7.5 foot stand.
http://www.smithvictor.com/products/detail.asp?prodid=548&id=25&pid=5&s1=Supports&s2=Light+Stands&nm=RAVEN+RS75
Mine has a sticker that says Raven RS8 on it, however, and its folded length matches that of the 8 foot stand. So I wonder how tall the 7.5 foot stand is?
I'd really like to have at least 8 full feet, so now I am now spending way too much time trying to figure out which stand to exchange it for, going so far as to generate an  Excel table with all the stats for various stands and trying to figure the optimal blend of height, folded size, weight, price, and other features. I would go with the S-V 10' stand, but its footprint is much larger than the "8-foot."

I think i'll go with the Lowel Omni 9' stand. I'll let you know how I like it.

blind