American manufacturer Matthews has just introduced their latest heavy-duty light stand: the Air Climber. With a maximum height of 25ft/7.62m, this first pneumatic/mechanical light stand from Matthews can take payloads up to 200lbs/90kg! So let’s take a closer look at it!
When you hear Matthews Studio Equipment, synonyms that come to filmmakers’ minds are usually “high-quality, heavy-duty and reliable” pieces of equipment. Indeed, the American manufacturer has been the grip equipment industry standard for more than 50 years.
Lately, MSE launched the Steady Rest slider support and the BM1 Astera/Aputure bulb mount. In addition, the company is back in the light stand market with its latest 25 feet Air Climber pneumatic/mechanical stand.
Matthews Air Climber features
The Matthews Air Climber is a pneumatic/mechanical light stand made for the big boys, with impressive specifications:
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- It has a minimum height of 6.5ft/1.98m and a maximum height of 25ft/7.62m.
- The payload capacity can go up to 200lbs/91kg.
- The Air Climber weighs 475lbs/215kg.
As you can tell, this is not a light stand you’ll put in your car’s trunk. Instead, to make your life easier, the Air Climber comes with a large (5 x 5’/1.52 x 1.52m) leveling dolly platform that supports the telescoping column/mast.
The platform has four telescoping legs so that the footprint can be extended to 8′ x 8’/2.4 x 2.4m for extra stability. Also, there are four heavy-duty jacks with 14″/35.5cm reach to level out the platform.
Once the Air Climber is in place and level, you can install the removable 8-section telescoping handle. Then, put your light into the stand, connect the Air Climber to an air compressor, and raise it to the top via a regulator switch!
You’ll find seven locking collars with tension control and a frictional locking system for each section on the mast. To lock the telescoping column at the desired height, all you have to do is turn the handgrip clockwise. In addition, each riser tube can be locked in intermediate positions for extra precision.
You’ll find a pan ring on the mast to rotate the entire fixture on top of the Air Climber. It saves you a lot of time as you don’t need to lower the system completely.
Price and availability
There is currently no information regarding the price nor availability of the Matthews Air Climber. We’ll update this article once we learn more about it. However, these specific light stands are usually purchased by rental houses only, and they don’t come at an “affordable” price.
For more information, please visit Matthews’ website here.
Do you often need to put HMI or LED lights in very high positions? Do you already use telescopic light stands? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!
