Manfrotto 023 10 lbs Counterweight,Orange: Stability Booster for Camera Equipment Review

What can I say. It's heavy enough to be an effective counterbalance on the outrigger post, tightens well, and is bright red in color so I and others don't stumble upon it.

As someone trying to save money by not buying any of these weights, I broke a $40 softbox and a $40 flashbulb. Just buy this weight. By attaching boom stands etc. you save money in the long run.

I got tired of using sandbags and bought them with my Manfrotto barbell. This is a required item! Provides just the amount of counterbalance needed when supporting strobes and light boxes from the end of a 6ft boom. Easily slides up and down the boom and stays in place when tightened.

These things are a must if you work on lamp posts or poles even in sparsely populated areas. Every lighting stand I own has one semi-permanently attached. The handle is a nice touch as we used to need a socket wrench to put them on and off the stands.

This is an excellent weight for C-pillars as all of the weight is on each of the wearer's legs, including the shortest. The only negative for me is that the handle threading doesn't match the expected 1/4-20. This is an odd size that doesn't come with a grommet and other hardware so can't be adjusted to hang from a carabiner.

I have an Avenger boom that always has a proto light head or equivalent. Without this counterweight, the arrow would be useless. The counterweight balances the flash head so objects fall anywhere. I also have a C tripod and a regular tripod. I have 4 of these in total. 2 of these were bought in 2012 and still work great. If you have an arrow, you need that weight on it.

When I first got my hands on this counterweight I thought it might be overkill for my purpose. I have at most 2 580EX II flashes and a softbox at the end of the boom which is a 3 piece Manfrotto 420CSU combo rod stand with sandbag replacing the 3399 which is a fairly heavy rod stand. My setup is good and makes the stand solid. The counterweight itself attaches and moves very easily and stays in place once bolted on. Please note that it is orange, not red as in the photo.

This counterweight does exactly what it's supposed to do. I chose it over others that cost a lot less because others didn't have rubber inside the V to protect the posts from damage or scratches. I love working with a pen similar to my Paul C. Buff Einstein pen. I would give it 5 stars but the protective rubber piece I mentioned is only on the V. It is not on the inside of the top black clip. I've ordered the exact same counterweight again if that helps.