Matthews Super II crank stand slipping under load.

A Matthews Super II crank stand slipping under the weight of an Arri 12/18 Fresnel fixture, (175+ lbs) headed up on the stand. We had to tie the handle with sash cord when the light was cranked up to working height.

The Super II was a horrible replacement for the original Matthews Super Crankovator, which had its own issues but was still a better design.

The supposed selling point of the Super II was that the crank mechanism had few moving parts, and didn't bind up if cranked up with no load (which was true), a hallmark of the original design.

The Super II has only one short brace that joins two of the legs together for stability while the original had two long braces that locked all three legs together.

Nothing about the Super 2 feels stable, with the legs having plenty of play between them and the small single brace that does not feel like it will connect securely to the other leg.

I would take an old school crankovator over the Super II any day, PROVIDED NO Roadrunner stand (by American Grip) was available.