Which Jack Stands Brand Wins?

steel (thinnest), 5.2 lb, height range 11.3 to 16.8 in, side-to-side wobble just over 0.5 in at max height; adequate but not excellent welds, one stand has an uneven leg length

steel (about 25% thicker than Apex Extreme), 6.97 lb, side-to-side wobble 0.35 in, legs mostly even; heavier, more durable welds than Apex Extreme

steel, just over 7 lb, side-to-side wobble 0.478 in; welds much better than Apex Extreme, leg length a little off on both stands

steel, just over 7 lb, side-to-side wobble 0.4 in; one stand has a leg length off by about 1/8 inch and lower weld quality on that stand

steel, 8.21 lb, side-to-side wobble 0.39 in; welds better than some other brands, both stands close to proper leg length; one stand's ratchet bar got stuck in the unlock position out of the box, flagged as a quality-control issue

steel, 7.3 lb, height range 11.25 to 16.875 in, side-to-side wobble 0.28 in (best of the brands covered to that point); very good weld quality, both stands very close to perfect leg length

steel (thickest of the brands covered to that point), 6.58 lb (relatively light), side-to-side wobble 0.14 in (tied best to that point); pretty good welds, first brand tested with no leg-length discrepancy at all

aluminum construction (unlike the other steel brands), 4.19 mm wall thickness, 4.1 lb (very light, claimed 50% lighter), side-to-side wobble 0.14 in (tied with Pro Lift); one leg on both stands is a little too short

aluminum construction, just over 5 lb, side-to-side wobble 0.083 in (best of all brands, very good build); bottom of the stand is perfectly flat

steel (thickest in the lineup), just about 9 lb (heaviest), side-to-side wobble 0.58 in; very good welds, all four legs make contact with the table at once

mechanical failure at just over 9,200 lb; the pawl in the handle assembly was pressed outward from the main body

reached about 17,840 lb before beginning to bend; the test was stopped at that point to avoid damaging the test equipment

reached 15,500 lb before the ratchet bar began bending; the main body remained functional

reached about 10,300 lb before the handle shaft holding the pawl broke

briefly surpassed 17,000 lb before the leg and ratchet bar began to buckle; ended the test visibly damaged ('blew a smoke ring')

tested WITH the locking pin in place this time; briefly reached just over 11,000 lb before yielding; the ratchet bar bent and lost a tooth

legs began to collapse under load at around 11,300 lb; the ratchet bar also began bending

reached a little over 9,400 lb before the top of the ratchet bar broke into several pieces

reached just over 17,000 lb before getting crushed under load, with major damage to the stand and locking pin

reached around 12,240 lb before the ratchet shaft pushed the pawl outward and downward

the vehicle's back wheel contacted the jack stand during the test and bent it badly

no damage to either stand

(3rd overall on concrete, behind US Jack's 231 and Big Red's 206)

width of the stand put it at a disadvantage versus several other brands

gave up early at 168.5 lb

aided by a wider base than many other brands

(2nd overall behind US Jack)

press pin sheared at 315 lb of upward force (tested on a fresh press pin after the bent stand was straightened)

skipped, does not have a traditional jack stand handle

press pin sheared as designed at around 210 lb, described as a good safety design

press pin sheared at around 183 lb, described as good safety design

tested deliberately without relying on its double locking safety pin; the press pin broke at 214 lb as designed

SAFETY FINDING: tested deliberately without the safety pin; unlike other brands, the press pin did NOT shear as designed, and the jack stand instead collapsed at around 240 lb of upward force. The reviewer explicitly recommends always using the locking pins to prevent this.

SAFETY FINDING: tested deliberately without the safety pin, following the same pattern as the Daytona; collapsed at 212 lb rather than the press pin shearing safely. The transcript also notes its safety pin lacks a keeper pin and can easily fall out of position on its own.

press pin sheared at 150 lb, described as good safety design

press pin sheared at just under 200 lb, described as no safety issues

one stand was badly damaged during this test

(2nd place at that point in testing)

(2nd place at that point in testing)

very close to 250 lb

(2nd overall behind US Jack)

a 30% decrease from the concrete result, attributed to thin sheet metal sinking into the rubber mat

only a 0.8 lb drop from the concrete result, called 'very impressive'

gave up early

(3rd place at that point in testing)

about the same as the Daytona

(2nd place)

(about an extra inch of clearance versus Apex Extreme)

(stated at various points in the transcript as 17.5, 17.6, and 17.63 in; the final recap figure of 17.63 in is used here)

(same as Apex Extreme, but much thicker steel)

lower than most competitors, which the transcript notes helped some of its later results

about an inch lower than most of the competition

the highest of all brands, offering 2.5 to 3 inches more lift than most competitors