ESP Stage Stand Set

How well is it built?

The outer of each stand is hard-anodised aluminium, and the extending inner is solid carbon, which is much the same pairing ESP uses on its 12mm bank sticks.

Hard anodising gives the aluminium a tough, corrosion-resistant skin, and a solid carbon inner should stay stiff without adding bulk. The foot plate is wide-diameter stainless steel, so the part that sits on wet timber all day shouldn't rust.

A captive thumb screw locks the extension, and because it's captive it stays with the stand instead of dropping through a gap in the boards. That's a small detail, but it's exactly the kind that matters on a platform.

To be fair, the Korda Singlez Stage Stand is the tougher all-stainless option, made by JAG to a high standard. For a lighter mix of aluminium, carbon and stainless, though, I think the ESP earns its 8.5, and it's built to stand up to years of use on wooden stages.

Stability & Footing

This is where the set earns its place. The wide stainless foot plate replaces the pointed end of a normal bankstick, so each stand sits flat on the boards with plenty of surface contact and grip.

Wood screws are supplied to fix the stands in place on platforms or jetties, which should stop them shifting when you set the rods or strike.

Some fisheries won't want screws in their stages, so it's worth checking first, but where you can fix them down, a screwed stand is about as solid as platform bankware gets.

Once the captive thumb screw is locked, the carbon inner and anodised outer should stay rigid, and the short stands keep the alarms low and steady.

The Korda Singlez Stage Stand is the alternative if you already use Singlez, with a wide stainless base that takes Korda's uprights. On bare timber, though, I think screwing down is the most secure way to go, and the 8.5 reflects that.

Ease of Use

Setting up should be simple. You screw the stands down, extend the solid carbon inner to the height you want and lock it with the captive thumb screw.

The 4in stands extend to 5¼in and the 6in stands to 9in, and you can place them at the front or back to set the rods tips-up or tips-down.

The screwdriver comes in the set, so you won't be hunting for a tool on the platform. Because there's a foot plate in place of a point, there's nothing sharp to snag a carryall or an unhooking mat when the stands are packed away.

The captive thumb screw is easy to find and turn, so changing the height once a stand is fixed should be quick.

Is there a downside? Screwing each stand in takes longer than pushing a stick into soft ground, and the short lengths mean you'll still need normal banksticks for bank swims. Once they're down, though, they're easy to adjust, and I think the 8.3 is a fair mark.

Is it good value for money?

It's a little dearer than the Korda Singlez Stage Stand, but the ESP set doesn't tie you to one system, and the extending stands, wood screws and screwdriver all come together.

That makes it a self-contained answer to platform fishing, which I think is worth a small premium if you fish stages a lot.

For the money, you get anodised aluminium outers, solid carbon inners, stainless foot plates and captive locking thumb screws, all of which point to kit that should last.

It isn't something you'll use every session unless your venue has plenty of platforms, so the value really depends on how often you meet them. For me, the 8.3 is fair, as it's well made and complete, but it's a specialist set you won't need on every water.

Overall, I'd recommend the ESP Stage Stand Set to carp anglers who regularly fish wooden platforms, stages or jetties and want a secure, screw-down set of stands for their alarms and rear rests.