The most important aspect of a musical instrument stand is stability. Sooner or later a 2 legged or 4 legged friend will risk tipping over the stand. Manufacturers tried to solve this problem by designing 3 leg tripod stands and later 4 or 5 spider leg stands. With no real low and heavy center of gravity between 2 adjacent legs they can still tip.
Herb Blayman, legendary clarinetist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra addressed this problem by designing a stand from 1/2″ solid plate steel. But I love the forgiveness and beauty of wood. So I designed a platform stand from thick hardwood to add some weight and a simple industrial looking edge treatment like flat steel.
Recently Heritage Music Products developed a line of single, double and triple instrument stands from beautiful hard rock maple. They are heavier than walnut but not as heavy as steel. Great for pit work, orchestra work or music studios.