I got this item because we have had a 10-12 foot Xmas tree for several years and I was uncomfortable with the medium duty tree stand we had been using for smaller trees in a previous house. This stand appears extremely sturdy, made from heavy steel. We got a 12 foot Alpine fir which is fairly slender (3.25 inch diameter trunk). It probably weighs less than 50 lbs. There are four heavy duty eye-bolts that screw into the trunk to support it. Each eye-bolt has about 3/4 inch diameter flange on the end (as opposed to a pointed end). It is a good system for supporting the tree in the stand. In my case the tree trunk was almost too small because the eye-bolts were almost completely screwed in before contacting the tree trunk and then the eye-bolts went into the trunk about 1/4 inch. This was probably due to the relative smallness of the tree trunk, not any design flaw. In any case this tree stand supports the 12 foot tree much better than my previous stand. I can't comment on the durability of the stand due to the short time I've used it but it seems like it will last many years.