Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After reading several other reviews, I had to update mine. As a mechanical engineer for over 35 years, I'd like to make a couple of observations about this stool's claimed 440 pound load rating. If you'll note, the company asserts that the stool is built to Acko standards. No mention is made if any Acko's standards concern safety. Having a company police its own safety standards is not recommended. This is why agencies like Underwriter's Laboratories (UL) exist. To act as an independent voice. As for the 440 pound load rating....... Most likely this rating is known as a static load rating. That means the company carefully (emphasis on careful) loaded 440 pounds slowly and carefully onto the exact center of the stool and spread the load over the entire top surface of the step / seat. Add the additional stress of a person placing a much more concentrated load (such as a foot) on a much smaller area and the Acko's test becomes invalid. How long the 400 load is maintained is not specified. Real word, you and I climb a stool much differently. We put all of our weight on a single leg. Where our foot is placed is the critical question. At a corner? In the handle at the center? That's most likely a much different scenario than the company's test. I weigh 220 Lbs and agree with the other 1 Star users. I noted the hinges at leg corners starting to unzip / open. This was with only me sitting on the stool. Didn't ever trust the stool enough to step on it. The stool is now in the recycle bin (plastic of course !). Recommend that this item be pulled from Amazon.