Made of metal, it's beefy, and sturdy once set up. The clip on the bottom that keeps it from folding in on itself; is a little tricky to set, and not super intuitive, the first time you use it. But it's easy once you figure it out. It folds over and clips to a metal rod which prevents it from folding back up. The real problem is this things weighs a lot. If you are using it for a tradeshow, it costs a small fortune to ship it, or is pretty heavy to carry. If it was just if it was lighter it would be perfect. Maybe if the shelf parts where metal + plastic so it wasn't ALL metal it would be lighter and just as study?