Retractable belt barrier stanchion base types (and why your stanchion base matters)

Article published on Jul 28, 2021

Retractable belt barrier stanchions are the convenient crowd control stanchions which include a retractable belt cassette at the top for belt barriers which easily retract or extend as needed. These are among the most popular of the various stanchion types (which you can read more about here.)

But this specific type of crowd control stanchion comes with its own variations as well, varying in belt length, post width, color, and base type. In this post, we'll talk about the different retractable belt barrier base types specifically and which base types matter for which use-cases.

Retractable Belt Barrier Stanchion Base Types

Retractable belt barrier stanchions typically come with one of the following base types, though other types may be available for sale elsewhere:

Standard Base

Retractable belt barrier stanchions with standard, sloped bases are often sufficient for general crowd control uses. While their bases are thicker than the low-profile bases, the slope helps to minimize the occurrence of trip and fall accidents.

At Crowd Control Warehouse, our standard sloped bases are made from concrete to provide weighted stability, then covered with a metal cover to match the appropriate stanchion post finish. Rubber floor protectors are also added to the bottom of the base to help prevent scuffing along floor surfaces.

These standard base stanchions may be find in libraries, universities, shopping centers, and more.

Low-profile Base

Low profile bases are heavy enough and cover a large enough diameter to provide ample stability to the stanchion base, however they are less than an inch thick (5/8 of an inch in this case) making it even less likely for pedestrians to trip and fall, and creating even less of an interruption for foot traffic.

These stanchions with low-profile bases may be particularly useful in places with a high volume of foot traffic like airports, conference halls, and more.

Rolling Base

Rolling base stanchions are quite similar to stanchions with low-profile bases, but there are wheels attached to one side for easy portability. Some refer to this single wheeled base as a "tip-and-roll" base since it allows you to easily tip the stanchion to the side and roll it along the single wheel to move it in and out of storage.

The easy portability of this stanchion base type makes it idea for any setting where crowd control needs may change from day to day or event to event. For instance these may be common in schools and universities, conference halls, music venues, and more.

Cast-iron Base

Stanchions with cast-iron bases have many of the same benefits of the standard concrete base with the metal cover, however the cast iron provides even more durability. While concrete may have an eventual risk of cracking with heavy use in industrial environments, cast iron offers more durability.

This kind of stanchion base may be more common in industrial settings like warehouses and factories.

Water-fillable Base

Water-fillable bases are convenient because they start out with simple hollow plastic bases which can be filled with water or sand to add weight for stability. This makes it extremely easy to carry the stanchions from site to site.

While less durable than the cast-iron base stanchions, the convenience of lightweight portability and the low-cost of the simple plastic base makes these popular for construction sties or work sites.

Rubber Base (with handles)

Much like cast-iron base stanchions and water-fillable stanchions, rubber base stanchions are also popular for industrial environments or even outdoor worksites. This is because the rubber base is extremely durable and even weather-resistant. The rubber has a sloping shape which makes it impact-resistant for instance in the presence of construction machinery.

The rubber base is also designed with handles for easy portability. This is helpful since the rubber is a heavier base option than the water-fillable option above.

This option is particularly common on construction sites, even outdoor construction sites.

Many people choose to mount their retractable belt barrier stanchions directly to the floor instead. Here are some of the mountable stanchion types:

Fixed Base	Fixed base stanchions completely eliminate foot-traffic interruption by mounting the stanchion directly to the ground, without a base to prop it up in a free-standing manner. This is best used in venues where permanent crowd control structures make sense, for instance airports with fixed check in areas or staff-only areas.
Fixed/Removable Base	Like the fixed base above, this stanchion eliminates trip and fall hazards by fixing the stanchion directly to the floor. However, the use of a base insert means this stanchion can be fixed into place, or removed and sealed with a cap when stanchions are no longer needed. This is useful when crowd control needs change seasonally.