I am looking to purchase a support system for tier cakes.  I did a search online and it came up with this Stress Free system.  I am wondering if anyone has tried it and the pros and cons of using it.  I had read on this forum about the SPS system but when I read the comments of people saying they found the plastic legs had cracked or splintered at the ends, that really made me concerned about using that.  If the supports cracked, not only could the cake fall but also pieces of it could get into the cake.  I also read about using a homemade system with a metal flange in the base board of the cake and running PVC pipe though all the tiers.  I'm so confused on which system is the best to use.

I've used SPS for a decade.  An occasional end will crack but its doesn't happen often enough to worry about.  Really, its more likely to happen if you try to reuse the legs.  They're disposable, so don't reuse.

The SPS is the same as the Stress Free System?  When I looked at the video of the Stress Free System, it was made with metal rings and legs that screwed on.  I thought the SPS system had plastic plates and plastic legs that you cut or the come pre-made to a certain length instead of screwing them on to the right length.

I thought the PVC pipes are food grade since they carry water into homes.  If they aren't food grade, I have a big question about that to Bronwen Weber.  I bought her Caddywampus cake system and paid big bucks for it and she uses PVC pipes in it.  I wouldn't think that a famous cake designer would use something that is not safe. 

The inner part of the pipe that transports water meets food-grade standards. But the outsides are a different composition; and these are certainly not meant to be cut crosswise and inserted into food. Everyone has their own standard, so I don't know about Bronwen Weber or any other cake designer and what they use. But just like with "non-toxic" cake decorations which are not intended for eating (and are illegal in several states), many famous people still use those items on their cakes and cupcakes.   

I have used the Stress Free Support System on one cake. I usually use bubble tea straws, but this particular cake was going to be very heavy, so I bought the Stress free.

I like the support it provided and it was very easy to use. It is expensive, so I took a refundable deposit for the full amount plus shipping and also added a rental fee to my pricing. (The rental fee was built in to my pricing, so the customer didn't really know that was happening.)

The only thing I didn't like about it is that it sits on top of the cake instead of flush with the cake. When I cut tea straws they are flush with the cake, so I can go without a border if I want to. The metal ring sat on top of the fondant covered cake, leaving a 1/8" gap between my tiers. I ended up putting a ribbon around  the base, so it was no big deal, but my original cake design did not have a border on the 2 supported tiers.

I had been debating between this system and SPS and the reason I bought this one was because I use a Cake Safe to deliver my cakes and the metal rings made it possible to use the extra support plus the Cake Safe. SPS would have required me to drill a hole in the plates to use the Cake Safe, which defeats the purpose of having the little spike in the middle of the plate to help hold the cake in place.

I will only be using the Stress Free system if I have a really large cake again. I don't see the point in something so expensive for small cakes, plus I detest taking a deposit and having to retrieve stuff back from a customer.