Woodworking - nail gun, micro pinner

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I am simply amazed by this pinner. I have used many others with less features and the Grex p635 is a hands down winner. Few manufacturers offer a 23ga pinner as versatile as the P635 with the capability to shoot 3/8 to 1 3/8 pins and self adjusting to boot. No splitting of crown or delicate hardwood mouldings even within 1/8" of an end mitre. I have pretty much retired my 18ga brad nailer for high end trim in leu of the Grex P635. I am impressed with the holding power of the 23 ga pins in hardwood crown on cabinet installs. As a professional wood worker I highly recommend this pinner. Grex P635 23 Gauge 1-3/8-Inch Length Headless Pinner

I was introduced to this nail gun at my last job. Now that I am in business for myself, I had to get one. I have used the Senco and the Grex 23g micro pinners. The Sencos that we had at the shop hardly ever worked properly. They weren't self-adjusting, so changing nail lengths was a pain. And, the nail heads almost always stayed above the surface of the material. The Grex, however is self adjusting, and goes all the way from 1/4" to 1 3/8" nail lengths. Even in the hardest wood it always sinks the heads. The only time it hasn't was when I was shooting into maple at a harsh angle, or when the compressor didn't come back on and there wasn't enough pressure. Also, I have had the gun for 2 months and used it almost every work day since then, and I have only had one minor jam. Plus, just the fact that you don't have to fill every nail hole with putty makes this tool a life saver.

I purchased Senco, Porta-Cable, Bostitch, Omer, and Grex. Grex by far is the best! It doesn't jam, or break down. Very reliable and saves me money over the long run from not repairing it every week. Before the P635 my porta-cable and omer both gave me the biggest problems. The Grex gets into the corners and doesn't leave a mark into the finished product. I have owned them for 2 years and now getting one for my father. Also, I have been burned by the big auction web site(won't name names)trying to buy this tool.

(see revision below) I wasn't led astray by others who raved about this 23 gauge pinner. It saved the day as far as doing an intricate exterior Ipe handrail with polyurethane glue. No other brad or nailer would work except my old Senco 1/2 thru 3/4 inch pinner and it leaked and didn't have the power of this new one. With no time to use small screws and countersinks nor tenoning, I found that using toe nailed 23 guage pins with polyurethane glue really held together this hard-as-nails exterior hardwood.



The only small problem was when adding a new shank of pins to a nearly empty gun.. that when the previous shank was used up the new shank due to the smallest misalignment wouldn't pin.. .not a biggy..It just meant one had to very carefully load the pinner and make sure the same size of pins was in-line with the prior shank of pins. Very hard to tell if the gun is firing or not. But minor concerns with such a Great Tool! It's very powerful judging at the strength of penetration into a wood (Ipe) that is very close to being the hardest of woods. 18 guage would shatter and split the wood and only my battery actuated Dewalt 16 guage gun would consistantly penetrate but only at a right angle and with occasional splitting. Only 23 guage pins would toe nail w/o bouncing off.

Someone described this as the "Lexus of pinners". Seems very true. Also the extra finger safety 'flipper' was annoying and my helper just taped it to the handle as we found that it was more likely to accidently fire with the intricacy of manipulating the safety on than having it taped off (down). Works now very well. No hitches. Comes with the usual leaky bottle of oil..but not even one pin in the box. Make sure you order some if you don't have 'em when ordering this gun.



after a month or so...revised review. Now the Grex no longer shoots pin to the surface...pins are proud a good 1/16. Opened it up and the first part of the pin driver is shattered. Thus needing a new piston pin, Amazon does carry it. But was the wood too hard (Ipe) on the pinner or is it just a bad design? Remember my old Senco still shoots pins but only is a half through three quarter pinner. I'd have to demote Grex to two stars. The pin driver seems only meant for softer woods. Need to find paperwork as no local dealer sells Grex or contact manufacturer.

I like the Grex pin nailer but I would like to suggest to all of the tool manufacturers that the form fitting plastic storage case would be much more useful if they left enough room for storage of the supplies (pins).

After asking around on woodnet i found that this one is the only one that does not leave a small dent from the driving pin( at least in this price range)

the one drawback to all of these micro pinners is that you cant control the depth of the pin

it will never go more than about a 32nd into the wood

not quite enough for filler

You may not 'need' one of these pinners to do trim work. But, if you are looking for a tool to help you do quality work in an efficient fashion, you really should have one of these tools. When working with stained trim, you can pin outside miters together and then fasten the trim to the wall quickly without a split or having to fill holes. Painted trim does require touch up, however smaller holes means less work to conceal and the 23 gauge pinner still has the advantage of being able to pin the actual corners without having to pre-drill holes.

This is an excellent product, comes ready to use, and works perfectly. Quiet, light, and well made. Feels better than the Porter Cable I tried out, and extremely accurate. I used it at 90 psi with the 1 3/8" pins, and had no issues with putting pins through shoe molding, corner molding, pinning crown miters, etc.



A very minor gripe: it is difficult to load a new clip of pins when there are a few still left on the old clip. The spring mechanism pushes the two clips together pretty hard when you close the magazine, and the ends of the clips can get doubled up, jamming the magazine. I was unable to fix this, so I just made sure I only refilled when it was completely empty. Kind of a hassle on the ladder, but there are so many pins in a clip it didn't matter to me that much. I don't know if this was a problem on the other pinner I tried out because I never thought to check.



If you've never used a pinner, you should know that it is NOT going to replace your finish nailer. In other words, don't plan on a pinner to hold up oak trim on a coffered ceiling. You can put the smaller stuff (cove, bead) up with the pinner, and you get perfect results.



Another great use for the pinner is holding the returns on small pieces of trim while the glue sets up. Things that you cannot clamp together can be pinned and you'll probably never see the tiny hole. Plus, no problems with splitting the end grains either! Saves me hours of hole-filling and irritation.



This pinner has the dual trigger, and it works well. One safety note, don't get complacent about holding the safety trigger down and waving the gun around at the same time (away from the workpiece). There is no safety tip to depress, so it will fire away. It's all too easy to slide one hand a little too close to the tip while you're positioning and give yourself a new body piercing. Didn't do it personally, but it can be done...



One thing this gun doesn't do as well as a finish nailer is shoot at shallow angle. There's no deep countersink to push the angled nails in, and the pins are so fine that the grain of hard wood will sometimes curve your angled shots and turn them out the side. If you're shooting near the joint between two pieces of wood, it will very easily just follow the joint instead of angling through them. Just take some care in lining it up before you pull the trigger and that issue goes away.



A minor gripe: it is difficult to load a new clip of pins when there are a few still left on the old clip. The spring mechanism pushes the two clips together pretty hard when you close the magazine, and the clips can get doubled up, jamming the magazine. I was unable to prevent this, so I just made sure I only refilled when it was completely empty. - Micro Pinner - Nail Gun - 23 Gauge - Woodworking'

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Hidden Object Games - game download, computer games

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A very enjoyable diversion. They did a nice job telling the story of The Great Gatsby within the confines of the game -- the story moved forward smoothly and made sense even though very condensed. I especially like that they used actual text from the book. And that they took breaks from the HO finding from time to time to fill in the narrative. It was also nice that there were some different kinds of objects that were appropriate to the period.



First the bad - it's not a hard HOG. The objects are generally fairly easy to find. The hints are liberal and I never got an over-clicking penalty. Oh, and the mini-games are incredibly lame -- but there aren't that many so it doesn't really matter. Mostly, they're there to make some bonus points.



That being said, this game offered a couple of innovative changes from most HOGs that were great. One is the use of some motion HO scenes -- ie, you're in a car driving along while finding hidden objects, or following a camera pan along some scenery during some narration. Pretty cool.



The best new thing was the introduction of a library/trophy room. The library houses your achievement trophies, but you can also spend points to add artwork, furniture, lighting, etc to it. You gain points from gameplay, and can earn bonus points by collecting certain books and finding letters to spell words. Very satisfying to end the game having a look at all the trophies and a nicely decked out library -- it adds some replay value, too, if you didn't get everything the first time through.



Overall, a very fun game. Probably the only HOG I'd actually play again. Classic Adventures: The Great Gatsby [Download]

Beautiful graphics, evocative period music, hidden items that are at least plausible for the time period and sometimes part of the story, strong voice acting and narrative straight from the book--all these add up to an emotional adventure, more like dreaming the book than playing a game. For me, it was a more visceral experience than watching a movie. If you love reading The Great Gatsby, I think you will like this. If you want mysteries, adventure, challenging puzzles and won't be happy with anything else, don't buy it.

Loved this game. It has beautiful scenery & was fun to do. So many of these hidden object games are scarey & dark for some reason. I like the beautiful or mystery type better. If you like pretty scenery & a game not too hard to do, this will be your cup of tea!!

This is a great game for all-but particularly for adults. It is even more enjoyable if you have read "The Great Gatsby." It integrates hidden object, mini-puzzles,and a room building experience. The visual graphics, acting, and music do a great job of re-creating "The Gatsby Era." Let's have more intelligent, non-violent, adult games!

This was not an exciting game at all. The locations and objects were repetitive through-out. It was easy and only about 1 1/2 hours of play time. Kudos to the programmers for trying to find a way to combine classic literature with a game, but it did not work for me. I like challenging games that include puzzles and mini-games that make me think. With all the strong reviews, I was expecting something like Dire Grove or the like. This was your very basic seek and find game. Yes, the graphics were nice and the story brought bake memories of freshman English Lit classes, but the game was just very average. Don't waste your money unless you LOVED the Great Gatsby book. I'd recommend Mystery Case Files Return to Dire Grove and the Salem Witch Trials.

I purchased this game after downloading and playing the free trial. The graphics are beautiful and the music is lovely and soothing. The hidden-object action is fairly simple. There is no mystery to solve. As others have pointed out, the game is simply another retelling of the story so many of us know from the movie and classic novel.



The game, steeped in jazz-age graphics and music, was a nice change from the dark, paranormal-based hidden object games I have been playing and (mostly) enjoying. I loved it. At first. I finished it, but it got old well before the end. It just wasn't very challenging, and it didn't hold my interest for long. If I-play releases a follow up based on another classic story, I hope they add variety and challenge to the beautiful graphics and music.

This is one of the best Hidden Object Games I have ever played. The creators did such a good job with marrying the music and the plotline within the game. You really do feel like you are there in the book. The Great Gatsby is a classic work of literature and this is a classic game. I loved it.

Let me start by saying that before the Movie - The Great Gatsby, there was a book called The Great Gatsby written by a great novelist whose name was F. Scott Fitzgerald, he is dead now. This book is one of the best books in modern literature. This game is based on the book. There are excerpts throughout the game that are read and there are characterizations from 'the book.'



I enjoyed this game very much. The music is soothing and relaxing. The game is fun. There are some twists in the seek and find game such as finding letters to make 'words' from 'the book,' cleaning up a party room, typing game that includes typing words from the book, driving the car down the street, making a pot of tea, arranging flowers and so forth. The graphics are really great and they capture some great scenes and locations from the story. The game captures the time period and the story very well as the story is read at times by Nick the narrator.



The download was fast and easy and I was playing the game within minutes so there is no hassle with buying it from Amazon and putting it on your computer, just becareful what operating system you have and that the requirements match your computer.



For a relaxing game that is interesting and fun with great graphics and great music based upon a great book this one is fabulous. For the price it's not outrageously long but you can enjoy some time playing it and capturing some of the nuance from the time period and F. Scott's book. Fun! - Puzzle - Hidden Object - Game Download - Computer Games'

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In-ear Monitors - microphone, amplifier

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i used to play drums in an electro-pop group and would use this to monitor the backing tracks instead of using the on-stage wedge monitors. no complaints at all. every engineer we worked with never had any problems getting the monitor mix to run thru them. and since every backing track was at a different volume, it was very nice to be able to adjust my personal monitor mix on the fly instead of flagging down the engineer with clumsy hand signals from on stage (especially hard to do while playing drums :-). its got a great sound and being able to switch from mono to stereo came in very handy at venues that didnt have a stereo set-up. i highly recommend it. Behringer MA400 Monitor Headphone Amplifier

I got this product because my six year old daughter loves to sing into a microphone...just goofing around. Then one day, I saw a blow-out deal on a professional-quality microphone so I got it as a gift for her. But of course, it had an XLR connector so I got this "Behringer MA400 Monitor Headphone Amplifier" so she could hear herself with headphones or through our stereo. Given the price, I thought it would be pretty mediocre but figured that it would be good enough for my purposes. To my surprise, it's really pretty amazing. I would have expected some humming or buzzng, but no...there isn't the slightest hint of background noise and the frequency response and distortion levels are great. Professionals can buy this product with confidence.

I bought this amp just to listen to my laptop headphones, so I can't say much about how it functions as a monitor. But as for it's other functions...

A.) There is a noticeable increase in the fullness of the sound by plugging into this versus the laptop's headphone jack. The headphone drivers in laptops aren't great at handling louder material, especially if you have some nicer headphones (more OHMs=more power to drive them). This provides that extra boost to get the full spectrum of sounds without distortion.

B.) I also use this as a quick way to change my volume. Before, I had to press the little speaker icon and adjust the level with my mouse, now it's a simple turn of the knob, much more accurate and simple.

C.) These don't HAVE to be used for only headphones; they can at least give a boost to a pair of computer speakers.



For the price, I think this was a worthy investment.

I have the whole series of these Behringer audio signal processors. They have yet to disappoint me. This particular beast is no exception.

The amps are practically noise-free, amplify with fidelity (provided you don't try to overdrive them) and are well built.

It does the job it was designed for.

Is it professional quality - I'll leave that for the pros to answer. IMHO they go above-and-beyond.

What more could you ask for?

I bought this micro mixer for ~20, and it is far better than the price suggests. I'm very happy with the purchase. You will be surprised at how small it is. I actually wish it was bigger... First thing I did after I tested it out, was to take it apart. Inside, you will find very well made circuit boards, with two tiny little surface mount opamps. The connectors are good quality, the metal case is extraordinarily good quality, the finish and all! The only thing I don't like is the knobs on the potentiometers. As you turn them, they rub on the metal case a bit, and it makes it feel cheap. BUT THAT IS IT.



Now, the sound quality is fine. I noticed nothing significant about the quality of sound, except that is not exceptionally powerful. Listening to myself on headphones using a sure SM-58 dynamic mic, I must turn the mic volume control all the way up just to get it 90% of what I would like.



I do wish it had more amplification. Personally, I think wherever you have a dedicated amplifier driving headphones, it ought to be perfectly capable of blowing up any pair of headphones, if it is needed. I like to have power in reserve. Headroom, I think it's called. This thing needs it.



If you're curious, the Mic in and Mic thru connections are wired in parallel... so this box will have zero impact on your sound being recorded, no matter how fancy a microphone you are using. I'm unsure how well it will work with condenser mics. I think they put out a higher level signal... might make things better.



And, it needs a power switch. It doesn't hurt to leave it on, because it doesn't get warm at all, and there's nothing going to wear out, but it's still just one of those things... got to have a switch...

Does exactly what it says it does at a really great price. While it's not built like a tank, the knobs feel pretty solid and smooth and the jacks are well mounted and don't feel like they'll break at the first misaligned cable interaction. One thing to note is the amplification for the line and mic channels is considerably different, so the line input will require a hotter signal than the mic will for an apples to apples level of balance.



Bottom line, if you're looking for a basic affordable line and mic mixer, this is a great deal.

I bought this little one as a headphone amplifier, but it turns out to be a piece of art for a karaoke fan. Combined withShure PG48 Vocal Microphone with XLR-to-XLR Cable it produces great sound, which I would have never expected comes from such a small apparatus. The sound quality is decent as a headphone amplifier, and also a nice piece of mixer. It is worthy of every penny I paid for, and I am so glad having it with my bunch varieties of headphones.

I love being able to hear the monitor mix in my ear. I use a passive noise blocking earbud on the side of my head that faces the drums for our church worship band. I keep the ear that is pointed away from drums open to hear what's going on around me. If you block both ears, you will hear the mix and yourself very well, but you will miss out on hearing the congregation (audiance) sing unless the person running the soundboard mixes in a little general room sound.



Be careful not to run this too loud, if you are using an earbud it's a speaker blasting straight into your ear. I use a headphone extension chord with a built in volume control (also purchased from Amazon) for times when I want to descretely cut back the volume without having to adjust the knobs on the box.



Like others, I found the stereo/mono switch isn't much help. - Amplifier - In-ear Monitors - Monitor - Microphone'

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Larry The Cable Guy - michael caine, larry the cable guy

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I had a very unusual experience seeing this movie in theaters.



I watched it, I had a great time, I laughed, cheered, was thrilled, and the moment the credits started to roll the people in the row behind me IMMEDIATELY started spouting off how much they HATED it. I was flabbergasted. I was sorely tempted to turn around and ask them if we even just saw the same movie? How could anyone hate something that's so much FUN?!



But after thinking about it, I could see actually why they didn't get into it. Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie where you really have to 'get the joke' of the premise, or the whole thing falls apart like a house of cards. What this movie is, is the best James Bond movie of the last 15 years (not counting Casino Royale which transcends Bond movies to be just a great spy movie), with a bit of The Accidental Spy thrown in.



I LOVE Bond movies. The crazy opening sequences, the insane gadgets, the quippy lines. And Cars 2 hit pitch perfect parodies of every Bond standard. But you could never say of any Bond movie that it's got a deep emotional core, that's not how they're made. They're made to be balls to the wall fun and thrills, and that's what this movie is. Which of course makes it the polar opposite of the original Cars. It could hardly be more different.



If you get the joke, that this is a James Bond movie with cars, it's a riot. Loads of fun. It's not deep, it's not going to tug at your heart strings, it will not make your mother cry three or four times (as virtually ever Pixar movie ever made prior has done to my mother, I take her to Pixar movies with a bucket). It's just riotous fun. And I'm amazed that people are punishing Pixar for making a movie that's just pure fun. Granted Pixar is famous for it's deep emotional stories, and I suppose people expect that sort of thing every time. Even if you make a fun and entertaining movie, if you don't do what people expect, they bite your head off for it.





I went in with few expectations cause the early reviews bashed it to pieces, and I was frankly not that big a fan of the original movie. In the first Cars McQueen spends an enormous amount of the movie whining, and I found him generally unlikeable until fully halfway through the movie. It was a good movie, with a lot of heart and a message, but not one I would describe as a lot of FUN. Mater especially, a little of him went a long way in the first movie, and I was really worried about him being the star of this movie, because if a little of him annoyed me in the first movie, this one has 10 times more of him.



And yet, he actually annoyed me LESS this time around, cause he had something to do instead of just hanging around being Mater. They struck a perfect balance in his 'mater-ness' where the Accidental Spy nature of his story is charming instead of just annoying. And even more to my amazement, Mater's unique perspective DOES actually help solve the mystery. He's not just a bumbling idiot gumming up the works, he does actually help.



I was also constantly amused at the imagination that went into Cars-ifying the world. Even little touches like the swanky party in Towkyo (not a typo! ha!), the elevators are giant pistons that come out of the floor. I didn't expect it at all but once I saw it was it was so perfect.



To sum up, I have to say, I enjoyed this movie MORE than the original Cars. Yet at the same time I'll fully agree that the original is a technically superior film in writing and character, but Cars 2 is way more fun. If you go into this with the right attitude, that you're seeing a James Bond movie with Cars, that it's meant to be pure fun and embrace it on that level, there's a lot to love.



The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is it IS shallow. I won't say it's a perfect film on every level cause it's not. But it doesn't deserve the hate it's getting, it's just a fun movie, and there's nothing wrong with that. If it doesn't quite transcend to the levels of brilliance of The Incredibles or Wall:E, that doesn't make it BAD, it suffers only in comparison to other Pixar work, compared to anything else, it rocks. :) Cars 2 (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo in DVD Packaging)

I too was looking forward to watching this movie with my kids. The 1st movie was well written and had a good story line about what happens when you become selfish. The 2nd movies was nothing like the 1st one. The story line was about the evil oil industry and trying to kill cars. I am not adverse to violence, because I grew up with Bugs Bunny and the Warner Brother cartoons. I let me children watch these shows, but the violence is appropriate to what the characters are doing. The Cars 2 movie was covering adult material trying to make young children understand the message. Gas burning cars are bad, and push green energy. They tried to do the same thing in WALL-E with covering adult material. Please keep the social engineering to politics and leave our children alone. It will be a long time before I see a movie in a theater with my children. I will stick to reviewing DVD movies at home before letting them watch the movie. It is a darn shame the movie industry doesn't see the original Cars movie as a template to produce great movies for families to watch together at the theater.

I'm the mother of a four-year-old boy who has seen "Cars" roughly 2.7 billion times in the past two years he's been watching movies. It was, and is, his favorite film, and even I don't mind hearing it on the endless loop it seems to be on in our minivan DVD player. My son was DYING to see "Cars 2," in the theater, "with the glasses," and we went this past weekend. (He even knew the opening date from the ubiquitous TV ads and preview trailers on various DVDs and has been talking about this for MONTHS.)



To sum up his review: he wanted to leave halfway through to, "go home and play Legos." This was his second-ever in-theater movie; first, "Tangled," when he was only three, he loved and had no problem sitting through, even with the 3D glasses on.



The "Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation" short at the beginning was brilliant. Really shows they could do a "Toy Story 4," which I guess Tom Hanks recently hinted at, but please spare us a "Cars 3."



This was a shoot-'em-up spy movie which MAY have worked with another conceit but had nothing to do with the established Cars universe, so why do a second film? The races were secondary (almost pointless), the entire message of friendship and slow-down-and-enjoy-life from the first film was COMPLETELY thrown out the window, and a little of Tow Mater goes a LONG way. Unless you're a rabid Larry the Cable Guy fan, this is an easy wait for the DVD. And if you're child-free, this is a Pixar film you're gonna want to pass on.



I agree with the critics: This is Pixar's first failure. (That Oscar streak has definitely come to an end.) Not the worst kids' movie I've ever seen, but I expected far better from Disney and, especially, Pixar. The plot was pointless and silly (and I grew up a rampant James Bond fan), the dialogue lacked the clever repartee of previous Pixar pictures (what usually keeps the adults watching) and it just wasn't very fun at all. Expertly animated, of course, with plenty of "cool" chases and spy gadgets ... But that's not nearly enough to carry a movie. - Larry The Cable Guy - Michael Caine - Emily Mortimer - Eddie Izzard'

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Training Gloves

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Boy have I had a hard time finding a pair of weight lifting gloves! My previous ones were simple leather Saranac gloves, not much padding but they lasted for several years. The leather eventually rotted out forming huge holes. But I can definitely say that the Saranac gloves were awesome.



Now onto the replacement. I tried four different types of gloves.



Harbinger 143

Harbinger 1260

Harbinger 1215 Big Grip II

GoFit Diamond-Trac



The Harbinger 143 gloves were OK. They didn't have too much padding, but fit very snug and were difficult to get off. Also, the fingers were short.



The Harbinger 1260 and 1215 were both unusable due to having too much padding in the palm and knuckle area. The padding is comfortable for pressing exercises (e.g. bench press), but makes it all but impossible to do pulling exercises (e.g. pull ups, curls, deadlifts, rows, etc.). You can try them yourselves, but save some money and take my word for it.



The GoFit Diamond-Trac gloves are the best of the bunch for my needs. They have a little padding in the palm, but not enough to interfere with your grip. They are lightweight, so I'm not sure how long they'll last, but I'll reserve judgment on that. They do make my hands sweat, because the neoprene on the back doesn't seem to breathe well. They run a little larger in size than the other gloves. Also, I like that they have a finger tab to help you pull off the gloves.



Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful. Harbinger 1215 Big Grip II Non-WristWrap Weight Lifting Gloves (Large)

I know others have made this comment, but the rubber grip pads on the palm of the glove are too thick and they prevent me from getting a tight grip on the dumbbell or barbell. The padding is actually welcome on exercises like bench press because it absorbs some of the weight and lets you focus more on the lift. However, on lifts that involve your palm facing down, such as dumbbell lateral raises, I cannot get a tight enough grip to feel confident that I will not drop the weight. I cannot use them at all for dead lifting because when you are pulling that much weight, you cannot afford to have a bad grip.



In nutshell, the build quality is great. They have real leather and the padding is durable. That said, they are only good for certain lifts and they fatigue your hand muscles since you are essentially, with the extra padding, grabbing onto a bar that is a bit thicker than you are used to. I had some discomfort in my forearm muscles after the first few workouts as a result.



I would prefer a glove that has very minimal padding on the palm area to act almost like a second skin rather than a padded glove. You still need to be able to feel the weights and get a tight grip to feel confident with heavy weights and prevent accidents.



I don't hate them, but personally I would not recommend them either.

These gloves look like they are great, but as many people said on here already... the rubber on the palms are so big and thick, you can barely even make a fist, let alone grab a bar securely enough for a heavy lift. I work at a gym and work out over 5 days a week, so If I cannot use these, I am assuming very few will like them.

My husband used a pair of these gloves for several years while weightlifting three days a week. They finally were in need of replacement. He had saved the packaging from the original set to ensure he would be able to replace them with the exact product. He says they are the best weightlifting gloves he has ever used and states they they give him a very secure grip.

When I got them I could tell they were not well made, not to mention the fact that one of the gloves looked and felt older than the other one. I would not recommend these gloves to anyone. They hurt the palms of my hand during presses. The idea of the rubber grips is nice but for an all around glove its terrible.

I purchased these gloves from another online vendor last week. The wrist support I would rate as moderate. My left wrist has been sore lately, and these definitely helped.



Regarding grip: Took a little getting used to at first, but I can lift fine with these. No concerns. The web of my hand gets a little sore after 45min, but hopefully that subsides once I break them in.'

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Safety Glasses - face mask, dust mask

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Product purchased From Pro MAx Commerce was not MSA model 817628 but (model 10102485) which was not listed on the MSA web site.The product did not match the photo shown. IT did not fit my face like the 817629 and had two paper thin layers with carbon granules loose inside.The MSA 817629 mask has six layers and the carbon is embedded in a felt like fabric. If you wore this mask with a small tear inside you could breathe the granules.

This is another example of a vendor substituting cheap Chinese crap. Ron C MSA Safety Works 10102485 Respirator N-95 Harmful Dust Disposable with Odor Filter, 1-Pack - Dust Mask - Face Mask - Flu Mask - 3m'

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1080p - 3d

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I had been researching 3D TVs for over a year before I bought this TV. Plasma had my vote as lack of deep black levels were something that were very noticeable for me on my last two televisions. I had been interested in Panasonic GT25 series for a while but the cost of active shutter glasses and up-keep (battery, wear and tear etc.) was prohibitive (this being a 2nd TV in the bedroom).



The first I had heard about FPR passive glasses based devices was about a year ago. They were said to be the next best thing but being a geek who has been burned before I was initially skeptical that the 3D effect would be very good. I was certain there will be sacrifices in image quality for 2D however I was actually very surprised by the image quality (both 2D and 3D) on this television. The device simply can not be beat in terms of image quality and features at this low price (Similarly capable LG TVs (albeit with 240 Hz and some extra bells and whistles) cost more than twice as much).



I have had an HDTV (this being my 3rd) for the past 5 years and this TV has the best image quality and features and costs the least.



PROS:



- Even though this is an LCD panel the blacks levels are actually pretty good.

- PS3 and XBOX360 on HDMI look fantastic and there are several modes available to tweak color temp and/or brightness hue contrast levels.

- 3D effect looks amazing with both games and movies. I have had the TV for only a day so I have not had a chance to watch a full length 3D movie yet. 3D games I tried include wipeout HD which looks amazing. I had tried this game previously on a 3D Sony TV before and this one looks just as good while costing one 3rd.

- Lots of options are available for different settings e.g. Zoom has 4 settings (normal, wide, zoom, panoramic)

- Internet apps are available for flickr, facebook, NEtflix, VUDU, Amazon video on demand, Blockbuster and lots of news station. Not needing to power up my PS3 (for netflix) or my PC (for amazon video on demand) mean power savings :).

- Qwerty keyboard on the remote makes using these internet apps a breeze.

- The TV has wifi n and ethernet both which makes it very flexible. It has 3 HDMI ports and 1 component and 1 VGA port.

- It has capability to play songs and display pictures a usb disk (has 2-3 usb ports, I tried connecting my western digital passport and it worked great)but no movies. Pictures app has a lot of different transitions that make the slideshow and normal photo viewing great.

- The passive glasses are much lighter and more comfortable than active shutter glasses I had tried before. I wear glasses so I have to wear these on top of my existing ones and they have been much easier to handle than other glasses. I believe one can get clip-on type attachments (generic variety not from Vizio) for prescription glasses as well.





CONS:



- None that I can think of. The TV has surpassed my expectations for its price. To nitpick it is not 240HZ, or LED backlit, does not support PIP or POP. There are less options available compared to TVs that cost more than twice as much.

- After a couple of weeks of use I can definitely say that the TV is a little slow to start compared to my older HDTV, granted this one has internet apps (implying an embedded processor with an OS that needs to boot) but it is a noticeable difference. Since, this feature was not something I could test with other floor models, this could just be the norm for internet enabled TVs.



UPDATE APRIL 16th 2011:



- Confirmed that movie playback from usb disks is not supported as mentioned in the manual.

- I had a chance to watch some more 3D content (Tangled 3D, Super stardust HD, mortal Kombat 3D demo, KillZone 3 3D demo) and played around with some internet apps like Vudu and netflix and all looked great. I have not tried the wifi n link as I have it connected via wired ethernet. Vudu has a test festure built-in that tells you what format (SD, 720P, 1080P would be most suitable as they are priced differently. There are not a lot of choices though and the prices are pretty high (4.99 - 6.99 for 720p to 1080p rentals) but they are sometimes better than Sony Playstation Network especially for 3D movies.



UPDATE APRIL 25th 2011:



- Added more information and my thoughts after a couple of weeks of use.

- I also tried IZ3D with every setting but could not get 3D (for PC)to work over HDMI. Maybe it will work over RGB but for my setup HDMI looks and works better so that is not an option I was going to try.

- I would also like to add that sound quality is actually decent on this device, depending on the source of the original material sound is clear. I was going to buy a sound bar for this TV (since it is in my bedroom) but i guess i can wait until the next version comes out in July instead of buying last years model. VIZIO E3D420VX 42 Inch Class Theater 3D LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps

I was impressed with how well this TV produced flawless 3D effects without any ghosting at all. 3D Blu-ray movies appear brighter and even more rich in color through the polarized glasses. As opposed to some of the active shutter glasses I have tried out, the lightweight polarized glasses are less strenous on both the eyes and the nose they rest on. The TV also works well with the PS3 and generates an immersive 3d gaming enviroment. While I was easily able to link my computer to it through the hdmi port to play my downloaded 3d content, I was a little dissapointed that I could not access 3d controls while trying it on the RGB port. I also could not find a way to make it work with nvidia's 3d vision. However, I am hopeful that Nvidia will provide support for this TV in a future driver release. The TV can normally autodetect 3D content but when it doesn't you can push the 3D button on the remote for easy access to the SBS, TB, or Sensio 3d settings. The wireless setup was very quick and easy and involved no more then picking out my network and typing in my password. I also really like the one touch buttons for VOD, Netflix, And Vudu. The full QWERTY keyboard on the reverse side of the remote allows for painless browsing of online movies and TV shows. In conclusion, for the features, screen size, quality and price of this TV set, it's a fantastic bargain and I fully endorse it.



IMPORTANT NOTE -- When using the TV for gaming, make sure film mode is off or you will experience massive input lag.



Update: after a bit of tinkering I have found that the TV works flawlessly with IZ3D drivers on the interleaved setting, you don't even have to put the tv in 3d mode for it to work and it produces some truly amazing pc 3d gaming immersion. Don't even bother with nvidia 3d vision its a dead end on this tv, the IZ3D software works with both ati and nvidia cards. - 3d'

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Video Games - adapters, pc vga to tv converter

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The other reviewers did not read the first sentence in the description. Your computer MUST have TV-Out capability for this cable to work, which is rare. You cannot simply connect this cable between your computer and TV and expect to get a signal. It's unfortunate that this product got so many 1-stars due to customers not doing their homework.



This cable works great if your computer has the TV-Out capability but if it does not, then you must purchase a VGA to S-video converter in the $30-60 range. NEW VGA to TV CONVERTER S-VIDEO+RCA OUT CABLE ADAPTER (only for graphic card have TV Out function)

First off, this cable DOES NOT convert your video signal. In the reviews below, no one (except one) knew what they were doing. TVs in America are NTSC, not VGA. If you plug the cable into a PC that doesn't output an NTSC signal this isn't going to work on your TV. Its like trying to get a 1080p HD signal on a SD TV from 1983; it simply isn't going to work.



Also, if your trying to connect your Xbox to a computer monitor, get the VGA output for the Xbox. It works like a charm. Same example as above except vice-versa. The Xbox is putting out an NTSC signal when you use the component cable but the monitor wants a VGA signal.

MOST DO NOT

Your computer MUST have TV-Out capability for this cable to work, so check with your cards manufacturer.



That would have save the reveiewers below some money and some posted lies about the product.



Everyone blames everything and everyone else for their errors.

Read the product description!! This product will NOT work with most video cards. I made the mistake of not checking to see if my video card had TV-out capability, and this product did not work for me. If you want to view your computer on the TV, buy a converter like the Lake PC to TV Converter Box compatible with Windows and Mac (VGA To RCA / VGA To S-Video) (I just bought one and it works like a charm :)

I do not think that there is anything wrong with this product. It supports a video card that will send video through the VGA port suitable to be picked up by the S-Video or Composite (RCA) inputs of a TV. I tried it on two laptops and it did not work for what I believe is the reason stated above. When I connect the computers to an external monitor via the VGA port they pick up the external monitor right away. One of the laptops has a S-Video port and it works great on any TV.

So, a quick call or email to the manufacturer of the video card in your computer or the manufacturer of the computer may avoid some disappointment. Many of the reviewers on this and other sites have made the same claim :-). I will buy a VGA to TV converter; they are available for as low as $40 and will provide the connectivity and flexibility that I need. I just have to write this one off as being a cheap experiment.

Everything is right with that adapter, but my HP mini netbook just did not have the correct video card, which would support TV s-video out. I was misled by HP technical support people. I was shocked how unprofessional these people were, they weren't familiar with their own product. They consumed a lot of my time for nothing. Finally I needed to by PC-TV converter for $30 anyway, so I resolved my problem. My advice is, make sure first that you PC have a correct video card, then decide what you need to buy.

Hey I have purchased new Inspiron 15R laptop and the Dell technical dept told me that VGA has TV out capability, so went on to purchase this product... In vain its not working at all no images are displayed on my TV... Please give my money back.

it was a long shot for me, hoping I would be able to use my computer on my tv like a lot of people here but i knew my chances were slim but it was cheap enough that I didnt care it didnt work for me. but thats no reason to rate the product bad.



MC

The seller advertises this as an CONVERTER when it is really an ADAPTER. This is misleading and the reason for the many negative reviews. There are many true computer VGA to TV converters for sale but this is NOT one of them. To get a vga signal from your computer to a tv to work, you need a converter, not an adapter. I wish the merchant would be more realistic in his description. I give it a two, because there is nothing wrong with this cable, but it is advertised wrongly. - S-video - Pc Vga To Tv Converter - Adapters - Laptop To Tv'

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Rechargeable Batteries - nimh, eneloop

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[Updated Oct 24, 2008]

My original review on the Sanyo eneloop NiMH cells was written nearly two years ago. Since then, I have learned a lot more about the characteristics about eneloop and other low-self-discharge cells. So it is time to clear up some inaccurate information I wrote about eneloop's self-discharge rate.



1. I was told that the Sanyo eneloop cells were not 100% fully charged when they leave factory. This makes sense because new cells are fast-charged in the factory to save time. In order to avoid problem with heat and gas built-up, they cannot be charged to 100%. I have tested some eneloop cells that were manufactured 20 months ago, and they still maintained about 70% charge. On the other hand, cells manufactured 6 months ago contain about 75% charge. This confirmed that the discharge rate is much lower than I previously estimated.



2. The self-discharge rate of eneloop (and other LSD cells) is not linear! My own testing showed that a fully charged eneloop may lose 10% of its initial charge during the first month of storage, but in the second months it may lose just 2-3%. The rate becomes even slower after three months. In fact, my 5-month self-discharge test using various brands of LSD cells gave nearly identical results as my previous 3-month test.



3. When an eneloop cell is freshly charged, its capacity actually measures at about 5% higher than its rated capacity (2100mAh vs. 2000mAh). In my previous tests, I used measured capacity as base to calculate the percentage loss. This results in apparently higher percentage loss. Had I used the rated capacity as base value, the self-discharge rate would be about 5% lower.



Based on the above revelation, I believe Sanyo's claim about eneloop (maintain 85% charge after one year, 80% after two year) to be accurate. Therefore the title of my previous review ("The News of LSD Has Been Slightly Exaggerated") has to be replaced.



Over the past two years, I have tested several different brands of LSD cells available from Amazon.com, including Rayovac Hybrid, Kodak Pre-Charged, and Duracell Pre Charged. They have all performed very well - practically no difference from the Sanyo eneloop. So the bottom line is: just pick which ever brand of LSD cell is on sale, and you can't go wrong.





[Update on April 21, 2011]

- After testing and using various brands of LSD cells over the past four years, Sanyo eneloop cells have proven to be the most reliable and consistent of them all. I now have to recommend Sanyo eneloop over all others brands.



- Recently Amazon started to offer the SANYO NEW 1500 eneloop cells, at around 25% higher price. In my testing, the improvement of the new eneloop over the original is hardly noticeable. So you'll have to decide whether it is worthwhile to pay the extra cost. Sanyo Eneloop 4 Pack AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargable Batteries w/ Charger

[IMPORTANT NOTE]

My original review below was written back in 2007, when the Sanyo eneloop first became available

through Amazon.com. Part of my initial estimation about eneloop's self-discharge rate turns out to be inaccurate. Please see my other Amazon spotlight review for updated information.



[Original Review follows]



According to Sanyo, the new eneloop LSD (low self-discharge) NiMH batteries can maintain 85% of its original charge after 1 year of storage. This claim is slightly misleading, because it is based on simulation test at 20 degree C. At higher temperature, the self-discharge rate is likely to be much higher.



I have tested five of those AA cells (details are given in my review for the eneloop 4-pack). The average energy loss is about 26% after less than 6 months of storage, based on manufacturer date codes. This self-discharge rate is about 3 times higher than what Sanyo claimed. However, it is still 6 times lower than that of ordinary NiMH batteries. Therefore I'm in the process of replacing most of my existing rechargeable cells to the Sanyo eneloop.



Thanks to lower self-discharge rate, you'll discover a lot more applications for eneloop cells in your house, such as in clocks and remote controls. Do NOT use those cell in smoke detectors, since their discharge voltage profile is very different from that of alkaline cells. Also, don't use them as emergency flash lights batteries in your car, because the higher temperature during summer time will probably nullify the advantage of LSD.



[Update on Jan 13, 2007]

I have tested six new eneloop AAA cells, dated "2006-06'. The average residue charge is 589mAh, and the freshly charged capacity is 827mAh. This implies a self-discharge rate of 29% in 7 months, which is consistent with the rate for AA cells (26% loss in 6 months).



[Update on Jan 29, 2007]

The Rayovac "Hybrid" rechargeable NiMH batteries are now available at Walmart, priced at only $[...] for 4-pack of AA or AAA cells. It is also advertised to have low self-discharge rate, but not as low as that for eneloop. The eneloop is supposed to retain 85% charge in 12 months (when stored at 20 degree C), whereas Hybrid is supposed to retain 80% charge in 6 months (no mention of temperature).



[Update on June 3, 2007]

In my 2-month self-discharge test using four different brands of NiMH cells. Hybrid and eneloop came up neck-and-neck!



Room temperature: 60-62 degree F (16-17 degree C). All capacities measured are average of 2-cells.



- Sanyo eneloop 2000, purchased Jan 2007.

Initial capacity measured: 2070mAh

Capacity after 62 days: 1796mAh (-13.2%)

(Note: my previous result for eneloop showed -18%, but I repeated the test and it did better this time)



- Rayovac Hybrid 2100, purchased Jan 2007.

Initial capacity measured: 2155mAh

Capacity after 62 days: 1859mAh (-13.8%)



- LaCrosse 2000, purchased Jan 2006.

Initial capacity measured: 1902mAh

Capacity after 62 days: 1417mAh (-26%)



- SONY 2300, purchased Sep 2004.

Initial capacity measured: 2210mAh

Capacity after 62 days: 1309mAh (-41%)



So neither eneloop nor Hybrid did as well as advertised, but they are still significantly better than previous generation of NiMH cells. So you can't go wrong with either brand. - Battery Charger - Eneloop - Battery - Nimh'

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Latitude Wiper Blades - rain-x, latitude wiper blades

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Reading some of the other reviews, I think some people are installing these incorrectly. The symptoms they describe sound like the first set I bought, which was for my girlfriend's 2008 Nissan Rogue. When I installed the driver's side wiper (the longer of the two) it didn't make good contact with the windshield and would have left huge streaks. There is a way to adjust how the wiper sits by fiddling with the mount. Once I did that (per the included instructions), it worked like a champ. I just put a pair on my 2010 Xterra, and didn't have to do anything special...they worked great from the start. It sometimes pays to read the instructions.



As far as the blades scratching the windshield, the only thing I can think of that would cause that to happen is if they forgot to take the plastic cover off the blade. I can't see how someone might do that, but the blade itself is pretty flexible, so I have no idea how it could scratch auto glass.



For me, these have been great, and the price on Amazon is very reasonable. I think I saved about $6 per blade by not getting them at the local auto parts store. I think this should be one of the items that Amazon lets you "Subscribe" to, so you could have them delivered every six months or so. That would certainly help me to remember to change my wiper blades! Rain-X 5079280 Latitude 8-In-1 Premium Graphite Coated Wiper Blade - 24"

These wipers are fantastic in the rain, especially when brand new. They do not squeak or smear while removing all water from your windshield.



In the snow, they are not that bad, if you park your car in a garage anyway. The problem with these blades is that they do not hold up well in cold weather, especially when coated with snow and ice.



I've had these blades on my Blazer for about 7 months, and during the fall they were great. Once the bad weather started to come (Buffalo, NY) the snow and ice began to build up on the blades while parked outside. The design of these blades includes plastic end caps that keep the main blade strip from moving. But when water has collected inside the cap and it freezes, the expanded ice loosens the cap and it eventually falls off. After that, the blade will slowly ease its way out from the holder slot. If you do not slide it back right away (every day or during the drive) it will ruin the blade when it wipes. This results in the wiper not being able to get a clean wipe in thick snows or sleet on both strokes. I regularly get a big wet icy patch in the middle of my windshield due to this.



I have been looking for the perfect winter wipers for a long time, and these are not them.

The Rain-X Latitude wiper blade promises advanced visibility through simplified design. Gone are the springs and hinges that conventional wipers use to try to keep the blade on your windshield. The Latitude is basically a floppy graphite-coated blade that molds itself to the shape of your windshield, promoting more uniform contact, pressure, and as a result, visibility.



I've been using mine for several months now and have always been pleased with their performance. They're definitely quieter than any other wipers I've ever used and they do eliminate those annoying streaks of rain/ice/salt that can form when conventional wipers start to break down.



Installation was supposedly simple, but the mounting clips that were provided were ill-fitting. Plus, they're made out of lightweight plastic that felt very cheap - I was afraid that I'd break them while trying to fit them to my car's wiper arms. I finally gave up and had my mechanic put them on since I had a routine appointment coming up anyway.



My only ongoing concern is how long they'll last given the plastic mounting clips and the soft, delicate feel of the blades themselves. I'll update this review if I run into any trouble, but so far so good.

When I received these wipers I was pretty excited about the design. They are basically a sturdy curved flexible one-piece body with a graphite rubber wiper blade attached. They curve that is build-in seems to be a good solution to replacing all of the little metal springy parts that make up a conventional wiper - fewer parts to catch ice or snow.



I installed these on my '03 Tundra and found that when the curve of the wiper was pushed into the curve of my windshield it failed for about 1.5" of wiper on the far right of the passenger window wiper. This small portion just floated over the window - in some places wiping - in most places just skimming the water, not really touching the window.. This was also happening to a lesser degree on the driver's side. The result is unsatisfactory, as the missed water tends to cause running before the wiper cycles again. I switched sides and got the same results.



I am going to try to intentionally deform the wiper end that is not contacting the window but I'm afraid the verdict is in for me. These may work just fine for your vehicle but '03 Tundra owners, consider yourselves warned.

In cold weather one wiper worked in one direction of sweep then did not "flip" over and change direction for the opposite sweep. This caused a chattering and rappid skipping.



The other wiper simply did not make complete contact with windshield.



These might work in a warm weather climate.

I had Bosch wipers on my VW Passat and they never really cleaned off the windshield well. I've had the 20" Latitudes on for two month in a typical New England winter (rain, snow, sleet, more snow) and they've worked like a charm. I would recommend them over Bosch, they are more substantial and look cool too.

So, this was my first attempt at the "contemporary" wiper blade design and I have to say I was extremely disappointed with the Latitudes. Right out of the box they were streaking on me. The driver side wiper was leaving a huge smear patch in the middle of my line of sight. They were very quiet, but just didn't seem to hug the windshield at all. I have since moved to the Bosch Icon's and they are a far superior product in my opinion. - Wiper - Latitude Wiper Blades - Wiper Blades - Rain-x'

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Lithium Battery - battery packs, lithium-ion

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I have owned a set of Makita tools with the LXT batteries for a couple years now and I have noticed absolutely zero power loss or any other problems. I use them quite regularly whether building concrete forms, decks, remodels, etc. I can think of three things that may be happening to the batteries of those who have commented on bad performance or longevity; (1) Occasionally, batteries can be bad from the factory (I have yet to own a milwaukee tool with the new "V" or "M" series battery that holds up past a few months. I have both V28 and M12, and have had ALL packs replaced) (2) It is possible to have a bad charger which is damaging the batteries itself, or (3) Perhaps the users are taking them all the way to the point of stalling and complete discharge, and for that the batteries are truly not made to do. It is best that once you notice the battery pack is wearing down, to grab a fresh one and put the discharged on the charger to cool down and refresh. Also, if the batteries are being stored for most of their life, it is best to keep the charger plugged in and rotate batteries through it to keep everything active and refreshed. Lithium batteries have computer chips and sophisticated circuitry, allowing them to constantly be charged without damage. Ni-Cad on the other hand are not supposed to be charged over and over again because they typically have memory effects and lifetime charging limits. It is best to mostly, not completely, discharge a Ni-Cad before replacing back onto the charger. Because a consumer only has ultimate control of this last variable, it is a good idea to read the owners manual and find out what the manufacturer thinks is best operating practices. Only those who are using the batteries and tools know how they are being treated, and you may very well be doing everything right and not fall into this third category. Being that my kit is from a couple years ago, and my newest battery packs (purchased just for continued use because I have many LXT tools) were purchased last year sometime, it is possible that the newer batteries are of a lesser quality, and that would be unfortunate. What I can say is this; I own many Dewalt tools, which I have only had to replace a couple Ni-Cad battery packs in the past 5 years. (Dewalt tools are mostly made in Mexico) I have owned MANY Milwaukee tools in which their Ni-Cads held up pretty well, but their Li-Ion line is absolute crap. Several years ago when their tools were still made in the US, their quality was impeccable. Their tools are now made completely in China. (Yes, many of the Makitas are also) I own several Bosch as well, and their batteries and tools are right up there with Makita's quality. As far as Skil, Black and Decker, and any other cheaper or knock-off brand goes, I would personally never purchase them. For one, you are supporting China, and secondly you would be purchasing a tool that is undependable. Hitachi has an excellent warranty, and makes excellent air nailers, however I'm unsure of the quality you may find in their power tools, both corded and cordless. I hope this was helpful. Makita BL1830 18-Volt LXT Lithium-Ion Battery

Really, these batteries provide seemingly endless power. They hold their charge for weeks with very little loss. I can use one battery for drilling and driving throughout an entire (moderately sized) project. They are extremely lightweight and charge in twenty minutes or less usually (in hot weather it takes longer). All three of mine slide on and off easily, with no issues of binding or falling off. With all the praise comes a VERY important caveat. DO NOT run these batteries into the ground. The instructions state that as soon as you notice a loss of power, stop and charge. If you over-discharge Li-Ion batteries, you can seriously degrade the life of the battery. These batteries are 1/3 cheaper on Amazon.com than at the home centers, so buy from here! Also, only the cells themselves are made in Japan, all other parts are made and final assembly is in China.

I love the drill but the battery life is a real problem. I had both original packs replaced under warranty when the charger reported them bad. Now one of the replacements is flashing bad on the charger. These have been cycled maybe a dozen times. I'll be complaining to Makita and also reporting this on the various woodworking groups I support.

I replaced a 14.4 Milwaukee NiCad with a Makita LXT and noticed that my old Milwaukee NiCads outlasted these in terms of longevity. Run time is solid, but lifespan is short. Two dead after one year, I'm only a homeowner. I've only done a few lengthy jobs such as putting cement board down in a 10x20 room, and building a deck with these, in addition to the other basic tasks of drywall, and other light construction needs. Love the light weight though. Now, I need new ones. Somewhat disappointing.

I went ahead and invested in a pair of these batteries despite the mixed reviews, figuring I'd at least get a year out of them with the warranty. So far, they've performed just fine, even on tools that are supposed to only use the BL1830. I mostly use them on the BHP454 drill (note: this is one of the tools that's keyed for the 1830 pack) and BTD141 impact driver when I'm not going to be using them for long, so the decreased runtime doesn't bother me. I also use them on the angle grinder and recip saw (after removing the little tab on the tools) for light work in tight spaces. I wouldn't want them to be my only batteries, but they're a great addition to a couple of the larger batteries if you have a few tools that can use them.



These slim packs are very handy on the drill, impact, and flashlight- the lighter weight and smaller size are noticeable, especially with the smaller (BDF/BHP452) drills. However, buyer beware when it comes to using them on the 'heavier' tools, as they are keyed for the larger batteries because they can draw more current than these smaller batteries can provide without damaging the cells. So you probably shouldn't slap one of these on your circular saw and go ripping 2x12s all day, or you'll kill the pack very quickly. Makita isn't trying to screw you into buying more batteries, they're trying to make sure you don't kill your batteries.



Another note, considering how many complaints of defective packs there are: don't run these batteries down to nothing, and try not to store them fully charged. Running them into the ground is a sure way to damage the cells, and I've read estimates of up to 20%/year capacity loss for a fully-charged pack, compared to as low as 2%/year for a pack stored @ 40% charge.



And of course, like any cordless tool/battery purchase- shop your options before buying batteries separately. I got the BHP452HW kit for only $50 more than 2 batteries. That's a cheap, easy way to have a spare drill or driver and charger for around the house, or to sell to recoup the extra cost.



I'm knocking off one star because Makita doesn't do a good job of letting people know that these slim packs only work on certain tools- and not very many, either. That's been a complaint for years now, and it's still not mentioned anywhere in their literature or website- even my local Makita dealer didn't know they weren't compatible with all LXT tools. It's not like it's standard practice- Bosch's and Milwaukee's slim packs fit their entire lineup, AFAIK. - Lithium-ion - Lithium Battery - Battery Packs - Makita'

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Spinning Rods - ugly-stik

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I am lucky to live in hawaii where the fishing is awesome. I decided to start kayak fishing about a year and a half ago to get to the bigger fish. Well the fish are a lot bigger than I thought they would be so I upgraded from my trusty 8" Ugly Stik to this Ugly Stik Tiger. I am very glad I did. This weekend I put it to the test when I hooked into a 20.5 lb Ulua (giant trevally)! The action of the pole was perfect. I matched it to a Penn 850 ssm with 30lbs test and it is the perfect combo for inshore trolling. I highly recommend this for any angler who needs the sensitivity and strength to land the big ones. I will never fish with anything else. Shakespeare Two-Piece Medium Action Ugly Stik Spinning Rod, 7-Feet

I have several of these rods in various lengths and strengths. From the little 4'6" ultra lite that I keep in the truck to the 9' medium action for river fishing, they all perform incredibly. Plenty of backbone to set the hook and fight big fish and all with a sensitive tip for the most picky bites. For the price, you can get more rods instead of having one "do-it-all". Mine are paired up with Pfleugger president reels (sizes match the rods). My oldest one is 8-9 years and the newest one was this spring; 5 in all. I even give these as gifts to friends and my son has taught his friends to fish and they bought Ugly stix. You really can't go wrong. My truck rod even had a duffel bag of DeWalt screwguns sit on it for almost a week with no affects to it at all. When I first saw it bent over I thought it was a goner. My oldest and favorite rod.

What a great rod. An all-around great value. It's practically unbreakable, plus the 7 foot length allows me to cast farther with lighter baits. I had an 80 lb. sturgeon on my other rod and had no problems other than my reel fell apart before I could get it in the boat. I highly recommend these rods!

The rod was portable, and had good action. I expected it to last for years. After three months, I noticed a crack on the tip top ring, then the round bearing ring separated from the metal ring. Perhaps it was because something heavy landed on it, or I might have collided it with something, or it was a defective rod. I went to the local fishing tackle store and put a new tip top on, and it has been working like a charm.

I mistakenly left my fishing rod and reel at a campsite in Colorado. Since I live more than 1,000 miles away I asked the campground keepers to donate the equipment to a local youth group, and I proceeded to look for another rod and reel.



This time I came up with the Shakespeare UGLY STICK, 7' medium. I paired it with a Pflueger President XT Spinning Reel and found them to be a great match.



I am no "expert" so I really cannot comment much on the differences (if there are any) in the "pro" rods as compared to the "economy" sticks. I easily rate this rod 5 stars because it does all I expect from it, and then breaks down into two pieces for transportation and storage. I couldn't be happier, and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg, either.

BECAUSE I DID LIKE THE ROD I GOT IN THE MAIL I GIVE IT HIGH STAR RATINGS..BUT BEWARE...THE ROD IN THE PIC IS NOT WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE

IT IS INDEED AN UGLY STICK THE DIFFERENCE IS THE HANDLES ARE NOT AS DEPICTED........AND THE HANDLE IS WHAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION WITH THIS UGLY STICK.....SO BEWARE THE ROD ON THE PIC IS NOT WHAT YOU WILL GET.....ALL SPECS MATCH BUT THE HANDLE IS THE DIFFERENCE WHICH SORTA KINDA BOTHERED ME BUT I STILL LIKE WHAT I GOT..... - Ugly-stik'

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Trivia Games - board game, family game

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Wits and Wagers is a game that is endlessly playable and enjoyable even though you never get the right answer (at first). The appeal to Wits and Wagers is that it is a trivia game with a slight angle. There is one simple rule: no one knows the answers to the trivia (and they're not supposed to).



Of course I was intrigued to hear that there would be a Wits and Wagers Family. I immediately wondered what would be changed and how would the game be similar? I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. Luckily for me, I met Dominic Crapuchettes, the designer of Wits and Wagers Family, and got a preview copy to play with my gaming group and to try out with families and younger gamers.



My response is really a combination of my reaction to the game and my fellow gamers' response to playing the game. All of us had previously played Wits and Wagers, so W&WF was easy to teach and easy to play. Overall, we had a very good time.



First off, I think that if people haven't played the original Wits and Wagers, they should buy Wits and Wagers Family first. W&WF is easier to play all around. Instead of a cloth placement with odds listed on the sides, unmarked poker chips with which to bet and insane questions to answer, W&WF uses simple mechanics which showcases one of the best trivia games I've played.



Here's my four main comments about W&WF (and then a couple notes after that):



1.) The game is pared down to an easy 4 step process. The question was read. We all wrote down the answer we thought was closest on our individual boards. We then placed them in ranking order from the lowest answer (behind the board already marked 1) to the highest answer. Then, we used our meoples (which we all loved compared to poker chips) to place our "wager" for the right answer. We could put both our meoples in the same place or on different boards. The big meople was worth 2 points and the small one is worth 1. The board that gets closest to the right answer (without going over) gets 1 point. Simple!



2.) The way of keeping score was just like the board from Say Anything (another staple with my gaming group). I wish the board had a few more spaces for each player because the maximum amount of points you can get in a round is 4. A player needs only 15 points to win, making some games pretty short. The scoreboard is easy and clean, leaving players with no room to make mistakes. Just easy math and easy counting. Great for families and kids.



3.) My gaming group was mixed on how quickly the games went. Some were excited to play another round while other felt like it was just enough time spent. The rounds in W&WF are shorter than Wits and Wagers, but the attention span for kids and families will suit the game just right. After playing once, typically you want to play another round immediately, which goes just as quickly as the first. And that is just fine with my gaming group.



4.) Some of the questions allowed many of the same answers to be written down by multiple players. I've noticed that this has upset some players as noted in previous posts. I understand why this was done, though, and think that it will work great with families and kids. What might be obvious to some players is not so clear to others, so some of the basic questions were fun to answer. It was hilarious to see 6 full grown adults, half of whom did not know how many feet were in mile! Having questions that are sometimes harder to remember (for adults) but are things that kids are learning in school is a great way to keep education going long after the kids are out of school. It also is a way for families to kindly tease each other when they don't know an "obvious" answer.



The only thing that W&WF needs to do is come out with an expansion pack of questions because there are a limited amount of questions that come with the game. I see those cards being run through (with my gaming group) very quickly. Compared to how many questions came with Wits and Wagers, W&WF has a very small, select amount of questions available. I know this is one thing that Dominic has posted that he will do, so I'm looking forward to those new questions!



I also think that W&WF should make writing boards and meoples for more than 5 individual players. I know the rules state that players "team" up when the count exceeds 5, but it is fun to play by yourself and make your own choices. The game should be made for 7-9 individual players at least. Perhaps that is a revision or expansion that could come out with the new set of questions... Wits & Wagers Family

Wits and Wagers Family takes the original game and simplifies it in almost every way possible- while at the same time retaining its charm and challenge.



Changes from the original include.



-WW features permanent betting chips that some players think they can lose. WWF replaces these with Meeples that are easier to keep track of.

-WW ends after 7 rounds. WWF goes until one player scored 15 points.

-WW's betting payouts (3 to 1 etc) can exhaust the chips included with the game. WWF lets you win at most 4 points per round (1 pt for your small Meeple, 2 for your big Meeple, 1 pt for contributing the closest answer), which removes the need for chips and extra components.

-WWF includes questions that are appropriate for the entire family. My wife has taken this to school and played it with middle schoolers, who loved it.



On the downside, we still wish that the caps to the erasable markers contained an eraser. It would be nice to not have to find napkins or paper towels for each team whenever you play.



All in all, this is a great addition to your family game shelf.

When I first heard there was a family edition of Wits & Wagers I was more than a little surprised. Of all the games in my collection this seemed like one of the more family friendly ones, and I've been playing it with my nephews since they were fairly young. So it seemed almost unnecessary to create a special edition for families. Still, Northstar Games has yet to strike out with me, so I had to give it a shot. But was it a useless republishing of the same idea or a brilliant change of pace? Read on...



What do you get with Wits & Wagers Family? In the box are the rulebook, a score sheet, a pack of question cards, 1 minimum answer board with the number "1" on it, 5 dry erase markers, 5 player answer boards in 5 different colors, 5 small meeples in the same colors, and 5 large meeples in the same colors. (For those who aren't aware a meeple is a little wooden piece that is shaped like a person.)



How does Wits & Wagers Family work? Each player is given a marker along with an answer board and the 2 meeples that match the color of their board. The "1" board is placed in the middle of the table. Then one player reads a question from one of the question cards. All questions have a numerical answer, so players estimate what they believe the correct answer might be and write it on their answer board.



When all players have their answers written the answer boards are lined up under the "1" card from lowest to highest. Players then place their meeples on 1 or 2 answers that they believe are the closest to the correct answer without going over. Then they look at the correct answer on the back of the question card. One point is scored by the player that wrote the answer which is closest without going over, one point is awarded to each player that placed their small meeple on that answer, and two points are awarded to each player that placed their large meeple on that answer. You continue with more questions until one player has scored 15 points, and wins the game.



What does Blott dislike about Wits & Wagers Family? My minor complaint with Wits & Wagers Family is the reduction of the number of players. Although the game can easily be played as teams, it would have been nice if we wouldn't be forced to break into teams even with 6 players. But my bigger complaint about the game is some of the questions. Put simply, there are some questions in the game where players will know the answers. I often sold people on Wits & Wagers by describing it as a trivia game where you don't have to know trivia, but when people know the answer in Wits & Wagers Family it starts to bring this awesome game system down to the level of the common trivia game. My wife, a trivia game hater (but a Wits & Wagers lover,) complained after our first game because every player except her got a couple questions exactly right. She said that this gave her the same "I feel stupid" embarrassment that she feels when playing a game like Trivial Pursuit.



What does Blott like about Wits & Wagers Family? I love the introduction of simple scoring to the game. In the original version I spent more time counting out chips than I did actually playing the game. This also makes it so that all players totally "get" the scoring. Some people, who aren't into gambling, would struggle with how a 3-to-1 bet works and so they would just rely on a banker to make that calculation for them. The removal of the betting mechanism also takes away the chances that one question will swing the balance in one player's favor. Since they can get a maximum of 4 points on a question it will take several questions for even the most knowledgeable player to win. And, finally, the questions are an amazing variety. They range from things that kids will know well, to things that teenagers will know well, all the way up to things that adults will know well. They run a nice spectrum and many of them are very interesting facts too.



Who will enjoy Wits & Wagers Family? This is an ideal family game. The questions are varied nicely and kids will have just as much chance of winning as anyone else. However, those that loved the strategic edge they found in Wits & Wagers might be disappointed in the changes made for this new edition. The strategy involved in playing the odds is removed. But, clearly, this game is focused towards a different audience. The great new scoring system will make this game more enjoyable for people just looking for a fun party game to play with family and friends. If ever there was a game that should be advertised over the Monopoly, Life, etc. for "family game night" it is definitely Wits & Wagers Family.



Any parting comments about Wits & Wagers Family? Something must be said about these components. First of all the player boards have some cute art on the back which gives each color meeple its own personality. And these boards are really thick, almost too thick, if that's possible. Northstar Games continues their mission to make every component dry erase compatible too, so the erasable score sheet is really nice. A few people complained of issues with the dry erase markers in select copies of Northstar's prior games, but they clearly have a new distributor because these ones work great! The question cards are much smaller for this game. They only have 2 questions per card, but there's enough that you can play a number of games before repeating questions. The question cards even come in a little tray that you can pass around the table, which is a nice addition. All in all, I think that Wits & Wagers Family is a high quality game that simplifies/improves scoring from the original. I have had nothing but positive reactions to the game from almost everyone I've played with and, despite our complaints, my wife and I really do enjoy playing it. In fact, there is a good chance that I will take the questions that I love from the original game and pack them in this box so I can play with the new components/rules. I liked the changes that much! - Family Game - Party Game - Board Game - Fun'

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