The Stinger is a hammer-tacker type staple gun that allows you to shoot a staple and a plastic cap with one swing. Normal hammer tackers have been used for years to install things like housewrap, but the thin staple doesn't have much holding power with housewraps, felt, roofing paper, etc. It's easy to tear the paper. But the addition of a plastic cap between the staple and the wrap offers greatly improved holding power.
Loading the Stinger: The staples load as they would in any hammer tacker/stapler. But the plastic cap strip loads separately, and it's hard to guess how. The only instructions provided are three small black and white photographs with brief captions. I had to resort to the manufacturer's website. There's a great video showing how to load the staples and caps into the Stinger (I guess they realized the need for instructions only after their rush to market). Of course, the video probably won't help you at the jobsite.
Ergonomics: I'm an average-sized man, and I found it very difficult to get a grip on the Stinger that allowed me to swing it effectively. The large plastic cap magazine is in the way. Normal hammer tacker/staplers have narrow handles that you can grip in many different positions--like a hammer. If you've used a hammer tacker, or any hammer, you know how important a good grip and swing is to effective driving. The bulky cap magazine should have been mounted elsewhere to allow for a normal grip. The lack of a good grip added greatly to the other problems I experienced.
Making the Cut: Like another reviewer, I had repeated problems with the stapler not cutting the link between caps when swung. You see, in addition to driving the staple when the head hits the paper, a sharp edge is supposed to automatically cut the small connectors between plastic caps. But if your swing isn't quite right, it's likely that this cutting action will fail. When the cut fails and you pull the stapler back for the next swing, several caps get pulled out and wasted. I could not find any way to push them back into the Stinger. You just have to twist them off and keep going. This is a very, very annoying problem. It keeps you from moving quickly and developing a rhythm. You begin to doubt each swing, not wanting to pull back quickly in case the cut wasn't successful.
Trigger Mechanism: Between each swing you have to pull a trigger with your index finger that advances the plastic caps. The trigger is well-located and easily pulled, but the advancing mechanism is far from accurate. When the caps fail to advance properly, which happened at least one of every dozen or so swings, the staple will not be centered on the cap. If it's too far off center, it does no good at all and will likely fall off the siding.
Even worse, if the caps don't advance properly, the cutting edge will strike part of the cap instead of the cap connectors. If you swing hard enough, the Stinger will cut through the edge of the cap, but then you'll have the same problem again and again until you stop and adjust the cap strip. And the only way to do that is to advance the strip and tear off and throw away one or more caps.
Conclusion: Avoid this tool. You quickly get to the point where every swing is a shot in the dark. You are swinging harder to make up for the poorly-designed cutter, and you're slowing down in case it doesn't cut. You're also unsure of the trigger advance, so you're slowing down to look at the cap strip position before swinging. Every unsuccessful swing becomes more and more aggravating, and soon you'll wish you'd never heard of this flimsy tool.
And that's my last point: The Stinger just isn't made well. The plastic on the cap magazine is thin and cheap. The metal trigger actually bent to the point of becoming inoperable, so by the end of one wall I had to pull the cap strip out manually one cap after each swing. And these are just some of the problems I experienced. It took me and two workers almost ninety frustrating minutes to install wrap on one single-story wall.
What's a guy (or gal) to do? Stick with a regular hammer tacker/stapler. Or buy the nails that come in a box with a plastic cap on each nail. Or, if you can justify the expense, buy a pneumatic cap stapler...of course, they cost about eight times as much. In any event, save yourself the expense and extreme frustration of this poorly-designed, cheaply-built contraption.
One last thing: I called the manufacturer about these problems. They did not care about the problems I experienced and told me that the Stinger carries NO WARRANTY WHATSOEVER! But I could seek a refund from the retailer. Of course, that retailer won't take back a partially-used box of staples and caps. And the smallest box of staples/caps costs more than half as much as the Stinger. National Nail 136400 Stinger Cap Stapler
We found this at a local home improvement store. The salesman suggested it when we told him we wanted to put up roofing felt under cedar siding we were installing. It's not something we'd use very often, but you can use it as a regular slap stapler, too (by not loading a roll of caps). And the salesman we spoke to seemed enthusiastic about its capability to affix staples and caps in one stroke.
Unfortunately, this thing just doesn't work reliably. We tried different ways of holding it and hammering with it, but never could find our groove. The staples would land in different places on the cap. Sometimes they were too close to the edge of the cap, and we had to pull them out. Other times one or both sides of the staple would crumple. Those would have to come out, too.
It also had jammed repeatedly. The spring-loaded rod that pushes the staples forward (similar to the one in staple guns) is supposed to lock into place. But it kept coming loose and pushing back into the row of caps, keeping them from advancing.
When they go in right, these caps are effective. This would be a great item if they'd go in right with any regularity.
If you are going to try one of these, buy at least twice as many staples and caps as you need. And plan to go slowly. - Stinger - Cap Nailer - Hammer - Staplers'
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