Survey about products you use

[Mike Taft2]

Just got to thinking:

1) What product have you purchased that has exceded your expectations recently?

2) What product have you purchased that has been a big disappointment to you?



1) Curado reel - never thought a higher end reel (for me) would make such a diff.:wub:

2) a TON of the new pressure treated lumber - it shrank, warped, and bent in no time flat, and cracked to beat!:angry:

 

[TritonGlenn]

1) A new screened in gazebo for my back deck we bought at Sams club. It was a grand, and I was originally of the thought "what a waste of money", but we have got more use out of our deck so far this year than we have the entire years previously.... and it isn't even summer yet! We eat breakfast and supper on it almost every day lately. No bugs! :wub:

2) Any Craftsman brand electric tool - particularly their cordless drills. :angry: I no sooner had a battery go bad on one, and they are no longer making one "with that 18 volt battery size... you will have to upgrade to a new drill - like this 19.6 volt, yada, yada, yada" :huh: - next time (soon, very soon), I'm getting a Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc... something "name brand" and quality that I can get parts for later down the road.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Larry Harp]

#1...Abu Garcia Record RCN40. The Japanese should take some lessons from the Swedes. I originally bought because of it's 30" of line take up to be used for lipless crankbaits around grass. I liked the reel so much I moved it over to my pitching rod and moved the Curado SF to the B team.



#2...P-Line Evolution. I've used P-Line CX Premium for years with great satisfaction. However the Evolution is a different animal....an elephant perhaps, because I have never seen a fishing line with more memory. On the second time out it was coiling up so bad it wouldn't even make it through the first guide on my Falcon Lowrider...that's with a 1/2 oz spinnerbait providing the inertial force.



Harpo

 

[Steve Rizza]

2) Any Craftsman brand electric tool - particularly their cordless drills.

1) I agree with Glenn on this one.:angry:



2) Berkley Vanish flurocarbon line. Bought a spool, and it was garbage. Thought it was just a bad spool, so I bought another one.:wacko: Nope, it's just garbage.:angry:

I like all their other lines though. I use Fireline and XL and XT. Never any problems with them.



3) My Char-Griller smoker/grill. Love it. After a little fine tuning to get it running right,I can hold a good solid 225 degree temp very easily. Nice sturdy cast iron grates. Heavy guage steel drum. Big enough to cook dinner for an army.

 

[Jim B]

1) This would have to be my Silverado i bought last Feb. This truck has been absolutly perfect in every way. I could not ask for anything better in a vehicle and it has had zero problems in my first year plus of driving it. the gatr milage is also stellar for a full sized 4wd truck.



1.5) this would have to be my new dual tuner Tivo. Just a really cool device. It has completly transformed the way i watch tv.



2) I didnt buy this directly with my own $$(work owns it) but my Dell M65 laptop would have to top this list. Dead keyboard right out of the box, bad memory right out of the box and the hard drive has already croaked within two months and now it needs a new screen because the backlight croaked. Normally we buy IBM but they didnt have any core2duo machines with a widescreen and good video available two months ago so we ordered the cad class machine we buy in Europe. Its been a total disapointment. IBM now offeres a machine in this class and i have a new T60P on the way and my problems will be over.



Fishing related i cant really think of anything maybe with the exception of my aurora canvas cover i got last year that has been super. I havent really bought much else for fishing or boating in a long time.

 

[Berry Lindley]

1) My Nitro 750DC. I'm really starting to like it a lot.

2) My Chevy Trailblazer tow vehicle. It is still under warranty, so it hasn't cost me anything, but I've never had this many problems with a vehicle, ever. I had an 02 Trailblazer (got totalled) that was flawless, but my 06 has not been too hot so far. I like it, but a lot of little things and one not so little, like the rear end going out, have been aggravating. No problem with performance, just the nagging problems.

 

[Bruce Freeman]

What a loaded question, on the plus side. My Champion boat, it does everything I ask and does it well. Every Ford I have ever bought. My Samsung HDTV. Birthday flowers for the Love of my life.



On the negative side, gasoline to get to work, bps spinning reel that made 1 trip before it broke, a spool of berkley sensation that I got for free and it was still over priced. Jeans I can't wear two years later...................LOL



BF

 

[Robert Branch]

1 - My 2006 Nissan Titan, favorite truck/vehicle I have ever owned. Fun to drive



2 - ILO Brand DVD Recorder with 80 gig Hard Drive - This thing lasted 6 months and now the hard drive is somehow corrupted and wont' burn a dvd.

 

[JAMES MOORE]

1. My Basscat Pantera IV, everything and more than I ever expected from a boat. The Mercury 200 Opti, wow I'm glad I got that now.:wub:



2. Negative Side: Price of Gasoline: Over $310.00 a gallon around here.

 

[Mike Taft2]

I agree on the Craftsman tools - good call. Their service for appliances is way outa control too. $250 for a $30 piece of plastic that literally took 5 min to take off and replace - $185 labor!:angry:

 

[Texas Transplant]

The Qwik Fill system for my boat's new Trojan batteries. Very easy to install, and a great system. Why didn't I get this years ago.



Fishing related - like above, a really good reel. First time spent money for a really good reel, I wondered why I hadn't done it before (Bass Pro 'Pro-Qualifier'). Next on my list is some of the Johnny Morris specials.



Garmin C330 GPS for my wife. She absolutely loves it. Very easy to use. Great product. Order it through the internet for best pricing.



Any riding lawnmower sold by Home Depot. ANY! Those 'John Deere's' they are hawking, are not the same as the ones that a real John Deere dealer sell. Neither are the Toro's or others.



Wagner power roller. Second one I've had. This one, I haven't used at all. It's a good theory, but we just found it was simpler to do it the old fashioned way. One of those things that look good, but are simply a hassle.

 

[TritonGlenn]

Texas Transplant - Good call on both the Trojan batteries and the Quick Fill systems.



Brad - Good call on the Dewalt power tools - some of my favorites.



Also agree on the Remington ammo - the only Remington ammo I like is the 20 gauge sabotted slugs I used this year - they were the best for my new slug gun out of all I tried, and that was suprising, because every other bit of Remington ammo I've tried is junk - pistol, rifle (especially .22's). I usually buy CCI or Winchester for most of my uses.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Larry Harp]

JimB, I'm with ya on the Tivo.:wub: I'd give up my microwave before I'd live without my Tivo. I bought a new dual tuner model this Christmas and moved the old single tuner to the bedroom and added the wireless network adapters so I can watch shows recorded on either Tivo in either room. I catch myself wishing I had one on the car radio so I could back it up a little to catch something I missed on talk radio.



Harpo

 

[fatrap]

1. My BPS rods and reels. Just great!!!!:wub:

1.1 My Bushmaster AR15 :wub::wub:

1.2 My antique naked mermaid lure collection :wub::wub::wub:

1.3 My Dremel tool set and form sander.:wub:



2. My Numeric Gun Parts .45 cal magazines Piece of $#it.:angry:

2.1 My Canon ERU digital camcorder. Skips frames,can't clean view finder:angry:



fatrap

 

[TritonGlenn]

fatrap - "My Dremel tool set"



Probably the MOST used power tool(s) in my garage (I have two of them) are my Dremels. You could take all the rest of them, and I wouldn't miss them one bit. Take my Dremels, and I'm lost. I have one with the long flexible cord adapter piece for detail work, and use the other one normally configured. Good Call!!!



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Edward Lea.]

Tivo for your radio. Thats brilliant Harpo.



Damn it. every time some thing like this comes up I don't have the where withall to do anything with it and it goes huge. Just like when I said to my girlfriend many years ago " they should make tacos soft" after having one collapse into my lap.



Crap this is going huge now that it has been spoken out load. Better run with it Harpo, Really.

 

[Texas Transplant]

On the Tivo side, I just purchased a second disk from WeaKnees and upgraded my Tivo. Great kit, great instructions, and you wouldn't believe what it will store now. :wub::wub:



And, just got the first taste of being with my new cable service after I moved. :wacko::wacko::wacko:



Headed back to either Dish or Directv.



Tex

 

[Jim B]

Harpo, that actually already exists for satallite radio. Both XM and Sirus offer a handheald unit that can record a ton of content kind of like a tivo. I have a samsung nexus 50 that xm offered for $10. I already had two devices on my account, i just turned off my roady2 and got this to replace it for boat and now portable. it records up to 50 hours or content. Its a pretty cool device.



Tex, how much was the upgrade? i was thinking of adding a second drive to mine. im ttyiong to find out what it takes to do the upgrade so i can see if i can just get a drive and put it in or if i have to get a kit. My unit also has two usb ports on the back, i wonder of i can just hook up an external drive? what im doing now is copying off the stuff i want to keep using my pc onto my 1tb network attached drive. as long as my pc is running the tivo can also copy them back to replay. I hard wired it into my home network instead of wireless jsut because of the speed difference. it works pretty good that way but i would love more storage on the deivce itself.

 

[TritonGlenn]

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:



Guess what my wife just bought me for an anniversary present? A CRAFTSMAN cordless drill - 19.2 volt. Guess I can throw out the old 18 volt one that I can't get batteries for anymore.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Larry Harp]

I've got an old (at least 10 years old) Craftsman 16.8 volt (good as you could get when it was new) that's been a real champ. One of the batteries won't hold a charge anymore but the other on will keep going for any project that I have and is usually ready to go even after sitting for a month or two. The batteries for my model are in stock at Sears but the price of two batteries isn't much less than a whole new, more powerful drill. I'll probably just use the old one until the last battery craps out and then buy another. I know a DeWalt would be a better drill but I'm not a professional and the Craftsman has done everythng I've ever expected it to do.



Harpo

 

[Mike Taft2]

Some Craftsman are made by highly regarded branded vendors such as Bosch, but some are made overseas or by Black & Decker (same company owns Dewalt). You can tell by the first 3 digits of the model number. I still buy their tools because they do what I need for the money, but they are no longer a destination place for me. Sears has become so disconnected from their customer, it's hard to defend them any longer.

 

[Larry Harp]

Sears has become so disconnected from their customer, it's hard to defend them any longer.

Mike, I sure can't argue with you on that. Not long ago I had a Craftsman 1/2" ratchet that after 35 years, wasn't working right. I took it back to Sears for the lifetime warranty exchange. Since I hadn't died in the aisle and started stinking nobody had bothered to ask me if I needed assistance. I picked up what looked like a similar ratchet handle and walked up to the cashiers station to make the exchange. The kid (and I do mean kid) told me that the ratchet I picked up wouldn't be the right one for warranty exchange. He disappeared to the back room and came back with a ratchet handle that looked like it was make in the 12th century. The handle has a sharp unfinished edge that is not at all comfortable to use and the gear in the ratchet sounds like it has sand in it. In other words it's a cheap piece of crap made in some third world country for 35 cents. I took it home and used it but I hate it. I'm going to be buying me a new 1/2" drive soon but it probably won't be a Craftsman.

 

[Mike Taft2]

They rebuild those ratchets in the back and exchange them for broken ones. In other words, the one you brought in will be rebuilt and handed back out. The job will usually hold, depends on who rebuilt them. It's bad if you get one beat up handed back to you.

 

[Paul P]

I use Craftsman tools for the most part. Like Harpo said

I'm not a professional and the Craftsman has done everythng I've ever expected it to do.

I have exchanged a few tools that have broken and have gotten good exchanges.



I bought my second Craftsman lawnmower last year since I had such great luck with the first. Bought a new self-propelled one since my son is of age now and is now be cutting the lawn. Now I have 2 mowers and the old one is now in its 16th season! We tag team when cutting sometimes and get both mowers out.



Paul

 

[Larry Harp]

Mike, I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear. It was a new ratchet. After I re-read what I wrote, I have to say that it was a very fuzzy anlogy. I guess I should have said, it looked like it had been made by a kid in 9th grade metal shop class. The forgeing and milling was just sorry looking and didn't have the feel of quality. More like something you'd buy at a dollar bin at the hardware store than something with the Craftsman brand name....not even as good as the ones on the shelf.





Harpo

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Great Question!

Recently I bought a Sears Sliding Chop Saw and I couldn't be happier though I can't seem to adjust the laser sight properly.

I also just bought a Black & Decker Mini-Saw. It's like a small reciprocating saw that had great reviews but I don't think it's worth a ----..

Probably the best thing I ever bought that exceeded my expectations was my Snapper riding mower. I bought that thing in 1977 and it's still going strong and it's the best leaf vacuum I've ever seen. I'll probably have to sell it because I can't ride it anymore but I don't know of anything else like that that has lasted 30 years.



OH, by the way, BRUCE....I never got the flowers..



Uncle Billy

 

[Bruce Freeman]

OK Uncle Billy what flowers? e-mail? I are confused.....

Now back to the original post. I will not defend sears, I refuse to shop there but thats another post. But sears, Home Depot, Lowes ect do not make anything, they buy and sell. It may have there brand but they don't make it. Most sears mowers are made by American Yard Products and for the most part are great mowers. The off brand john deere mowers sold at Home Depot and Lowes are made by Machine Tool and Die (mtd) and are the same as the yardmans, kmart, walmart line. Dewalt and Black & Decker make a majority of the craftsman power tools to fit in the sears price line. You would not expect a yugo to ride like a caddy so why expect a $19.99 power tool to last as long as a $199.99 power tool.



BF

 

[Mike Taft2]

Gotcha Harpo. Makes you wonder if they have a new policy, you know, keeping the cheap whiskey easily assessable?



I've got neighbor's A/C units going out left and right all around me. We all bought about the same time 4-5 years ago. I'm wondering if I'll have a new addition to my list soon??? :unsure: