Wondering if this product actually works?
Well that is exactly why I have put together this Speedout review.
Screws are one thing that you can never bee too careful about as we will always encounter those that just want to be a pain in the butt.
Whether we are gentle or careful when screwing or unscrewing things one of them will always manage to screw things up (no pun intended) and it can mean that you will have to put that project on hold.
No one wants to deal with that and none of us have that kind of time.
Speedout Review – Product Overview
The nice thing about this product is that to some extent it truly does have at least some level of appeal to everyone.
Whether you are a home owner or renter, chances are you occasionally run into a situation in which a screw extractor is going to come in handy.
This is going to be particularly true for people with older homes, or even people that are just moving into a new place where damaged screws may be more common.
The nice thing is that skill level is not necessarily even a factor here.
Whether you are a talented carpenter, or bumbling newbie that is just desperate to take care of some small tasks around your house, this set is going to be invaluable.
Of course, more experienced or professional level handymen (or, of course, handywomen) are probably going to already have their own methods of damaged screw extraction.
Chances are, this probably isn’t going to be the perfect gift to get for a professional.
While the appeal of the set is certainly broad, there is no denying that the people who are going to get the most out of this unique invention are those who are relatively new to tackling home maintenance projects.
How It Works
The way that this tool works is really pretty simple. The set comes with a variety of head shapes and sizes that are optimized for tackling a diverse range of screws.
Of course, there is a twist.
The bits of the extractor units are slightly misshapen to accommodate the damaged shape of stripped screws.
The promise of the tool is that it will be able to remove a stripped screw in any condition in a matter of ten seconds or less.
It sounds pretty nice, right? But of course, the question remains, does it actually work the way that it says it does?
The answer to that question, is, for the most part, yes. However, there are certainly some caveats to that answer.
For one thing, the promise of ten seconds or less, as one would imagine, is simply not accurate.
How long it actually takes to extract the screw, if you are able to do it at all, will depend on a wide range of variables that could drastically impact the extraction time frame.
Depending on how deeply the screw is imbedded, how badly it is damaged, and of course, other things, you may or may not even be able to get it out at all.
But this in and of itself is not necessarily a critical con.
While deceptive advertising is never fun, it is something of a staple in the “As Seen on TV,” world, and anyway, for the most part this tool actually does do a pretty good job of screw extraction.
The real problem is the quality of the build itself. It looks like SpeedOut didn’t want to spend a lot of money making this thing, and it really shows.
The edges of the bits aren’t very sharp, and the entire tool feels fairly flimsy, which of course does not bode well for the overall durability of the unit.
Speaking of which…
Is SpeedOut Durable?
No.
Ok, of course there is more to it than that, but the simplest answer to that question is indeed that the SpeedOut screw extraction system is not as durable as most people would want it to be.
We have spoken to plenty of users that report that the tips have broken off after only very short periods of use, ostensibly rendering the entire system useless.
Now, does this necessarily mean that if you decide to buy this tool set you will experience the same thing?
No, not at all.
In fact, this does not actually seem to be a standard component of the tool’s performance.
Potential buyers should look at this defect as a flaw that only crops up in select units.
Nevertheless, it is a troubling and debilitating con, especially when one takes into consideration the fact that Ontel (the manufacturer of SpeedOut) seems to make it pretty difficult to take advantage of the warranty.
Does the issue of durability (or lack rather, lack of durability) mean that you should forget about buying the SpeedOut system?
Not necessarily.
And we will discuss why in our next section.
The Price
At $11.25 (plus shipping and handling) you really aren’t taking much of a risk with this product.
Even if you do wind up getting a dud, it probably won’t come as a serious blow when you think about how much money you spent on the set.
And, of course, you can save even more money with an Amazon Prime membership, which entitles members to free shipping and handling.
While the affordable price of the unit does not entirely absolve SpeedOut of some of its greater flaws and defects, it does make them at least a little bit more palatable.
If you like the idea of the product and would really like to try it out, the low price tag may just be enough of a reason to splurge on it.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Affordable
- Very Useful
Cons:
- Low Quality Construction
- Serious Durability Issues
Conclusion
And there you have it!
As you can see, the SpeedOut certainly is not the perfect product and the flaws certainly are not insubstantial either.
But for as disappointing as certain aspects of this tool set are, there are still a couple of components that really do earn it a lot of points.
As we already mentioned, the price is definitely right.
Even more than affordability though, this product also just has the benefit of being very useful.
If you find yourself in the need of extracting a troublesome screw, you will certainly want to have the option to reach for something like the SpeedOut screw extraction system.
I personally recommend it as I’m sure you will always come across that stubborn screw that will make you wish you at least had this in your tool box ready to go.
