This is my all-time favorite grabber; I use it constantly for all kinds of things, and have for about six or seven months. I now have three of the Unger Nifty Nabbers, with two more on the way (for a total of five), and I have two of other models (about which I will write in a moment, including product links). The reason that I have so many (I am building up to one for each work area) is that I would not be able to carry anything else if I had my cane in one hand and the grabber in the other, and it is no good if it is not within a reasonable walking distance (or limping or hobbling distance, in my case). None of the ones I have now have shown any sign of wear, even when I accidently leaned on one with my full weight instead of my cane. The grabbers bent in terms of the angle to one another, but they were easy to bend back with my bare hands so that they again met when the handle was squeezed, as they did not bend where it counted. The rubbery fingers on the tips are even great for giving the cat a good scratching when she decides to be coy without realizing that I can no longer go after her. She gets excited when she sees me pick it up, but the downside is that you have to pull off the bundle of cat fur before you can use the nabber again, since those angled textured rubber grippers really increase the grasping power. (If you are really crafty, here is an offbeat book on just what you can do with the fur you pull off:Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat .) There is an error in the description that no one apparently cares enough about to change. The SHAFT of the one I received is definitely anodized aluminum, while the HANDLE (advertised to be aluminum) is hard plastic. (During winter, an aluminum handle could be quite uncomfortable.) The head is angled at roughly 45 degrees, which makes it much easier on the wrist than those I have where the head is in line with the shaft. The angle also means that you can pick up something that has rolled a couple of inches under the edge of a desk or couch with the shaft still held vertically, so that you don't have to get down on the floor, as you do with the kind where the grasping portion is in line with the shaft. The squeeze mechanism doesn't require a huge amount of pressure, and the design of the handle makes it easy to hang over something relatively narrow, such as the shower door. (There is also a hole above the handle for hanging on a nail.) The squeezer on the handle is at right angles to the grasping portion, which places the hand/wrist in a more natural position when picking something up. (The others I have require an unnatural twisting of the wrist when grasping something.) I have had one hanging on the shower door for several months, and no part of it shows corrosion, although the paper label on the shaft is about done for. Although this does have a magnet built into one of the graspers, it is frankly not a very good one; it would not even pick up my tiny embroidery scissors. I keep a telescoping rare-earth magnet to use for such things, since I found that trying to buy something that combines a grasper and a magnet leaves you with a product that is not very good in either category, such asEz2care Alumium 30 Inch Reacher with Magnetic Tip and Ergo Handle . That one is not strong enough to pick up much of anything (it broke upon picking up a hand towel, the first thing I successfully picked up with the grasping portion), and the single claw will not close tightly enough to pick up lightweight things such as paper. The magnet will pick up embroidery scissors, but you can buy better extension magnets for less money, and which store compactly because of the telescoping feature. The single biggest difference between the Unger and the lower-quality graspers is the connecting mechanism between the handle and the grasping portion. On the Unger, it has a tight, springy feel, as though the connection is a metal cable. On the EZ2Care, it is a piece of nylon twine, with one end just tied to the handle mechanism. That means that when you squeeze, it stretches rather than grasps tightly. If you are ever judging graspers in person, compare the springiness of the handle mechanism. Cheap, stretchy connectors like synthetic twine mean you have to grasp much harder to exert the same force, and it may stretch out anyway. The grasping portion of this is solid metal covered with textured rubber, compared with the other models that were 100% plastic, and it has superior strength and grasping power to those plastic models. Because a magnet sticks to it like glue, the grasping portion is definitely steel, and it is riveted (not screwed) in place. It is made in China, but the craftsmanship seems to be very good. Overally, the ergonomic design of this grasper is the best of three I have tried, as the others have required twisting my hand/wrist into an awkward position to pick something up, risking sprain, and they also require more pressure to pick up the same object, or they don't pick it up at all. I intend to order several more of these, in order to keep one by each work area. This has really made my life much easier, since I could not pick up small objects off the floor after a serious back and leg injury. It is a godsend for my husband, too, since he does not have to pick up everything I drop any more; I can do it for myself. In terms of both design and craftsmanship, I give this five stars. If it fails in some way in the future, I will revise this review to reflect that.
