A&CNet's Review of the Freestyle Cordless Glue Gun (cont.)
Type & Quality of the Glue Sticks –
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The Freestyle is designed to work with all-purpose standard 4" mini glue sticks or low-temperature or multi-temp mini glue sticks which is an obvious factor contributing to its quick warm-up abilities.
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For the avid professional who does a lot of gluing on a lot of different projects, and therefore, probably has a few different glue guns using different types of glue sticks and “dispense rates”, the Freestyle’s lower working temperature may present a small tradeoff — it heats quickly, cures quickly, and can’t burn you as easily, but it may not flow as smoothly as high-temp glue, and needless to say, you’ll go through mini sticks much faster than you would with the standard size. That being said, all of these tradeoffs are typical of all low-temp mini glue guns using mini glue sticks.
Rechargeable Battery –
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ColdHeat’s Freestyle isn’t the only cordless glue gun on the market, but what sets it apart is its rechargeable battery design. There’s disposable battery glue guns which burn through batteries like crazy. And there’s butane glue guns also, but they’re not very convenient and they’re a lot more dangerous than the FreeStyle.
Battery Accessibility –
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If the battery needs to be charged, a user simply squeezes the grey tabs on the side to free the battery from the handle and insert it into the charger… very easy to do.
The Charger –
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The battery on the Freestyle uses an external charger that plugs into the wall rather than using the glue gun itself as the charger which would then have to plug into wall ac outlet. The advantage to this is that you can charge a second battery while still using the glue gun and then swap in a fresh one when needed.
Time to Charge –
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The battery pack can be charged in 3 to 4 hours or less if only partially discharged. There is a green light on the front of the charger that flashes to indicate that the unit is charging. This is handy when you’re using the Freestyle away from a power outlet for example, because it’s visible from quite a distance and makes it easy to tell when the battery has completed charging. When the green charge light stops flashing and remains solid, it’s fully charged. At that point you can simply unplug it from the charger and plug the battery pack right into the gun. Turn the unit on and wait a minute and you’re ready to get to work.
Battery life –
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Our tests confirmed ColdHeat’s claim that the FreeStyle will operate for “up to” 1.5 hours of continual use on a single charge. This makes it practical for the typical around-the-house or workshop hobby and repair work.
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It, of course, depends upon what you’re gluing, but in our tests the Freestyle ran out of glue sticks before the battery ran out of juice. When you take into consideration the “powersave” feature that ColdHeat has built into the gun and how long the average user uses a glue gun, I don’t think anyone will really have an issue with the battery’s life.
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Of course if it does become a problem, their website promises that additional batteries will soon be available for purchase directly from ColdHeat. So an extra battery or two coupled with the external charger means it would be possible to always have a fresh battery available. Alternately, if you need that kind of continuous glueing “heavy duty” without a break, perhaps a corded glue gun with it’s own set of few pros and many cons may be more practical for you.
Battery Indicators –
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There are 2 LEDs on the back of the gun. The top amber one lights up when the unit is in “PowerSave mode”. This patent-pending "PowerSave" feature enables the gun to go to sleep, essentially temporarily shutting-down the heating elements. It begins cooling off automatically after 8 minutes of inactivity. However, it is motion-sensing and immediately begins reheating when moved. The bottom led is the “low battery” indicator. It lights up a solid red when the battery is low and needs to be recharged. As soon as it flashes rapidly it’s totally discharged. The lower voltage battery power source makes this gun a much lower electrical hazard.
Product Warranty –
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One year limited manufacturer warranty – standard for a high quality glue gun.
Availability –
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It is hoped that the ColdHeat Freestyle Cordless Glue Gun will be available at national retailers soon. You may currently purchase it for the special introductory price of $24.95 by visiting the ColdHeat web site at http://www.coldheat.com or by calling toll free at 1-800-334-0573.
SUMMARY
THE PROS:
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When fully charged we found the heat-up time to be less than 60 seconds.
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The above average battery life would be more than adequate for any typical project. The battery may be recharged or topped-up at anytime without exhibiting any battery memory problems.
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The truly cordless and portable design is great! You’ll find you can use it in your workshop, your house, your garage, your car, your office, and virtually anywhere.
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With its long-life, rechargeable battery -- the user is freed from the nuisance of cumbersome ac cords that get in the way or tie you down to one location.
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It feels comfortable with its rubberized grip and triggers easily, NO finger strain – NO carpal tunnel pain!
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It’s rugged and durable and being cordless, I suspect people will be using the Freestyle in places wouldn’t normally use one… and that may make it more susceptible to being accidentally dropped, but it seems to handle that quite well.
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Its built-in stand is better than the flimsy wobbly ones common to most glue guns.
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Its LED work light is a smart and convenient feature.
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Risk of burning one’s self is greatly reduced thanks to the insulated tip burn protector.
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The Freestyle is safer to use than corded glue guns. Risk of any electrical hazard shock is greatly reduced due to low-voltage design.
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It uses standard 4" mini glue sticks (approx. 4" x .28" size)
THE CONS:
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The battery does add weight and size to the glue gun, though compared to most on the market this is a non-issue.
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It could be susceptible to occasionally falling over when resting on the flip-down stand with the battery attached, due to a higher centre of gravity.
*Recommendation: Increase the angle and flat surface area on the bottom of the battery to better support the gun on the handle. -
Obviously, the performance will slightly decrease as the battery becomes weaker.
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The obvious downside is that since there’s no way to plug in or use the Freestyle with a cord, once your battery is dead, the glue gun is completely unusable till you recharge your battery.
*Recommendation: Re-design it to have an operating time equal to or longer than the battery charge time so that you could work continuously by swapping batteries, or provide an alternate larger-size/longer-life battery (as long as the weight doesn’t significantly increase).
THE BOTTOM LINE
Overall, this is an excellent product. The Freestyle Cordless Rechargeable Glue Gun is a great improvement to standard corded products. Our opinion is that ColdHeat has created a cordless glue gun that performs better than any of the corded glue guns we’ve used in the past. The cordless portability and great battery life provide far more utility than a typical glue gun. There’s no doubt in our minds that you’ll start finding uses for it well beyond what you normally use a glue gun for – You’ll no longer have to contend with a dangling ac cord across your work surface or to trip over, and say good-bye to the warm-up time hassles that you have with a traditional glue gun!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED *****
