I agree with both points - they’re easy to use and they break. I purchased a Rabbit several years ago. It broke & Metrokane replaced it after a bit of whining on my part. The second one broke & I sent that back too - the third one is still in use. Suggest you keep your receipt if you buy one…
The silicone covering on the corkscrew itself eventually wears off. When the screw gets hard to insert, it’s time to replace it. Perferably before redecorating your kitchen with merlot. That’s why a replacement comes with this kit. (costs 8 bucks on Amazon, so consider that in your “value” calculation for this woot).
don’t let the un-intiated (me) use this with out instructions. I broke my friend’s. I still feel really bad. We still have not figured out how I broke it.
I have a knockoff of one of these, and it has worked wonderfully for 2- 3 years.
They eventually break, but so does my car.
I agree with the elegance of the mechanism that makes the whole thing work.
I love these things.
As I get older and my grip is less iron-like, a good long levered opener is a wonderful thing.
Unfortunately, I’ve owned several from different manufacturers and they’ve all eventually broken, both metal and plastic. The metal one lasted 4 years and broke 2 months ago (sigh).
Now that I’ve blown my wad on 2 orders of Monday’s offering, I’ll probably have to resort to my shoe, unless some angel comes to my rescue and gifts me a decent opener.
Skip to about 3/4 through the following video to see how to use your shoe to open a bottle.
My wine.woot tool set is still working flawlessly. If they came back up I would definitely buy a couple.
You probably both wore it out and created a wine shower because you were using it really aggressively. If you take your time with things, just a little bit, you would never have a wine shower and probably never break the thing.
That’s major gift money there, for something that’s essentially a stocking stuffer. I’m gifting three of the $15 versions with the last two Monday offerings instead. Wouldn’t mind someone buying one for me tho…
My wife got me one of these when they first came out. She wouldn’t tell me how much it cost but I suspect it was upwards of $80. I have had it for probably 8 years and it is still going strong - never a failed opening. Everyone who sees me crank open a bottle wants one.
Rarely have I used a product that works as effectively as this one.
you are right, so I just don’t push don’t quite all the way, and the cork still pulls out perfectly… just a little touch and it opens perfectly.
I’ve got one of these that my roommate forgot when he moved out a couple of years ago, and I love it. It’s a far cheaper version from Costco (“Professional Corkscrew”). I’ve opened probably 80-100 bottles with it and haven’t had anything break… and it’s got two extra screws in case one does break.
That said, $60 is a bit steep for one of these. The look is pretty much the same as the Costco one (well, aside from the leather case). Personally, I’ve got a $25ish one from Amazon on my xmas list. That way, I can actually give my old roomie his, rather than trying to convince him over and over that I’ve lost it while he’s starting at it on the shelf.
So maybe the magic price is $59?
This is the kind I have:
http://www.brookstone.com/6-piece-wine-gift-set.html?his=2~46337~2~root_category@kwd~wine+opener&bkiid=searchResults|C4CategoryProdList1FDT|7222529
I have had it for 6 years, it hasn’t broken and I’ve given them as gifts and they haven’t broken for them either.
I gave a Rabit one once as a gift and it broke after 1 year.
With the Brookstone at 59.99 you can get it at your local mall if you have one and no shipping charge. Judging by the reviews on Brookstone they haven’t broken for anyone else either.
These things are awesome! I have used these and they work incredibly. It’s also amusing watching someone who doesn’t know how to use it, try opening a bottle. Then when they try to take off the cork. I laugh every time!
I use this almost every day. Love it! The foil cutter broke within a few months though =(
I have the brookstone set as well and haven’t had any problem with it after 4 years.
I own one of the regular red ones, not the VIP edition and absolutely love it. It’s very quick to operate, very easy to use, and works better than any corkscrew opener I’ve ever had. Not to mention people always find it cool to see in action.
It does take a couple of times to get used to the motions, but it’s not that hard. I highly recommend this!
I have friends with these, they’re fast, work pretty well on most wines. They do sometimes drop a granule of cork in the wine as they push through, but I’d rather that happen than have a corkpull that is too short.
That said I would never use them on an older bottle of wine because they don’t always get the screw started in precisely the right place on the cork. For that you need a waiters pull, or my favorite: the winged-style.
Henckels made some reasonably cheap ones that work really well but they discontinued them. I found a few on Ebay and I’ve been hoarding them.
For the really delicate ones, you want something like this.
I think this rabbit pull, a waiters pull, or a winged pull, plus the cork pull/extractor, and you’re set.
bought one of these like 6 years ago for $1 at a yard sale. best dollar i ever spent. it’s the plastic kind. works great so far.
I agree with everyone. 
I don’t think so.