Boxing day purchase: Should you get the Ecotech PK?

[mrhasan]

Alright those who have came here with "Aha another thread from Raied, better get ready to bash that inexperienced noob", well CHILL :) Its all about love today :smile:

So the topic of the day is:
Should you buy the ecotech PK? Is it worth buying or is just an overpriced tool kit?

Well here goes my review :)

The BOX
To me, the packet/box of something that I buy plays a huge role. If I spend money on something and it comes with a warehouse/crappy box/packet, its a big let down for me. And in this case, I AM BLOWN AWAY! The quality of this box is unmatched to ANYTHING I have seen/experienced for this hobby. The box is so good that holding it would make even a non-reefer happy: IT'S THAT GOOD! The finishing is smooth and it feels good to hold in hand. And that thing is too damn heavy too! (with the tools, I would say about a kilo). Here's some pics:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/11551394693_352e3ed4c4_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551394693/)
2013-12-25 00.54.23 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551394693/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

Laser engraved (totally sold to this!)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7439/11551246785_dc1525e20a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551246785/)
2013-12-25 00.54.34 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551246785/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

No rough surface:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5531/11551394193_cf717aed6d_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551394193/)
2013-12-25 00.55.11 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551394193/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

The finishing over here shows the box is hand crafted (which would be awesome) or made with a very crappy machine :razz:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7388/11551246435_2eed4e6b1c_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551246435/)
2013-12-25 00.55.21 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551246435/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3769/11551382846_d5e5163fb0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551382846/)
2013-12-25 00.56.12 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551382846/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

The CONTENTS
Well time for the goodies that comes with it. TADAAAAAA:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2808/11551382646_8fcd10d4f3_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551382646/)
2013-12-25 00.56.34 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551382646/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

These are suppose to be made from German steel (well other than the glue and the frag plus :P). Although I cannot assure you about the steel but these things are NOTHING BUT QUALITY! You know you are holding something really really good when you are using them. And the best part (to me) is that all the steel tools are "laser engraved" with ecotech's website. Again: DETAILS!

The plugs are very unique; they are made in such a way that it won't rotate while put in egg crate. But won't make any difference if you put it in any commercial frag rack with round holes. I wonder whether these plugs are going to be available other than through the kit. Otherwise, they are not going anywhere but in my tank :mrgreen:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3692/11551393153_eeece9290f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551393153/)
2013-12-25 00.56.52 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551393153/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5530/11551392773_145131fbd2_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551392773/)
2013-12-25 00.57.19 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551392773/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

Then comes the four metal tools: bone cutter, scissor, soft coral clam and tweezers. Each of them comes with a cover at the top so that the box is not ruined.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3716/11551280774_6f265a59af_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551280774/)
2013-12-25 00.57.58 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551280774/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

And like I said before, all four tools are engraved:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7299/11551245485_8ca52f90ef_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551245485/)
2013-12-25 00.58.55 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551245485/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

I didn't find the scissor to be overly sharp. In fact, I would consider it to be moderately blunt since it didn't cut my skin when I moved my finger over the blade (don't try this at home; I can't be held responsible!). But I am guessing it can slice through soft coral with ease. Big hands might find it a bit challenging to use. My hands are of "medium glove" size so you can compare.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5474/11551392013_581ea8e77e_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551392013/)
2013-12-25 01.00.22 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551392013/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7434/11551381076_7fa6767a8d_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551381076/)
2013-12-25 01.00.49 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551381076/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

Now the tweezers. Very well crafted and extremely comfortable to grip with precision. Just as a reminder: this is to aid fragging and not moving things around like those 12"+ tweezers.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7434/11551381076_7fa6767a8d_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551381076/)
2013-12-25 01.00.49 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551381076/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5479/11551279404_dd52051a52_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551279404/)
2013-12-25 01.02.34 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551279404/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3673/11551390913_ed7d6d3e61_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551390913/)
2013-12-25 01.02.47 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551390913/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

Now, possibly the most important tool for this kit: the bone cutter. Very heavy (compared to the one I have) and extremely extremely well build (I will stop saying this from now on). Once again, I didn't find it sharp enough to cut my bone but maybe it can slice through SPS without any doubt/effort. But the cutter is quite big and might not be able to reach every corner of an SPS to make frag: a downside I found with this thing.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5473/11551388733_3ae71948f5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551388733/)
2013-12-25 01.05.09 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551388733/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/11551379826_2a26bc1c11_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551379826/)
2013-12-25 01.05.25 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551379826/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5500/11551388723_69aee440ce_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551388723/)
2013-12-25 01.05.32 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551388723/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5494/11551278814_7beddfa812_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551278814/)
2013-12-25 01.05.44 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551278814/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

[mrhasan]

Then the soft coral clam. I really don't know the world where it would be of perfect use but I would say, its a very good thing to place your corals around or hold to it while the glue cures. The tip is roundish and not sharp at all. One thing I found irritating with this tool is it got a lock mechanism and you need to twist it a bit to release the lock. I am a bit afraid that it might cause the clam to deform eventually.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5501/11551379236_330e272dbb_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551379236/)
2013-12-25 01.06.03 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551379236/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickrhttp://farm6.staticflickr.com/5472/11551242125_de5e4d7b65_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551242125/)
2013-12-25 01.06.12 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551242125/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickrhttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7314/11551378786_be2c9468c7_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551378786/)
2013-12-25 01.06.29 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551378786/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickrhttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7411/11551241665_72c89a0fef_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551241665/)
2013-12-25 01.06.41 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551241665/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

And finally, the only product (till now) from ecotech that I loved: the 75ml ecotech glue. The unique thing that I found on the back of this glue is that it comes with a small manual/precaution leaflet which I never found on the ones sold in LFS.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5549/11551240995_486ae120b4_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551240995/)
2013-12-25 01.07.47 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108185596@N05/11551240995/) by md. raied (http://www.flickr.com/people/108185596@N05/), on Flickr

Cost
Well you might be thinking, Raied why did you buy this?! It looks expensive! Well, nop, its not :) Its possibly the best priced product from ecotech (other than the glue) till now. Here's a breakdown:

The box: a box like this would cost you anywhere between $20-$50 depending on from where you buy it
The bone cutter: I ebayed german steel bone cutters and the displayed items would be atleast $50
The tweezers: Expect to pay $10-$30
The scissor: Well my dad is an architect and I know the quality of a scissor when I touch it. I have played enough with scissors (never ran with it I guess) so I would say, for this one, anywhere between $20-40
The soft coral clam's price is something that I am uncertain about so I will just ignore it.
75ml CG: $20
Frag plus: I would say not more than $10.

So, as you can see, the tools are way more than $99.XX that is the MRP for this kit. So yah, that's why I bought it :)

Is it worth it?
Well, this would be completely be a personal opinion. But if you are a hobbyist who frags a lot, this would be a perfect boxing day item to buy :) The build quality is unmatched and the tools seem like they can stand a lot of fragging session with ease. For me: it's an highly recommended product.

For Calgarians: Since concept is giving 15% off on boxing day, it would be a good item to add to the purchase list ;)

[Proteus]

I think it's a wast ofmoney myself. I'll take a Drexel and stainless snips from drugstore any day

Show my how week u can frag a large favia or acan that 2" thick

Sent from my C6906 using Tapatalk

[mrhasan]

I think it's a wast ofmoney myself. I'll take a Drexel and stainless snips from drugstore any day

Show my how week u can frag a large favia or acan that 2" thick

Sent from my C6906 using Tapatalk

True that. For fragging LPS, this kit is near useless. But for SPS, I would say well worth it since you will be needing those tools one time or the other.

[jorjef]

Just going out on a limb here, but if its Ecotech it's overpriced.

[mrhasan]

Just going out on a limb here, but if its Ecotech it's overpriced.

Well you might have guess but I thought that too. But then, after few ebaying and googling and trying to find the prices of those tools individually, I wouldn't say its overpriced. Its not under-priced too but compared to other ecotech products, I would say this is perfectly priced like the glue itself.

[jorjef]

If you had to buy the tools individually would you buy all of them? Not likely so did you spend too much to use one of the four tools occasionally and leave the other three sitting pretty in the fancy box. Ya probably. I'm mean unless you use tweezers or scissors on a daily basis who needs 'German steel' utensils.

[mrhasan]

If you had to buy the tools individually would you buy all of them? Not likely so did you spend too much to use one of the four tools occasionally and leave the other three sitting pretty in the fancy box. Ya probably. I'm mean unless you use tweezers or scissors on a daily basis who needs 'German steel' utensils.

Well I use tweezers a lot in my tank which is rusted right now (would cost be atleast $10 to get it). I need a bone cutter a lot to frag. A good one would cost me anywhere from $20-$40. My coral glue is almost at the end so another $20 over there. I ran out of frag plugs so another $5-$10 over there. I need a scissor to buy to get some left over xenias ($10 if I buy it from ebay). So basically I dont need all of them but if I were to buy them individually, they would cost me almost the same if not more. And would rust and I don't like putting rusty items in my tank (just personally issue). So if you already have these things, you shouldn't be looking into buying this as a requirement but (if you want) rather as an impulse buy. But since I have been looking to buy some of these tools, I grabbed it. Few frags can give me the return (so within a month) unlike .... nevermind :razz:

[jorjef]

There ya go, the best $100.00 you've ever spent :biggrin:

[mrhasan]

There ya go, the best $100.00 you've ever spent :biggrin:

LOL. I wouldn't say the "best" $100 I have spent but rather well spent; the cost is basically justified without any fillers like "R&D" and "advertisement" ;)

Oh btw Merry Christmas :D I am just spending mine sitting in my cubicle and working. :razz:

[jorjef]

Ya you too. I have to eat turkey AGAIN :sad:

[mrhasan]

Ya you too. I have to eat turkey AGAIN :sad:

:lol: Enjoy ;)

[Aquattro]

There ya go, the best $100.00 you've ever spent :biggrin:

I have an awesome BBQ I can sell you, if you're feeling all impulsive...:razz:

[mrhasan]

I have an awesome BBQ I can sell you, if you're feeling all impulsive...:razz:

Will you ship?:smile:

[Aquattro]

You want good cutters? I bought a pair of these over 20 years ago, still going strong!

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/bonsai-concave-cutter

[Aquattro]

Will you ship?:smile:

Ya, but with UPS. Could cost you a bit -lol

[mrhasan]

You want good cutters? I bought a pair of these over 20 years ago, still going strong!

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/bonsai-concave-cutter

That's a bonsai concave cutter and the seller won't ship :neutral:

[mrhasan]

Ya, but with UPS. Could cost you a bit -lol

I will pass then. With all the reviews about ups/fedex, I can't risk a good deal to become a PITA :razz:

And Merry Chistmas Brad :smile: I know I haven't been on the nice list of this forum but hey, I don't bark too much :razz:

[Aquattro]

That's a bonsai concave cutter and the seller won't ship :neutral:

I bought mine locally (Vancouver). Just linked that as an example. The only cutters I've ever needed.

[Aquattro]

I know I haven't been on the nice list of this forum

You're not on any Not nice list. You're just on your own list of "young guy with little experience that talks too much about not liking LEDs he hasn't tried". lol

[mrhasan]

You're not on any Not nice list. You're just on your own list of "young guy with little experience that talks too much about not liking LEDs he hasn't tried". lol

:lol: I can live with that :razz:

[Madreefer]

Looks actually pretty reasonably priced for the quality especially for an Ecotech product. See no need for the fancy box. But for those of us that don't use our tanks for a source of income it'd be kind of a waste of money. I'm not buying that just to give frags or corals away. Different story if I wanted to make money. Good review Raied.

[mrhasan]

Looks actually pretty reasonably priced for the quality especially for an Ecotech product. See no need for the fancy box. But for those of us that don't use our tanks for a source of income it'd be kind of a waste of money. I'm not buying that just to give frags or corals away. Different story if I wanted to make money. Good review Raied.

Thanks Bill. Merry Christmas :smile:

[Madreefer]

Thanks buddy. Merry Christmas to you too. :x-mas:

[Aysha]

I bought this kit 2 weeks ago I have been very happy with itm The bone cutters are unreal!