Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Glance through my reviews and you'll see I'm hardly inclined to give a product five stars without a good reason. In this case I have no choice: the large Giottos Rocket Blaster is an item of such flawless quality and functionality that I literally can't think of a single way it could be improved. In its standing position it has approximately the proportions of a large drinking glass. It's not small; in fact it's about as big as it can be while still fitting comfortably in your hand. That's an important detail: squeezing it is easy enough but because of its size it moves enough air to direct a strong, smooth blast at whatever you're attempting to clean. I've spent half my life trying to blow dust off lenses with junky little blower/brushes that don't do a thing, and through size alone the large Giottos blaster is a vastly better tool for the job. Beyond that, there are lots of design details that help the Rocket Blaster do its job. The materials, particularly the expensive silicone rubber used for the blower bulb itself, are of obvious high quality. The bulb has a separate intake valve at its rear, so that it can fill more quickly than would be the case if the small blower nozzle were its only source of intake air. And of course its freestanding "rocket" design is itself simple, useful and unique. Look closely at the blower nozzle: the hole through which the air is forced is not round, it's an obviously-deliberate triangular shape, and if you think about it a moment it might occur to you that a this interesting shape might very well be more efficient at generating a coherent stream of air than a simple round nozzle. Just another detail. The end result is an item that is deceptively simple but so nicely made that it just doesn't have any competition. It's a flawless little piece of Italian design that anybody can buy, appreciate, and put to good use. It might cost five times as much as a junky little blower/brush, but it must be at least a hundred times better. Miscellaneous notes: - This is the "large" Rocket Blaster. There is also a small model, and in some cases here on Amazon it has not been perfectly clear what you're getting from the item photograph or description. Here's how you tell difference: the small blaster has a round (spherical) bulb, the large one has an elongated, more or less elliptical bulb. - The large blaster is not ideal for carrying in a bag: it's a bit too big. Buy one of the small models for keeping in your bag, and the large one for home. The large one is probably two or three times as effective as the small one, however, so if you only intend to buy one, buy the large one. Honestly, by the time you have a modest sum invested in camera gear, you really ought to have both. - It's hard to quantify the strength of the airflow - too subjective. Here's my attempt anyway: Putting a penny down on a smooth surface, the airflow from the large blaster from a distance of about three inches will make it jump. At about the same distance, aiming the blaster at the palm of my hand will create a depression in the skin of the palm. I can make a piece of ordinary copy paper flutter by using the blaster from about 2-1/2 feet away. Compared to the small blaster, for those who have it, the large blaster seems to provide about double the force of air for about double the amount of time.