Would you believe I bought this to use in the grocery store? I am a bit of a fanatic when it comes to grocery shopping because I hate it and I don't want to do it more than I have to. I have a zip up notebook that I stash my coupons, pens, aisle by aisle location list, calculator and grocery list in so I know where it all is. Too many times when I am shopping I find that I cannot reach an item on the top shelf...and I am not that short. I got tired of "borrowing" tall people so I decided to find a "grabber". This folds in half so I can stash it in my notebook with the rest of my paraphernalia. Don't have to "borrow" anyone anymore because they are tall.
I love the Gopher but I understand why it gets so many one star reviews. It has two serious flaws which can be corrected but at some effort.
Gopher I vs. Gopher II
Both the Gopher I (which is red) and the Gopher II (which is blue) are available. The newer Gopher II has a swivel collar near the handle which allows you to turn the handle 1/4 turn and lock it in place. This would be a good feature if you had difficulty rotating your wrist when you tried to grasp something you want to pick up. However, the swivel collar is a point of failure and weakness and raises the price about $2. Unless this feature is important, I recommend the Gopher I.
Suction Cups Fall Off
Yes they do easily loosen and the screws fall out. The threads on the suction cup are plastic which is easily stripped when tightening the screws, if you can find them when they fell out. I can see why people give it just one star. There are two ways to fix this problem. If the plastic threads on the suction cup are still in good shape, get some gloppy glue like E6000 (my preference) or Gorilla Glue and slather it liberally on and around the suction cup screw and the neck of the suction cup. This keeps the suction cup from rotating and the screw from loosening. In the Customer Supplied Image area I added a picture showing this fix. This fix will last for two years or more. If you have already stripped the threads on the suction cup, throw away the screw, drill the screw hole all the way through the suction cup and put in a flat head machine screw with the nut on the side opposite the suction cup. You probably want to slather some glue on this too since it too may loosen without it.
Why Bother Fixing It At All?
Good question. I love the simplicity, reliability, and control of the spring metal jaws and the ability of the suction cups to grasp a sewing needle or other very tiny object on a smooth tile floor or even carpet. It is amazing. You can grasp a penny by its edges. If you don't appreciate its grasping capability, you probably won't bother overcoming the design flaws in the product.
Hinge in the Middle Does Break
This is the second major flaw. Even moderate sideways stress will damage the flimsy plastic hinge in the middle which allows the thing to fold in half so it can be stored in a drawer. I wish they had one with a solid arm which would eliminate the hinge. I never fold mine so I view the hinge as unnecessary. Either before or after the hinge breaks, you can do what I do. I get two 12 inch lengths of quarter-inch wooden dowel and put one on each side of the metal arm with the midpoint of each dowel where the hinge is. I then wrap duct tape in four places around the dowels and arm. This keeps the arm straight without relying on the hinge. Note: I have also used one-eight inch steel rod rather than wood dowel. It works fine but does add noticeable weight. In the Customer Supplied Image area I show this fix using wooded dowels on a Gopher I.
After Modifications, It deserves Five Stars
Unless you are really gentle or rarely use the Gopher, it will break. Without modifications it probably deserves 1-3 stars. After modifications, it deserves five stars even for frequent users. I wouldn't use it for anything heavier that one or two pounds even with modifications. I wish the Ontel people who manufacture the device (in China, of course) would change the design. Minor design changes would make it terrific right out of the box.
The Truth Be Told
I am returning the Gopher II I just received from Amazon. The thin aluminum tube ripped where the swivel attaches to the handle. The shipping box was probably slightly crushed during shipping. Had I ordered a Gopher I instead, it probably would have arrived in fine shape.
April 2016 -- Four years Later
I still like the Gopher with the mods above -- 1) rod to stiffen the hinge and 2) gluing screw or drilling through suction cup and replacing with machine screw. These mods have held up for 5+ years now. I did find an interesting alternative at an Aldi market. It is a Welby Reacher model 46545 made exclusively for Aldi. It's design is very much like the Gopher but with a round hinge-less aluminum tube. Because it has no hinge, the stiffening mod is not necessary. It has a functional wrist support which reduces the stress when lifting objects. I removed the wrist support because I didn't need it. The Welby is significantly cheaper at only $7. However, the Welby has two serious problems. The suction cups are very hard rubber such that most objects slip out of its grasp. I bought a package of 12 clear flexible vinyl suction cups in three sizes. And just like the Gopher mod, I drilled a hole in the center of the cup and used a machine screw and nut to replace the original cups. These replacement cups grip quite well. The other serious problem with the Welby is the push button grip locking mechanism. On the two units I bought it was almost impossible to unlock the grip after you had locked it. My workaround is to never use the locking mechanism.
First of all... God Bless the Handicapped! They deal with the impossible every day.
I've was involved in creative design work my whole life. I have just received my Gopher and have had an adequate amount of time to inspect it and it appears to be a good design to me. For $10 it's a steal.
I have never seen the other attempts at solving this same problem, but the Gopher looks like a very clean and workable design. The aluminum arms are reinforced with deep grooves that make them stronger for lifting heavier objects without adding excess weight. It's heavy enough to work, but not too heavy to use. An obvious proven design.
The rubber cups that are used to grasp things is an ingenious way to solve a complex problem. Who would have thought that suction cups were good for anything other than for holding up window ornaments.
Rubber cups have always been a problem for fasteners. I assume that the manufacturer of this product has used some sort of adhesive to join the cup screws with the rubber cups. It's the weak part of the unit, but an unavoidable one. If they'd used a metal plate inside of the cup, to lock the retaining screw into place, it would have limited the flexibility of the cups. So, I'll watch them and see how they do over time. Eventually though the cups will dry out and become brittle, but at $10 one can afford to replace the unit every few years, or even buy more than one for backup.
One subtle aspect of this unit is that the folding portion of the shaft is lockable, so no worry about the unit collapsing in the middle of picking something up. I found this feature accidentally by noticing some printing on the collapsing button half way down the unit's arm. It's black on black but if you get it in the light correctly you'll see it says "Push to lock." It's a good idea that only comes from experience.
Another nice feature is that the handle will rotate giving the user unlimited choices as to how they want to personally use the Gopher. All in a $10 item.
I am new to this business of being handicapped. It's amazing, my wife will set something down on the coffee table, where I am seated nearby on the couch, but if it is farther away than the length of my arm I can't reach it. My back was severely broken from a fall a while back and I just had my left hip replaced. I'm not eligible for surgery because of my limited Lung capacity, so I've just had to deal with my screwed up back. So, just leaning forward can be very painful. But with the Gopher I can reach anything on the table. It's like I just lengthened my arms by three feet. It's great!
I've heard it said before, but people should try to be handicapped for an afternoon just to see what we experience every day. They'd come away with a new awareness of what the handicapped face every day.
Reviewers tend to be a little myopic when judging an items worth. Considering the potential durability and low cost of this unit I am very pleased with my purchase and would recommend it to anybody in need.
*** UPDATE ***
After owning my Gopher for months now and getting one for my neighbor we are both pleased. I wouldn't want to live without it.
TaosGuy
I'd purchased the old red Gopher about 4 years ago, it worked great until it accidentally got broken. I ordered this new blue Gopher, and it is even better than the old one, at the same price! This reacher has more features and the hinge is much more sturdy. The tension required on the squeeze grip is consistent, and you can lock the grip by sliding the black tab. You can bend the hinge to fold the Gopher in half by pressing on the black button, it took me only a moment to figure out which side to press.
The rubber suction cups allow me to pick up sheets of paper that have fallen to the floor by sliding the paper up against my foot, or the wall, and then the edge of the rubber cup slips under the edge of the paper. I couldn't do that with all the other reachers I'd tried over the years, since they used hard plastic.
If you're hesitating to buy a reacher because you're "too young" or "not disabled enough yet" I recommend you give in and buy this product. It's so much easier for me to clean the house, get the laundry up out of the washing machine, and find objects that have rolled behind or under the furniture! My daughter (age 7) even loves to help clean using the Gopher, and finds and grabs her lost items under the sofa easily. She's also used it to get a book off a high shelf, and in the kitchen to grab boxes from a high cupboard. (Supervise your child if they're grabbing stuff, of course!)
With the old Gopher, the suction cups did sometimes pop off, but were easily reattached. At one point both the screw and suction cup from one side rolled somewhere and got lost, I replaced it with a regular window suction cup and a self-tapping (pointy) wood screw. When I received the new reacher, I unscrewed both suction cups, added some Tacky glue and re-screwed them. They show no signs of wobble at all! (Loctite Thread Locker won't work because you're dealing with rubber not just metal, so you need a multi-purpose glue.)
For any of us that have mobility issues, a Gopher Tool is a must! Whether I am sitting in bed, active in my wheelchair, or stuck on the couch, it saves having to ask for my family for everything I need. There are many designs but the ones with the suction cups on the bottom by far are the best for picking up tiny items, like the pill you just dropped and have to get up before your active little Maltese pounces to investigate. The problem I have found with most gopher tools is the suction cup 'picker-upsers' on the ends tend to break and render the tool useless. While the Ontel Gopher is better than most, it still happened on the two I purchased, however, I found a fix that worked like a dream.
You need to unscrew the two suction cups at the bottom and put a drop or two of Gorilla Glue in the screw hole (it has to be Gorilla Glue since it will expand and you need it to fill in the gaps, then, tighten the suction cup back on the tool. Once dry, I leave it over-night to be safe, they will not come off again and will be much stronger! Since having done this to both of my Ontel Gopher tools, neither one of them have broken again and will pick up things of greater weight.
Hope this helps someone out there!
As for the Ontel itself, it is one of the better Gopher Tools I've found. I have two and will purchase this brand again when I need another.
Feature Product
- Extendable gripping tool for use around the home
- Easy-to-use trigger enables a sure grip
- Suction-cupped "fingers" grab securely
- Rotating arm adjusts for tight spaces
Description
The Ontel Gopher II Pick-Up and Reach Tool is an indispensable household helper. This simple, easy-to-use grabbing tool features and extendable, rotating arm that enables users to reach hard-to-get items without bending, climbing, or straining. Perfect for use around the home and yard, the Gopher II has a comfortable handle with large trigger that activates two suction-cupped gripping "fingers" when squeezed. Avoid painful or dangerous reaching situations with this lightweight, durable tool.
My husband has owned one of these devices for years. Even though the price is low, it is made well enough that it lasts a long time. Recently one of the suction cups fell off, but my husband used duct tape to put it back on. It still works just fine, but I suggested it might be time to buy a new one. When it arrived, though, my husband insisted that I take it since I have trouble reaching over my head due to a whiplash injury.
This device is wonderful for people who can't bend over or reach. It is very light, so if you can't lift more than a few pounds without causing a muscle spasm, you can still use the Gopher. There is a button in the middle that locks the Gopher in full-extension mode, and another button that releases that lock so you can fold the Gopher, allowing it to fit into a drawer or suitcase--which means you can take it on vacation with you.
There is also a button on the handle to lock the grippers in place so you don't strain your hand keeping a hold on an object you pick up--very important for people with arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
This device is easy to clean, too, just use a damp cloth to wipe it down.
Here are some uses the Gopher I've already used it for: picking up shoes and items that have fallen on the floor; removing things from tall kitchen, bathroom, closet or garage shelves; making the bed. I also recommend taking it with you when shopping. You can retrieve items from the store shelves that are too high up--just don't try and grab really heavy items! You'd still have to deal with the weight. Not only is this device not made for very heavy things, but even if it were, hauling them down from on high could strain your back.
Another warning--be careful if you have balance problems that you don't accidentally lean on the Gopher like a cane. It isn't strong enough to take your weight, and you could fall.
If you are not the tallest person in the world or if you are confined to a wheelchair, this may be perfect for you. Small enough to store easily with its fold-down center, it grips extremely well. At five foot two with arthritic hands, I grab items from six feet up with no dropping or breaking. My friend with weakness and dizziness problems can reach his cell phone from his wheelchair and can retrieve dropped items easily. The lightness of of the 2 is far superior to the first Gopher grabber as is the ease of storage. A great invention was improved for its target audience, elders and other-abled people who often have muscle weakness too. Another pleasant surprise is that gripping doesn't provoke pain taking less pressure with the lightness of the 2. This is a great item if you want to grab and get it.
This pick-up tool worked well for many months, until I started using it to twist the dryer knob. It is not made for twisting in the manner I was using it, so it broke. It is a good tool if you take care of it. When I get this type of tool, I always take strips of duct tape and wrap them around the rubber grip pads to keep them functioning longer. It's great for reaching in high places.
I've purchased 4 Ontel Gopher brand pick up tools over the years and have had very good luck with them. I also purchased a cheaper one that didn't come close to meeting my expectations. I have pushed my Gopher to the weight limits at times and so far, I've not broken it! I don't just TRY to break it, but on occasion I need something I can't reach that is a little heavy and it's not failed me so far! :) I won't be buying any other brand in the future. I like to have one of these in several rooms in our home and in my husband's shop and our storage building. I love that it folds in half so that it doesn't take up so much space! I would DEFINITELY recommend this brand of reaching tool to all my family and friends.
I really liked this grabber. I guess I had "Gopher 1" that i had bought a couple of years ago, and it was just bad, kept getting stuck and that was just the worst part. This one is very smooth, doesn't lock up and helps me pick up some things I just can't bend to grab.
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