Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'll give this the usual positive/negative rundown. Positive 1) Inexpensive. Many of the highly-rated mills go for $40 and up. This is a bargain at $12. 2) Tray-style holder keeps ground pepper from making a mess on the counter or table. 3) I find the lovably dorky looks appealing. 4) Its handle grinding is much more ergonomic than the twisting action on many mills. 5) Grinds a lot of pepper with little effort. 6) Pepper loading chute is wonderfully easy to use and a big improvement on the disassembly mills often require. Negative 1) Plastic construction and overall feel don't generate a lot of confidence in its durability, though other reviewers seem to have found that it holds up well. 2) Coarseness adjustment is inconveniently located at the bottom where the pepper comes out, so you get pepper on your fingers when you make the adjustment. The range of coarseness is what I would call fine to medium; if you like coarsely cracked pepper, you are out of luck with this mill. 3) The round shape is problematical for gripping. The handle action requires a solid grip on the body with the other hand, and the round shape is not conducive to this. Worse, it's very possible to pop open the pepper chute when you grab hold tightly. I haven't had any spills yet, but I feel I have to exercise a little care to prevent this. Despite its issues, I really like this mill and for the price I doubt that it can be beaten. Postscript 15 months on: The mill has held up just fine, and I quickly adjusted to gripping the body to hold the pepper chute closed when grinding.