Like the design where you can pull out any length of cord and use it without having to remove the whole thing from the reel. Great price for a 100' reel. This is my 2nd one. Previous one was under the Craftsman name, but is the same thing.
Hold/push the top handle down while pulling cord off the reel so unit doesn't move. Put your foot on the back lower portion so it is a lot easier to wind in the cord. Leave 2' of male end coming out the side hole & fold it into the opening while winding, then pull it out to plug it in. It's not perfect but better than other designs. I got 100' of 12-3 cord on this reel. Been using the Craftsman reel for a long time- even after a repair, it still works. Needed a 2nd cord reel.
They could make a bigger piece in back to put your foot on to keep it from moving. And make bottom a little taller to raise height of crank handle. But it still works as is. Realize you are storing 100' which isn't easy for any design.

Okay so for holding a cord it works well. However our application was to get our cord that is left plugged in up off the shop floor after use. We already have a bracket but when you get busy taking the time to manually wind up the cord when it is wet with salt & slush is a really pain. Well with the reel holder you have to unplug the cord every time you want to wind and unwind it. This is not only inconvenient there is no way the guys in the shop are going to remember that. So we will send it back and spend more money on a fixed reel. We had hoped this would work out as it would be great to simply unplug and lift the reel to take it out in the yard, but having to plug and unplug every time you need more cord or to put it away is lame and we will not have that. Not sure yet if I will send it back or use it for extra air hose. If I find a "GOOD" use for it I will certainly come back and up my review rating but for now 2 stars is asking a lot.

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So after thinking about it and discussing with a few other Amazon buyers I up my rating to 4 *'s. This is certainly advertised as a cord carrier not a cord storage reel. Also it will hold and air hose as well, so it seems this item does do what it is intended to do and more. It just wasn't what I was looking for. I stand corrected!

Overall good product but there are a few short comings when using it for a heavier wire like myself (100ft 12/3). First off this was made to be really small and compact so when you are dealing with over 13 pounds of cord there will be some challenges but for the small pack size I think they are worth it.
Pros: The small size is great and it really does hold all 100 feet of a 12/3 cord if you pay some attention to how you wind it. It comes with hanging hooks so you can attach it to a wall to help utilize space even more. Seems durable enough to stand up to the cable but only time will tell. Price was not bad at all.

Cons: Starting with the handle at the top, it is hollow on the inside so when carrying a heavy cord you do get the two sides "cutting" into your hand which is uncomfortable. Short distances would not be bad but lugging it to and from my shed you definitely notice. Then they added a feature where the handle can fold flat when not in use to give it an even smaller profile. the problem is when winding up heavy cord it will fold and will pinch your fingers or hit your knuckles on the ground. Thirdly the unit is very short both height wise and length which is the whole point of it being compact but your knuckles move dangerously close the the ground while winding and such a light unit trying to pull in such a long cord it will fall over and shift all around while reeling in.
The Mods: Here is where the mods come in. For the handle I measured out a small piece of wood to fit into the handle and taped it into place with some strong ducting tape giving it a much better handle. Then I super glued the handle in the out position so it will not try and fold in during use. I have not done this last step yet but I plan on getting some small thin boards maybe two feet long that can attach to the bottom while reeling in or out so I don't have to worry about the unit tipping or banging my knuckles. Will update my review with future usage. Let me know if you had any questions and if this was helpful.

Why I like this reel, you can use as much or little of the cord as you want without having to uncoil the whole thing to get to the end of the plug to plug into the wall. That setup is great. I like that it can be wall mounted and easily taken down to carry around. What could use improvement is the carry handle which I had to mount wood under so it does not cut into my hand so much when carrying around. Also, when it is mounted on the wall, it wants to jump up out of the wall bracket sometimes when you are trying to reel the hose in or out. Does it fall off the wall completely, no, but it feels unstable and it is annoying that I have to constantly watch this so it does not fall off the wall from the movement. Please find a fix for this, some sort of retractable clip that you can slide out of the way IF you want to remove it from the wall. Such an overall great product minus these issues. So far I do not have a problem with the handle wanting to fold in as I turn it. I will come back and update over time if that changes.

the 100 Ft 12 Gauge roughly .40 inches thick fit on the reel with a short adapter for more than one plug, and still had additional room. I currently have PVC pipe inserted in both handles as described in other reviews. I still need to add legs to the base for stability when rolling each cord out and in. The 10 Ga. did not all fit on the roller though it is thicker at between 1/2 and 5/8 inches thick. 80 feet fit on the roll with an additional 20 Ft excess that would not fit in the gap at the lowest portion of the handle, and my fingers barely fit at the higher carry handle, with no gloves. As can be seen the extra 20 Ft did fit coiled at the bottom. Even the thick cable fit two lengths in the center section allowing 20 inches to plug in and a short multiple outlet extension could be slid looped at the handle (not shown) so that your hand could still pick up the reel. Functional, and as others have said the best I could find for the longer, heavier cords at this price.