I don't know why I waited so long to buy this Solo spreader. So much easier and convenient to use versus the old bag style spreaders. Buy one and don't look back.

Wish I bought this years ago. A must have!!!

Product performed above expectations

First I want to address an issue a strap issue that has troubled some other reviewers, then I'll comment on quality and performance, particularly for spreading fire ant bait.
1) HOW TO "WEAR": The strap does NOT go around your neck, and there is not supposed to be a retainer clip on one end of the strap. The instructions didn't make it very clear how to attach the strap this unit, but one of the pictures in the manual told the story, and I really like how it rides now that I have the strap connected as intended. One end of the strap should clip to the loop at the top right of the hopper; the strap then goes over your right shoulder, down across your back, under your left arm, and then hooks under the BOTTOM left of the frame of the spreader. This should be the end of the strap without the retaining spring.
2) QUALITY: The unit appears to be very sturdily constructed, but the assembly was poor in two instances.
a) The side shield was installed on the wrong (back) side of its stop. I started to take out the hinge screw but then decided to flex and force it to pop over to the forward side of the stop.
UPDATE: I may have accidentally popped the side shield to the back side of the stop, but this is still a problem because it is too easy to accidentally do this, and then it is difficult to pop it back to the correct side.
b) The little agitator knob was not attached when the unit arrived, but bouncing around loose, along with its washer, inside the hopper. Fortunately it was not lost.
3) CONTROL LEVER PROBLEM: The volume control plate was so loose that it just flops around. How far it flops can be limited by the screw stop, but it still moved freely between fully closed and the stop. Solo technical service replied to an email regarding this problem but were not able to help me. However, I found a simple solution to the problem: There is a thick rubber washer on a peg on the volume control lever; the washer is supposed to ride on the surface beneath it. Well, the washer barely contacted the surface, and it was coated heavily with silicone grease. I wiped off the grease, which helped a little, and then installed a metal washer behind the thick rubber 'washer to shim it out and cause it to ride more firmly against the plastic surface. There is now enough friction to keep the lever from drifting out of position.
4) ABILITY TO SPREAD FIRE ANT BAIT: I spread fire ant bait at the recommended 1.5 lbs/acre; that is about 2/3 of a hopper full to cover my 4 acres. It is difficult to adjust this unit to spread consistently at such a low rate without clogging, and I still have to shake the unit once in a while to clear a clog. Opening up the volume control just a little more results in too heavy a broadcast rate. The reason that I didn't give this a lower rating is that in comparison to using the handheld broadcast seeder for bait spreading, the Solo chest spreader is pretty good. The handheld unit was even harder to control and clogged even more, and it held so little that I had to keep running back to the bait bag to refill it. It is definitely better for ant bait than my Ortho roll around broadcast spreader, which can't be adjusted to anywhere near a low enough rate. There are electric broadcast spreaders available for several hundred $ which you can bolt to the back of a vehicle, and some of these have a special "ant plate" for ant bait. Our local agricultural service will come by and spread your bait for you, and I understand that they work very well.
SUMMARY: Very good quality build except for the side shield issue and the control lever that I found the workaround for. It looks like it would be good for seeding and fertilizer, but I can't confirm this. It is marginally adequate for fire ant bait spreading, but better than any alternative except a much more expensive electric spreader.

I use mine in my epoxy flooring business to broadcast quartz! Nothing else was as fast spreading as this unit!!