Works great in all aspects EXCEPT it consistently won't lock without playing with it for a LONG TIME. If I it to do again, I wouldn't buy it. My last cord reeler never had that problem.

This product works as advertised. I mounted it to the ceiling in my garage (8' ceiling), this works well for me. I used the included mounting plate and made sure I attached it to a ceiling joist. Since I was using the same plug the garage door was plugged into I made sure I installed the mounting plate just behind the fully opened garage door.
Pros: has a 15amp circuit breaker (important if you have a wood working tool and a vacuum plugged in and operating at the same time).
Cons: If attached to the ceiling the 20' length is a consideration (I wish I had looked for a longer cord length - perhaps 30')

I bought this to hang in the center of my garage. Now I have a central plug to go to. Any tools or the vacuum are easy to plug into. It works nice. Recommended.

I feel stupid for buying this after using it and rereading the reviews. Without spending too much time conceiving this review I'll lay it out as it is from my opinion.

A reel has 1 main reason to be purchased--to be a retractable extension cord. This misses the mark on the retracting functionally. It requires help and takes multiple attempts to retract every time. The locking clicks are too close together as well.

The only reason why people would consider this over cheaper ones is because it is 12awg. Missed that mark too because they put a 15 amp breaker in it. Why is there a 15amp breaker on it when it has 20 amp plugs and 12awg wire? I could see a 15amp breaker it if were a 50' cord for legit derating purposes but then 20 amp plugs on it still make no sense. The thicker cord is why it doesn't retract as well and the thicker cord is useless because of the 15amp breaker.

So to conclude, I feel stupid for buying it. The only reason why I bought it (12gauge) is the main reason why it doesn't retract easily. This would be fine if it were truly 20 amps but it doesn't use the 12 gauge to the full potential so why not get a cheaper 14 gauge that has a more flexible cord that actually retracts nicely if this reel is only 15amps in the end.

Skip it. Spend a couple more bucks and get a reel 20 amp real. Hehe

This had probably the best reviews of all the 12 gauge cord reels but I don't really see why. (Unless the others are just super bad) The housing on this thing is identical to the cheapo $30 Bayco & HDX cord reel you can get at lowes or home depot which we have about a dozen of. They just put a shorter, thicker gauge cord on it with a higher quality plug. When hung from high ceilings, the cord tension is lackluster at best and doesn't retract without a little finesse.
Like the cheapos, the cord stop is essentially useless and requires putting zip ties on to keep it from moving up/down the cord.

It's not bad, but it's not good either. Won't be buying any more.