This soda water maker has an elegant, old-fashioned feel. Unlike the soda makers of yesteryear, this one is made of clear, hard plastic rather than glass. (My guess is polycarbonate). I consider that a plus, as the plastic cannot shatter into dangerous shards. (I believe that the traditional mesh in old-fashioned soda makers may have been there to collect the shards in the event of breakage.)

The mesh is not the chain mail of yesteryear, but it gives both a good grip on the bottle and has "the look". Mechanically, it has worked well in the 2 days that I've had it. It is more exciting than pouring soda water from a store-bought bottle, or from a "sodastream" bottle. Not only is it more exciting to see the soda water jet out when the lever is pressed, it has the significant advantage that the water near the finish of the bottle will not go flat as does sodastream and store-bought soda!

The CO2 cartridges that charge the cold water that you place into the Soda Siphon are not very expensive, and they give a really quick, strong charge. They never run-down or need refilled....if you have a box of them, you know that each cartridge will give you a zippy charge of soda water. These cartridges never leak, unlike the CO2 bottles of the sodastream soda-making system that I mentioned above.

These recent sodastream-type "innovations" in soda water makers, have problems. I had one, and I tired of the fussing. One must buy refills of an aluminum cylinder containing the CO2, which are supposed to charge 60 liters of water. They do not. After 45-50 charges they become sluggish, as you try to make a liter of soda water from a cylinder that is almost out of gas.

I've also used the opaque iSi soda makers, which work on the same manner as this Soda Siphon Classic Mesh Sodamaker. The opaque aluminum ones work. But I prefer this transparent one because I can see how much soda water remains, and I enjoy the traditional flair that it imparts.

If you are entertaining, you could dully poor some soda water out of a bottle, or you can prepare the drink with a snappy jet of energetic soda water!

For me the only choice is this soda maker.... or the opaque iSi soda maker, if you want to save money.

The sodastream is very expensive, and they recently discontinued the blue CO2 cylinders with a screw-on connection, in favor of a pink CO2 cylinder with some kind of clip-on connection. Note: all sodastream customers must buy brand-new equipment, as the blue and pink cylinders are not interchangeable. (There are no adapters, to my knowledge.)

I have only one negative comment, which is why I gave 4 stars instead of 5: I ordered this 3 times in a period of 2 weeks. The first one I never received, and it was returned to Amazon with an indication that it was damaged and undeliverable. Amazon issued a credit without my intervention (I sure like that.) I immediately re-ordered. The same thing happened! I called Amazon to report it. The agent was concerned and put in a request that the stock be checked....the agent seemed genuinely concerned that defective stock might be being shipped. I ordered a third time, and the iSi North America Soda Siphon Classic Mesh Sodamaker was delivered without a hitch.

I'll never know what happened with those first two Soda Siphons, but I'm glad that i persisted!

Hope you find this counsel helpful!

I bought this to make my own sparkling water from my filtered water. I looks very sexy and makes really good soda water. I drink lots of water anyway and this is good.

The trick for getting this soda siphon making good carbonated water, either use cold water or place into the fridge until water is cold, then give the siphon a good shake before using.

I had one of iSi's glass globe siphon but didn't realize I was giving away a $100+ siphon to the Salvation Army. Had the same problem with the old one providing good carbonation, and only realized this once reading some reviews or the recent newer manual.

Easy Ginger Ale
1 cup of soda water
1 teaspoon brown sugar or common molasses, or sugar, to taste
dash of ginger to taste

Optional: ground all spice, cardamon, anise, lemon/lime juice, make a simple syrup for easier use.

Works for me!

I purchased this item a few weeks ago and my first review was not positive but I'm reposting with a positive because I discovered that the co2 cartridges I was using were apparently old, made by the same mfgr as the bottle but expired... Yep they apparently leak down. The taste and fizz with the new cartridges by LeLand are just fine and I'm pleased. The material used to manufacture the bottle and most of the other components is plastic, so I don't have high expectations for its longevity.

I had an iSi stainless steel soda charger for 12-15 years. It finally started having leaking problems from worn parts. Got this one and I love it. Looks really classy, has a large fill opening (bigger than my old one) and is easy to handle. The soda stays, well, bubbly all the way to the last bit. Oh, it is more stable with a wider base, as in I keep it in the fridge door and it doesn't fall over when the door closes. If you're torn between one like this and the ones that fill a plastic bottle: they both use the cartridges, but this is stand alone, no other "appliance" taking up kitchen space, and the ones using bottles? Every time you open that bottle, carbonation is lost, leaving the last bit flat. And it's spout is perfectly curved for dispensing into a glass. You can also take out the insert, tool included, to give ease of cleaning. Yep, I am very happy with this product. I definitely recommend.