Product Review: Freestyle Cordless Glue Gun by ColdHeat
The ColdHeat Freestyle cordless glue gun is the first electric glue gun that I’ve come across that is truly cordless. More importantly, it is the only cordless glue gun I’ve seen that is designed to work with the 1/4-inch diameter mini-size glue sticks…a real boon to crafters who prefer to use the mini-size sticks over the 1/2-inch diameter glue sticks.
Preparing the ColdHeat Freestyle for use was simple and quick. I was able to fully charge the battery in about two hours, and the battery does provide well over one hour of continuous working time.
The first thing that impressed me about the ColdHeat Freestyle is how quickly it is ready to use once the battery is charged and snapped into the Freestyle's handle. It had the glue up to a useable temperature in less than one minute, as compared to around five minutes for a corded mini glue gun. No crafting time wasted waiting for a cold glue gun to heat up! Also, I can work quickly and always have a sufficient quantity of hot glue. With my regular gun, I find I can rapidly exhaust the supply of well-melted glue, and find myself squeezing hard to force more glue from the gun. This is never a problem with the ColdHeat Freestyle.
I also find I really like the workspace light…at first glance, I wasn't sure why this would be such a great feature, but I do find that it helps me see exactly where I'm applying the hot glue in situations where the room lighting isn't optimal. It will also be handy when I need to make a repair in a difficult-to reach or see location!
The truly cordless operation of the ColdHeat Freestyle is my favorite feature of this glue gun, though. I frequently go to shows where I need to give demonstrations of crafting techniques, and using a corded glue gun can be very limiting. With the ColdHeat Freestyle, however, I can set up the demonstration even in a space where an electrical outlet is not readily accessible, and there are no cords to hassle with during the show. It's easy to pass the glue gun to the demonstration participants so they can try the technique themselves, which is something I have not been able to easily do in the past.
I also like how I can take the gun to a project, and not have to bring the project to the work table. This will be especially handy for repairs and outside jobs!
While I am impressed with the overall function of the ColdHeat Freestyle glue gun, there are a couple of drawbacks I do want to mention. The first is that each trigger squeeze delivers a smaller amount of melted glue than the corded glue guns I'm used to using. So while the trigger has an ergonomic design that makes the gun easy and comfortable to use, I find I'm squeezing more to get the same amount of glue that I would get with fewer trigger squeezes of my regular glue gun. The plastic piece that juts out from below the trigger grip can sometimes cause discomfort to the hand as well during use…I found that my pinky was frequently rubbing on this piece, which doesn't seem to serve any real purpose.
I'd also like to comment on the transparent glue chamber of the ColdHeat Freestyle glue gun where the glue stick gets pushed through by the trigger. In a regular mini-size glue gun, this space is not very large, and as a new glue stick feeds in, it butts up against the old glue stick and pushes it farther into the glue gun. The space in the ColdHeat Freestyle is wider, and it gives the glue sticks too much room to flex. Several times during use I found that I would squeeze the trigger and the old glue stick would bend to the point that the end of the new glue stick would slip off to the side, resulting in no feed of glue through the gun's nozzle. I hope that future versions of the ColdHeat Freestyle find ways to improve both the flow of glue per trigger squeeze, the design of the trigger assembly, and the way the glue sticks feed through the glue chamber.
Despite these few criticisms, though, I am delighted with the ColdHeat Freestyle cordless glue gun. I now use it on a daily basis, and my corded glue guns are currently gathering dust in my craft corner.
Jill S., Wedding Crafts Page
