I've had one of these Varigrip exercisers for a couple weeks now. It hasn't broken and doesn't show any signs of breaking soon, the only noticeable problem is a light squeak when the levers are pressed. I noticed a difference in my hand strength after the very first day using it, so it definitely works. Only thing it lacks is difficulty, I'm already close to maxing out the spring tension.

I'd seen a couple of negative reviews in the past on this so I wanted to give it a decent amount of time before reviewing it. I've been using this item since May with no issues whatsoever. Others who have broken it may have overestimated its durability. It's plastic, people! You can't throw the thing around like a metal item!

That being said, I really like the adjustability, which allows you to increase the strength as your hands get stronger without buying a new item. My only complaint is that it would be nice if there was even a bit more adjustability. I reached the maximum strength in a month and wish there were more.

Ok, so I got this in the mail yesterday. I havnt used it more than a few times but so far it works great. I am a little concerned with it breaking, but it hasnt yet. But otherwise this little tool works great and does what its supposed to do. So far I'd say this is a great buy. I have used the gripmasters too though and I must say they are much more effective, but I really like the variable tension feature so I'm definatly going to stick with the varigrip.

I never knew how out of shape my fingers were till I got this. The lightest setting is a work out. If you wanna improve strength buy this you won't regret it trust me.

I ordered this because the variable tension interested me, and on this promise it does deliver, it goes from light to fairly heavy. BUT that's not really the problem, because after a few minutes of using it one of the finger columns (?) popped off. I received excellent customer support and will get a new one, but am wary that the new one will have the same problem. Bottom Line, if you plan on using this, be vary careful with it and do not go fast, as its made completely of plastic (except for the spring). If you do plan to build speed as well as strength, get a Gripmaster, it may not have been made specifically for musicians, but I've had mine for over 10 years and it still works perfectly, (just choose the right tension).