product exceeded expectations

The fold-it utility cart is great. It is extremely light weight and simple to maneuver even with a full load. The quality of the materials is superior and I was able to put it together in a snap.^M
^M
I use it almost everyday to move various items around our property.

Kinda, Sorta, Okay General Utility Cart

Hard to be passionate one way or the other about this thing. ^M
^M
For an item that runs more than 150 samoleans, in the long run, it appears to pull up short. But in a pinch, when it's 99 in the shade, and the wife is nagging about multi-hour sofa surfing, and the Philles are down three to two in the bottom of the ninth with Jim Thome on deck, and you've got an SUV full of funkulating dog food, 1% milk, and steaks sitting outside your detached garage, this little cart is a godsend.^M
^M
Forget that it's somewhat flimsy, and that my kid's tricycle has better wheels, and that it's made of a grade of aluminum more likely found in a Shasta can meant for overseas distribution, it sometimes sets a tone like that of "the little engine that could".^M
^M
I've had it for a little over a year now and find that it's good at...^M
1) Porting groceries^M
2) Carrying annuals from the back of a car to the garden^M
3) Carting cases of beer from a garage fridge to an indoor fridge^M
4) Going over paved areas^M
^M
It's not so good at...^M
1) Hauling dirt or bricks or stone, especially across unimproved surfaces (wheels are just to thin, and it can get seriously bogged down in wet grass or dirt)^M
2) Pushing anything (in the "push-configuration", it is simply too unstable)^M
3) Collapsing into a store-able format (breaking it down is a real hassle)-- kinda funny given that's half the Tipke's sales pitch^M
^M
If Tipke spent another couple of hours on the design, and could figure a way to drive-out 20or 30 dollars in cost, I'd give it a solid five stars. Until then, I'd recommend looking for other options.

Best Thing Going BUT----

This will be our third Foldit. (Amazon's got by far the best price at this moment--) It's a workhorse and still the best thing going that I know of BUT be aware:

1. The tires are flimsy. Get good tubes (if the tires come without them) and get a plastic strip thorn-proofer from a bike shop. It will help. Might as well get a can of flat tire spray, too, if you're going to pull it over anything rough or thorny (like berry prunings).

2. The design has a serious weak point: the rolled sides of the cart (where the handles slide in) will split at the handle-locking rivets if you habitually carry much weight (say 50 lb or so) over rough ground. This is very hard to fix and the split widens until there's a big tear and the handles fall out --permanently. That's what finally did in carts one and two. This time I'm going to try to reinforce the area around the rivets immediately, before they have a chance to start a split. Fold-it seems to outlast expensive wood carts by years despite this flaw.

3. Plan to pull the cart. Pushing as you would a wheelbarrow is hopeless. (A Fold-it is not necessarily a wheelbarrow substitute.) It's handier and better balanced by far than any deep plastic or wood cart I've tried, but it's not good at moving manure or heavy loads into the garden --the tires are narrow and sink into worked soil, and it's not made for turning in place or flipping upside down as you would a wheelbarrow. You can push it down a row empty and pull it out with a light load of weeds or produce, though.

4. You get to balance the load yourself. This is good. Some carts get heavier and pull harder as you load them. Balance the load in a Fold-it so there's weight behind the wheels and you can pull it with one finger, on hard ground.

5. The bed is a convenient height, great for taking to the orchard to bring back with heavy baskets of fruit, to the clothesline with heavy baskets of clothes, from car to kitchen door with mega-loads of groceries. Easy to load because the bed is flat and rectangular, and you don't have to lift heavy dog food bags (for instance) over the sides. You can slide them out the back with the gate off.

6. If you use the Fold-it for hauling hay, compost or weeds, expect to spend some time cleaning the fold lines if you ever need to fold it. Plan ahead if you're taking it to a horse show!