Like others, I was really happy to receive the loader (and the T-Shirt - thanks!), and began to play with it. Wanting to refresh myself with the operation, I went to page 1 of this thread (had to search to find it first - hadn't been here for a little while), and started using it. Well, it didn't work. Wouldn't feed anything. And I didn't quite understand how the bullets were supposed to tip into the feed tube (expecting them to slide right in, rather than getting flipped by the angle at the end of the feed tube), so mostly what I did, after removing ammo from a couple mags, was to spill .22's all over the floor.
So, I figured I was doing something wrong, and started reading posts, finally finding the one where the Beta Test adjustment procedures video was posted. Obviously, that were a big help. My problems and reactions are:
1) Initially, I wasn't pressing the tube holder down on the mag far enough, which wasn't giving enough clearance to feed any rounds. After realizing this problem, it made a big difference.
2) I realized how the "tipping" action worked, and for the most part, the rounds flip as expected. Sometimes, depending on how I'm holding it, or maybe just inexperience, one will flip off or wrong, but I'm getting better at it.
3) The tube slips rather easily in the holder, and was bent up some. I had to adjust pretty much every part: the tipping angle at the end, the rotation of the slot over the mag, the distance from the tube to the tip of the mag, and straightening the tube to properly feed to the mag. The video helps a LOT in this regard.
4) After adjustment, feeding went quite well. Sometimes I'll feed it a bit too fast, and a bullet will end up vertical, which is kind of a pain to re-do. But practice will cure this, I believe.
5) It certainly loads quickly enough once the rounds are into the bin. What takes the most time is placing them there, and, since I'm not yet at the range, unloading the mag to try again.
6) I'd say every other mag or so had at least one round which wasn't staggered, but I honestly don't expect that to be a problem. When loading manually, for a while, I noticed when I had a stagger problem, and never seemed to have a feeding problem because of it. So I'm not really worried about the stagger. I think, once I'm used to holding the loader correctly, it will load at least as accurately in this respect as I do by hand.
7) The Bic pen idea was good (of the dozens of pens in my house, would you believe I only found ONE "standard" size Bic?), but without something to force it round, it's really more of a guide. Still, if it gets bent up, it can help get it straight once again.
8) I agree a harder material would be better for the tube. NOT plastic, though, as it will end up almost impossible to adjust (I feel it will still need adjustment, but plastic would either break or just spring back). And to be honest, a tempered (T-6) aluminum might be hard to adjust as well. It's a Catch-22; the harder material will deform less easily, but might be a real bear to adjust by hand.
9) I made a mark (just black Sharpie on black plastic) at the 25-round mark, so as not to overload the bin. It seems to work well. If you make them larger, to accommodate 32-round mags, you might put 10-, 25- and 32-round indentations in the bin for reference. Not really required, and I realize that would require a longer feed tube, or simply load more times (easier to do).
10) While printed instructions would probably be either hard to do, or not much good, a single sheet of paper with a link to the video and your web site would be a good thing to include with the loader.
11) Quality of all the plastic castings are excellent, and the fit over the mag is excellent as well. Very good job there. The aluminum tube doesn't quite seem to fit the rest of the product, quality-wise, though.
12) It took me a while to realize how easy it is, when having a feeding problem, to simply tip the tube back and return the cartridges to the bin, rather than just lift it and having them spill all over the ground. ;-) That's me, though.
13) Since I can now operate it pretty well and consistently, please realize that the "points" I've made above are more for informational purposes, not really complaints. I figure if you know what problems people have, however small or perceived, the better position you will be in to either solve them, or explain how to avoid them.
I'm very pleased so far, now that it's adjusted properly and I'm more familiar with its operation. The real test will be at the range, of course, and I'm looking forward to that as well. I'll have to be careful handling it, but field adjustments should be easy, and hopefully will not fatigue the metal to the point of breaking.