June 2, 2009

Newborn U-Lite Caulk Gun - Review

Newborn, makers of many fine caulking guns (we have a nice old one that we use all the time) have recently released a new gun with an interesting design, one which makes it look as if half of the gun missing. This illusion is due to the fact that Newborn has managed to remove the forward portion of the gun; the half circle which supports the front of the caulk tube as well as the arms that support it. But what holds the tube in now, you say? Well, at the base of the tube, the plunger end, there is a circular ring of plastic 'fish scales' which angle back towards the handle and grip the inside flange of the tube. The design is such that the more pressure is applied to the plunger, the stronger the hold becomes. It's a pretty smart idea.

The main benefit of the redesign is that it lessens the real estate the the gun consumes, but not by all that much. In the storage position with the plunger in, the gun is barely smaller than a standard gun. Other perks include a quick snap-in/pop out loading process of the caulking tube, the ability to easily twist the tube around to get the beveled cut end into corners, as well as a non-dripping tube when the gun is at rest.

According to Newborn, the gun has a force ratio of 10:1 which is the same as any homeowner-level caulking gun, but much less than the really nice ones that carpenters and the other pros are going to be using. The fact that this isn't a job site gun is backed up by the plastic construction of the U-Lite. If this thing gets stepped on, it's all over. So the bottom line is that the U-Lite is going to have no problem with light-duty around the house tasks, but it's going to run into some difficulty with a half frozen tube of PL Premium on a job site. We're not saying that it's a bad gun at all, just that it has limitations.

So with all this in mind, we have to give props for the concept. Like we said, it's an innovative change and one that works well under light-duty circumstances. And it only costs about $10.

At Amazon