Randi's Review	Andrea's Review	Rachel's Review	Lynn Anne's Review	Eli's Review

Review by Randi

I have used dozens of hot/cold glue guns in various crafting venues throughout the years. To be honest, I really wasn't "wowed" at the idea of reviewing yet another glue gun. My experience has been that while there may be a few differences, basically "a glue gun is a glue gun is a glue gun." The manufacturer assured me that their glue gun was truly different, and after testing it I must admit that they were correct!

First of all, this is a truly CORDLESS glue gun. It runs on a rechargeable battery pack. Simply pop it in the charger, then snap it onto the handle of the Freestyle. It is GREAT to not have a cord getting in the way or limiting me to a specific area of my house. I am able to keep the Freestyle on my desktop then return the battery pack to its power source periodically for charging. The convenience is terrific!

Another difference with the Freestyle is its feel. The Freestyle is very lighweight, even with the battery pack, and it fits my hand like no other glue gun I've ever used. It dispenses a small line of glue that doesn't overpower my projects, and is most definitely my glue gun of choice!

The Freestyle seemed to heat up much faster than other glue guns that I've used. It offers two choices for the front project light intensity, "high" and "low" and both heat up with a lightning speed of under a minute. It also has a "Powersave" feature in case you forget that your glue gun is turned on. If it is left unused for more than eight minutes, it will automatically shut down. Simply pick it up or move the gun and it will begin to heat up again.

I've used the Freestyle over and over the past couple of months to really put it to the test. I've used the glue sticks included by ColdHeat and other types of glue as well. Please note that only all-purpose or low-temperature sticks are recommended. I've glued paper products, plastic products, floral, ribbon and glass. It surpassed my expectations in every instance.

While I don't frequently choose a glue gun while I am scrapbooking, there are several instances where nothing BUT a glue gun will do. Floral design is another of my hobbies, and I find it absolutely necessary to use a glue gun when I'm designing with florals.

I had the opportunity to test the Freestyle extensively with florals last month when my daughter graduated from high school. In addition to floral arrangements for the serving tables, I created twelve "bubble bowl" centerpieces for the reception. This was a time consuming task that really tested the Freestyle's abilities. With a project of this size I found that I did have to return the battery pack to its charger a few times. Still, I liked using it so much better that I chose to wait rather than use one of my other guns. I would suggest allowing extra time for completion if you have the need for a glue gun with HEAVY use. (more than a couple of hours.) The glue gun is battery operated ONLY. I didn't see battery packs sold separately on the ColdHeat website. Having an additional battery pack would allow the option of using one while another charges. Hint...to the manufacturer, I hope there are plans to make additional battery packs available soon!

Title: Floral Bubble Bowl
Products used: Freestyle Glue Gun, ColdHeat
Glass Bowl
Glass Marbles
Ivy
Small Flowers
Floating Candle

One feature that I really like about the battery pack is that it has "a high-quality battery chemistry that does not suffer from memory effects." This means that one may "top off" the battery at any time and need not wait for it to be fully discharged. Likewise, the battery pack doesn't suffer ill effects if left in the charger once the "charged" light has been activated.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Freestyle is on sale now for an introductory price of only $29.95 on the ColdHeat website! They say the package of 32 glue sticks is free, you pay just the shipping charge. When I tested this I found it was $6.95 to send one package of the glue sticks to my house. For seven packages the shipping fee was $48.65. If you order the glue sticks with the Freestyle it charges $11.90 for shipping, while the Freestyle ships alone for $4.95. It appears that the true cost of the glue sticks figures to be about $6.50 per package regardless of how they are ordered.

Truth in pricing issues about the glue sticks set aside, I LOVED the Freestyle! It is the easiest glue gun to handle and works better than any other I have tried to this date. I have to give them a hearty recommendation. If you use a glue gun in any area of crafting, you'll want to get your hands on this gem!

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Review by Andrea

Cool Tool Alert: ColdHeat Portable Bonding Tool (aka Glue Gun)

You may think that all glue guns are pretty much the same: they heat a glue stick until it melts and when you squeeze the trigger, the burning hot glue comes out of a shaped nozzle. I had that line of thinking until I met ColdHeat and realized that not all glue guns are created equal.

Talk about high tech! The evolution of glue guns has begun. No more do you have to settle for the dated hard textured plastic glue gun that hasn't had a design change for at least 20 years, ColdHeat is here. Stepping into the limelight is the sleek, contured tri-colored "portable bonding tool". They even gave it a cool name! Everything on this glue gun is rounded, there are no harsh corners or features added on as an after thought. Every feature is integrated with a purpose. The grip is exactly that, grip-py! A soft rubbery texture is added to the front and the back of where your hand grips the gun to make sure that you don't lose stability when operating the tool. Ridges line the back that fits into the palm between the thumb and forefinger so that vertical handling is a cinch. The grip is shorter too, about 2 1/2", allowing for even small hands to operate the gun. The trigger goes long down the grip so that two fingers can easily pull on it. This is a great feature for those with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or weak hands. The barrel of the glue gun extends over the top of the grip so that your hand is secured from slipping up towards the top of the glue chamber when operating. The mini diameter glue sticks are fed into the chamber from the rear. There is a window on the top of the gun viewing down to where the glue is inserted into the heating chamber! How cool is that? The nozzle is at the end, coated with a rubber boot to insulate the user from potential burning from the hot tip.

Some of the more unique features to the ColdHeat gun are quite innovative. There is actually an on/off switch! Well actually, it is an off switch with 2 "on" settings, powersaver and full tilt. The difference is in the intensity of the project light. Yes, a project light! Under the nozzle in the front is a white LED that lights up the surface that you're gluing. When the gun is on, the project light illuminates. Powersave mode makes the light dim, whereas the "full tilt" mode makes the light much brighter. I did find that the light helped when gluing under a flower which was out of my table light's range. Another feature is an automatic move to powersave mode if the gun is not used for 8 minutes. A yellow LED comes on at the end of the barrel above the grip to indicate that mode. Below that LED is a red one that comes on when the battery is dying. Did I say battery? Well, yes I did! That's the last big feature that is different - a battery pack! Now we can be like our significant others with their cordless tools! The battery pack pops into the bottom of the grip just like a workshop cordless tool. It is flat on the bottom allowing the gun to be put on your workspace standing up. The balance of the glue gun is in your hand when the battery pack is attached making it very comfortable. The pack is just as easy to remove by pushing in two buttons and pulling lightly down on it. Gotta love it!

You may think that it's odd for me to say all of the great things above about the ColdHeat when I must admit that I had a less than stellar start. My first ColdHeat glue gun looked terrific all shiny and new when it arrived. The battery pack charged beautifully and inserted into the grip just fine. BUT, that first one that I received seemed to work great except that it didn't melt the glue! The glue chamber didn't seem to work. A quick call by Randi to the manufacturer though, remedied that in just about 2 days. A shiny new glue gun arrived 2nd day DHL direct to my doorstep - awesome service. I'm excited to report that the second glue gun works just fine.

I really put the gun through it's paces with this project! I cut pieces of ribbon at various lengths and glued them vertically to the cardstock already attached to the can. The top and bottom were edged with ribbon, the flowers then rhinestones were added with the final touch of the monograms. ALL were attached using the glue gun. It took about 2 glue sticks and 45 minutes to put it all together leaving the low battery light blinking at the end. A fully charged battery should give almost 1 1/2 hours of use, but mine was not fully charged and I was using it the entire time. There was very little rest in between gluing the items. I was very happy with the operation of the tool overall.

Title: A's Tools Can
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: Iced Yellow & Suede Brown Dark and Exclusives: Bianco)
Patterned Paper (Treehouse Memories, Brighton Collection)
Ribbon & Flowers (unknown)
Rhinestones (Westrim)
Stitch Stamp (Starving Artistamps)
Ink (Stampin' Up! Basic Brown)
"A" Monogram Alpha Die (Spellbinders Shazzam)
Die Cut & Embossing Machine (Spellbinders Wizard)
Paint Can (Home Depot)
Adhesive (ColdHeat Glue Gun)

ColdHeat recommends low-temperature or all-purpose glue sticks for use in this tool. The heat-up time is fast, usually around a minute for the glue to start flowing. Since the tip is protected by the rubber boot, cool-down time is quick. I did find that the tip did drip a little glue, but not as much as other glue guns and not continuously. The dripping stopped after the first 1/4" blob dropped. I found that I tipped over the gun a lot. I'm not sure if it was my haste to complete the project or plain clumsiness, but I wouldn't mind seeing an increase the width of the front stand a tad for more support.

Even after my rough start, I highly recommend this product. When there was a problem, ColdHeat remedied the situation immediately with a great response. The tool is terrific with many features that other products don't have. It certainly makes it easy to work with no cord and a fast heat-up time. Great product!

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Review by Rachel

I was very interested when I heard that we would be reviewing another glue gun. Yes, the thought went through my brain, “Just how many glue guns are there on the market?”

Then I heard that it was going to be a ColdHeat glue gun. I had heard of this company before because my husband owns the ColdHeat Soldering Gun. So I knew that their tools were very professional and of a great quality. I had no idea that they had a glue gun, though. Well, let me just say, this ColdHeat glue gun is unlike any other glue gun I have used! I have very little counter space and I cherish every bit of it. Well, the ColdHeat glue gun had to become a permanent tool on my scrapbooking counter.

The ColdHeat glue gun retails for approximately $29.99. For this price, you receive the actual glue gun, a rechargeable battery, charger and A/C adapter, a quick start guide, and 8 glue sticks. It has a one year limited manufacturer’s warranty.

This ColdHeat glue gun is truly cordless. It comes with a rechargeable battery pack. This battery will run for an hour and half without needing to be charged again. It is portable and lightweight. Once the battery is charged, the glue gun only takes a minute to warm up. It drips much less than other glue guns. It has an activation light that lets you know when the glue gun is on and this light is also great for working in dark places. It has two light settings: low and high. It also has a clear window where the glue sticks are feed into the glue gun so you can see how much glue stick you have left. I love that feature.

The ColdHeat glue gun is very comfortable to use. It has a rubberized grip and is trigger fed so your hand does not tire easily. It has some great safety features also. Those include a rubber tip protector which keeps you from getting burned. The charger is a lower voltage power source which means that there is less of an electrical hazard. The glue gun itself has a built in stand.

I have used this glue gun for my scrapbooking, house repairs, and shoe repairs. Basically, just about anything and everything because it is so incredibly convenient to use and doesn’t take forever to heat up. I love the fact that it heats up so quickly and doesn’t have a cord to wrestle with or trip over. This glue gun is so easy and convenient!

Title: Leesha Canvas
Products used: Canvas: Value Canvas – 11" x 14"
Cardstock: Suede Brown Dark, Razzleberry Light - Prismatics
Patterned Paper: Stack II – Die Cuts with a View
Fixatif: Workable Fixatif – Krylon
Ribbon: Offray
Metal Letters: Making Memories
Flowers: Walmart
Rub-ons: Princess – Karen Foster Design
Trimmer: Tonic Studios
Glue Gun: ColdHeat Glue Gun
Adhesive: PVA Glue – Adhesive Tech and Glue Sticks – ColdHeat

As you can probably tell, I have a new favorite tool! WOW!! That is what I said the first time I used the ColdHeat Glue Gun. I love that the charger is small enough to fit on my scrapping counter without taking up very much space at all. The charger itself takes up about 3 inches of space. The glue gun just hangs out right over the top of the charger. I have never before kept a glue gun out all the time. This glue gun is TRULY cordless! I give this glue gun my HIGHEST recommendation. Any crafter is going to want this amazing tool in their home.

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Review by Lynn Anne

In the spectrum of glue-gun users, I suppose I'd fall somewhere in the middle. I've tried them on a number of projects around the house, but I can't say I've used them extensively. I've used the super-cheapy palm-sized craft store kind, and the super-sized industrial models with fancy nozzles. I own one that tethers me to a wall socket, and two that can temporarily disengage from their cords for easier application. They can get a little messy, and a hot-glue burn is never entirely out of the realm of possibility. But there are some things that just don't adhere easily (or at all) without the use of hot glue, so I've come to accept them as a crafting staple. If you're more interested in a single tool than the arsenal I've ended up with, let me recommend just one to you. It's by a company known first for its soldering tools, and only lately for its cordless glue gun: ColdHeat.

This is the most convenient and easy to use glue gun I've tried to date. No small part of this is that it's cordless. Cordless around this house means less chance of a toddler pulling the gun to the floor via a dangling cord, or a cat getting a leg tangled while marching across the tabletop. It also means this gun can go anywhere easily, without having to be re-plugged in after cooling down in the middle of a larger project. A rechargeable battery loads into the handle, which fits comfortably into the palm of my hand.

But there are other conveniences, too. I was told when I first starting using glue guns that ALL glue guns drip. What I didn't realize is how different one gun's 'drip' can be from another's. Other guns I've used, once heated, release an unremitting stream of glue that globs onto the tabletop when the gun is in its resting position. ColdHeat surprised me by not dripping at ALL most of the times I used it, and dripping only the teensiest drop the times that it did. It's as close to dripless as I've ever seen, which is not only nicer for my work area, but eliminates that trailing 'spider web string' that can get in the way when I pick up the glue gun, ready to craft.

I love so many metal scrapbook embellishments, but they can be among the trickiest to adhere to a page. I received some beautiful, oversized metal photo corners in a kit and I really wanted to put them together to form a butterfly for a page featuring my daughter. But this would require getting them to stick to each other - no mean feat. I've seen 'metal glue' on the market, but frankly I've never felt like picking any up. So I decided to see how ColdHeat would work.

Instructions for this gun state that it can take from 1-3 minutes for the glue to melt and be ready for use. I was surprised when I impatiently picked it up after thirty seconds and the glue was ready to run! The length of time it takes to charge correlates with how much of a charge is left in the battery. Mine was freshly charged, as the indicator light let me know at a glance.

Another neat feature ColdHeat offers is a small project light that works like a little spotlight directly on the project. It's not very bright (I thought it wasn't on until I actually started glueing the project), but it made it much easier for me to see exactly what I was doing. On my first try with the two metal photo corners, the pieces adhered immediately, but they snapped apart when I test-pulled at them. I decided to let the glue heat a little longer and try again. This time, I seemed to have a good 'stick.' And one of my favorite things about hot glue - it's QUICK. No waiting ten or fifteen minutes for the glue to dry so I can get on with the project. In less than a minute, I was ready to put my assembled embellishment on the page and continue with the rest of the page.

Products used: Papers, cardstock, paint, self adhesive metal photo corners by Making Memories
Heidi Swapp Silhouette Word
Permanent Glue Runner by Adhesive Tech
Hot Glue (glue gun) by ColdHeat
red polka dot paper and sticker tag by Doodlebug

I also took advantage of hot glue's quick set when I decided to add one last embellishment - a Prima flower - to the metal frame on this card right before tucking it into its envelope. A minute for the gun to warm, half a second to adhere the flower to the metal, another few seconds to cool, and the card was in its envelope and on its way.

Products used: Stamp by Ruth's Jewish Stamps via Memory Villa
Permanent Glue Runner by Adhesive Tech
Hot Glue (glue gun) by ColdHeat
Flower by Prima
Paper and self adhesive metal frame by Making Memories
Makers by Zig and EK Success

I found a lot to like about ColdHeat's cordless glue gun, from its near-driplessness to its quick melting to its comfortable grip. And I haven't found anything not to like. ColdHeat offers a no-fuss glue gun suitable for any number of crafting and scrapbooking applications, and it will earn its spot on your crafting shelf in no time. Recommended for everyone from novices to experts.

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Review by Eli

“Glue Gun, shmue gun,” one might hear me say after years of watching “those day time craft shows” and really never feeling that a gun could do what I felt it should. Well, ColdHeat’s truly cordless glue gun is a venerable power tool for crafters. It turned my head…my wrist and fingers and my craft items into something stunning. This one, I believe, is really different, and wonderful. Let me tell you about its features.

First, I absolutely recommend that you read the Tips, Instruction and Project Ideas booklet, not because it is complicated but simply because they gave me such a great chuckle. I love it when a product can give you important safety information and not take themselves too seriously. It assumes that I have a brain and can take a bit of wit. Excellent way to start my experience.

Next, at a quick glance, the ColdHeat cordless gun looks like an ordinary glue gun: nice handle, hole in the back for glue sticks, a barrel that holds a couple of sticks at a time, a nozzle that puts out the glue…but the similarities end there. First, the rechargeable battery fits securely on the base of the handle. (Imagine my husband’s cordless drill, hence, the power tool image.) It comes with a recharging battery bay with a cord. Simply snap the battery into it to let it charge. It was easiest for me to leave it overnight. The charger blinks green when you first plug it in and shines solid when it is fully charged. Engage the battery in the base of the glue gun handle and you are ready.

A couple of other battery features include: a light at the back of the unit telling when it is in energy saver mode, meaning the gun is still hot but is about to shut down, a quick nudge of the gun and it’s back in full swing. A light at the back tells of the battery’s condition. It is steady when the battery is almost discharged and it blinks when it is critical. These features all help with managing a project and will keep you on the go.

One of my favorite things about the gun is the light at the tip. When you turn on the unit, a small light shines on the tip and on a small section of the project. Simply use the on/off button at the side and tell it what intensity you want. Heck, if the power went out and you wanted to complete a project, as long as the battery was charged, you’d have plenty of light to finish it.

Finally, I thought this was one of the smoothest dispensing glue guns I have ever used. As I depressed the trigger, I felt no chunky action but pure, smooth release of the glue. I loved it.

For my first project, I used it to alter a gift envelope for a Craft-A-Frame item. I used it to adhere the organza ribbon to the envelope and to create the faux seal for it. Because the glue gun applies glue so smoothly, it created a nice round circle on my Adhesive Tech work surface. Then I stamped into it with a small flower stamp and let it cool off. I removed it and used a metallic ink to give it some definition. You can see the close-up below.

Title: Just Married Envelope


Title: Faux seal
Products used: Glue gun and sticks (ColdHeat)
Envelope (Craft-A-Frame)
Ribbon (unknown)
Stamps (Close to my Heart)
Watermark and Brilliance Pearlescent Purple pigment ink refill (Tsukineko)
Work Surface (Adhesive Tech)
Sanding blocks (Lasting Impressions)
Weathered Wood and Milled Lavender distress inks (Ranger)

Next, I had a blast with this $1 bucket hat. I saw it in the dollar bins and knew it needed some die cut flowers. The glue from the ColdHeat gun held the flowers perfectly when the glue cooled. I will be sporting it around soon, you can be sure.

Title: Altered Bucket Hat
Products used: Hat (Noteworthy)
Daisy Delight style die and Wizard embossing and cutting system (Spellbinders)
Cordless glue gun and sticks (ColdHeat)
Patterned paper (Fancy Pants)
Glossy Mod Podge (Plaid)
Work surface (Adhesive Tech)

Then, I wanted to create a layout using the gun. Hannah just got her haircut and I thought it would make a cute subject for a page. The glue gun made it so quick and easy. It’s definitely do-able with more delicate art as I found it easy to control.

Title: Summer Do
Products used: Striped paper (Sandylion)
Dots (Provo Craft)
Cordless Glue Gun and Glue sticks (ColdHeat)
Ribbon (Michael's)
Punch out letters (Colorbok)
Mini clothes pins (Container Store)
Work surface (Adhesive tech)
Pens (Sharpie)

Conclusion: This is IT for me…no more, “Glue gun, shmue gun!” This has surpassed my expectations and I will definitely use it often as I create art, fix things in the house and try to make the world a better place. My only tiny disappointment with it… is that it falls over sideways quite often. I would suggest, making the flip-out stand a bit wider. I love everything else about this product. Come to think of it, I see Christmas presents flashing before my eyes and it’s only June ……Highly recommended.

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