I dont particularly post reviews often, but this product is getting a bad rap and i want to help set the record straight -- this is a great product, i use it every morning. it's made of good heavy materials, it doesnt feel cheap at all, and it works great.if i throw my sun glasses in my gym bag and they get scratched, is that my sunglasses fault? absolutely not -- same goes with these needles. they do bend easily, but they're the thickness of a few hairs, of course they'll bend easily. this same product with toothpick-thickness metal just wouldnt work as well. if you're careful, it will do exactly what you want, perfectly. one of the first times i used the tool i bent a needle. i straightened it as best as i could, and now i pick up the base when i put the top back in just to make sure all the needles are clear.one thing it took me a few days to learn though, if you spin the tool on top of your basket, the grounds do pop up and out a little bit; it's a little difficult to tamp after that. so what i do is spin the tool, press my finger down on the tool, raise the portafilter a little bit and drop it back down on the counter. not hard -- you dont want to undo what you just did, just reset the grains a little to help with the tamping. once i learned that trick it was game on!