written by ironmaster...
Fina Kit “Shoot Out”
This report is offered in conjunction with acneman’s poll of several weeks ago entitled “Who has the best fina kit”. (I’ll bump that poll back up...elite board) As I stated there, I decided that I would order a 4g kit from the top 3 placers in that poll for an objective comparison. I have completed the experiment.
Kit’s tested were:
Animal
Finakits
Mr. T.
I did not identify myself when ordering, or mention any comparisons, so what I got and the service I received would be the same as any Joe off the street.
Before I go into detail, let me say that I was pleasantly surprised by the service and quality of all three. There are differences, but you really can not go wrong with any of these guys.
The details:
Ease of ordering……. 1. Finakits
2. Mr. T
3. Animal
Finakits accepts credit cards, paypal, cash, and every other way of paying for things. In other words, I can sit on my ass and order from my computer. Mr.T takes Paypal and cash, Animal is cash only.
Price…………………. 1. Finakits
2. Mr. T
3. Animal
A”4g” 2 cartridge kit currently costs 25.00 at Finakits, while Animal and Mr. T are at 35.00, but Mr. T’s shipping is 2 bucks less than Animal.
Delivery……………….Speed of delivery is virtually a tie. Animal and Mr. T had my goods to me inside of 3 business days. Finakits was about 5 days with a holiday in the middle. I placed all orders on a Friday evening, just to see if a weekend would screw them up. It didn’t. I want to make this clear…..I mailed Animal the $ on Fri. He still had the items to me in the same time as the credit card/paypal guys. This is outstanding, and makes him a #1 in delivery as far as I’m concerned.
Quality of Packaging and Materials………. 1. Mr. T.
2. Animal
3. Finakits
Mr. T’s kit is pretty as can be. The package is totally professional, and the contents are perfect. See the picture below of the kit. It may be worth the extra money for the packaging alone. The vials are the short, stocky ones that are easy to handle without tipping, and all are sterile, crimped and sealed with a flip-top. Animal uses the fat vials with stoppers. The mixing vials provided by Finakits are the tall, thin ones that felt like they could tip over in the warm water phase or in drawing. They do have screw tops with septum which is very nice indeed, except when trying to draw the oil below
needle length. This is a minor thing that most would not have a problem with….esp. considering the outstanding price of Finaki
Ease of Preparation …………….. 1. Tie, Animal and Mr.T.
2. Finakits
Animal maintains a website with detailed, updated instructions and a forum with FAQ’s and general discussion with other muscleheads who are making kits. Mr. T provides instructions in the box which are simple and effective. I really wasn’t sure of the preferred method of preparation for Finakits (no directions on the website or in the box), so I did what I thought the new user would do……went to Mr. H’s fina board and followed the directions that are recommended there for generic fina cooking.
Quality of Finished Product
Rather than rank this category, let me describe the results because individual tastes in fina vary.
Finakits uses a considerably smaller amount of magic(dissolving) solution. In fact, I mailed the proprietor because it didn’t look like enough to absorb 2 carts of pellets……well it did, no problem. Less alcohol makes for a quite painless injection. The finished product was a bit cloudy, but I attribute this to the directions (gotfina.com)I used. These directions have you shake the oil and dissolved pellets after mixing……no one else recommends this. Also, there is quite a bit of heating involved which causes oxidation. The finished product is potent, painless, and no cough or taste.
Animal’s kits always come out good. He uses minimal heat to speed up dissolving and settling……no shaking. His finished product is nice and clear, very little pain, cough, or taste.
Sorry, no pics…….I received his kit first and injected most of it before I got around to writing.
Mr. T.’s kit makes up an extremely clear solution with the highest yield of ml’s. That’s because of his preparation technique. This is the slowest kit to make…..it takes overnight + for the uncrushed, unheated pellets to dissolve, and another 8 to 12 hours for the solution to settle. But there is almost no residue of crap in the bottom after mixing……..just a thin, white layer, because there is no oxidation from heating. This does not affect sterility, apparently, I have been injecting all three products with no ill effects.
Bottom Line You can’t go wrong. Three great products, all with excellent service, and a nice finished product.
If price is the deciding factor, go with Finakits, but don’t use gotfina.com’s directions.
If you want a tried and true product from the inventor himself, and the support of his excellent website……Animal is your man.
If you like professional packaging, quality glassware, and simple instructions that WORK, and a very clear product…….and are patient…...Mr T. can’t be beat.
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