"I just finished my first QSO using the paddles and I have them set very tightly. After a half hour QSO, I was very, very pleased with the paddles. My only complaint would be that the finger pieces seem a little too light for me. My other paddles are a HexKey, a Bencher, the Vibroplex Code Warrior, and at one time, I had one of K8RA's paddles. I'd have a hard time rating the paddles. Construction wise, I guess it would be the Hex Key, the Black Widow, the Bencher, K8RA and then the Code Warrior. Regarding the "feel", it is a toss between the HexKey and the Black Widow, followed by the Bencher, K8RA and the Code Warrior. For the price and performance, the Black Widow wins by a landslide! (emphasis added) Honestly, I was at first disappointed in the paddle's contacts. I thought the contact block would have been threaded for the contact screw, but the adjustment turned out to be very precise with the setscrew. On my other paddles, it seems I could set the spacing where I wanted it, but then the locking arrangement would screw everything up. The Black Widow was easy to adjust..."

"So far, so good, Jerry. 73 de Bob W3BBO"