I have bought plate tamps that were 6 times the price of this one in the past and can honestly say after using this one, I wasted my money on those higher priced brands. This thing works great. Starts on first or second pull every time. As with all vibratory tamps it struggles with wet clay, but on dry dirt and crusher run, this thing absolutely does the job. I could not be happier and at the price point it is one of my top amazon purchases. Don't let the negative reviews about the exhaust guard vibrating loose sway you, they all do that. I have never owned a tamp that the exhaust cage didnt vibrate loose on.