I didn't know what to expect from a ~$30 product that I'm supposed to use to hang hundreds of dollars of high quality cook-ware (I have All-Clad stuff). I decided to take a chance because of all the positive reviews here and ordered and installed it. I'm so glad I did! This rack appeared to be the best one I've seen, and I think I've looked at all of the ones available, ranging from $30 to $300. First of all, I liked that this rack had four hanging points. I can't figure out, logically, how the racks with two center hanging points stay level without careful balancing of the things hanging from it. I'm sure the reason is that people might not have two joists they can use in the right places to hang their pot rack, but still, for balancing and strength reasons, four points seems better than two. I must admit, however, that our rack was installed at the same time we were putting in hardwood floors on the level above our kitchen. Because of this, it was the perfect time to open the floor and put a thick piece of plywood above the island in our kitchen. We were able to put the rack exactly where we wanted it. This would be a good time to talk about weight ratings. The product is apparently rated for 40 pounds, but that doesn't actually make much sense. I think they do that to cover their rears in case you don't install it correctly or something. In theory, this rack SHOULD hold far more than 40lbs. The hooks are supposed to screw into your joists, and as far as I know, that's the weakest point. After that you have chains that are most likely rated for 40 pounds EACH, S-hooks that can probably hold even more than that, and then you're down to the wrought-iron rack, which should be the strongest part of the whole darn thing. So unless the company that makes this rack isn't confident in those screws they provide, I would think this rack should easily hold twice what it's rated for, if not far more. But even after all that, I'm still nervous to go too much over. I'm sure I'm pretty far over at the moment, though. I have two deep stock pots, three regular sauce pans, one small sauce pan, three frying pans, a non-stick skillet, a large grill pan, about 5 pounds in utensils, and last but MOST: two iron skillets (10" and 12", I believe). So yeah, that HAS to add up to way more than 40 pounds, but it's still holding strong (*knocks on every piece of wood in sight*). So what's the short review? Well, this thing is a pot rack. Its entire purpose is to hold pots. It succeeds at this task with flying colors (well, just black ;) ). This fact, in addition to its REALLY low price, make me give it five stars. If I had to give this rack a criticism, it would be that the hooks that come with it aren't great. They do the job, but it's a little hard to get your items off of them because they turn back up so far. This means that for most utensils, you have to take them off when they're swung to the point that they're nearly parallel with the floor, which might be an issue if you have shorter people in your household ;) I strongly recommend the Cuisinart hooks, which I used to completely replace the stock hooks. These only turn at a 45 degree angle, so it's very easy to get things off of them. I also love that they have a plastic/rubber coating to the end that hooks onto the actual rack, which means they don't slide around easily when you're taking things off and putting them back on. A smart design. In my opinion, there isn't a better pot rack on the market, regardless of the price, and the price is just a really nice bonus.
