Don't be afraid of the size of this Goliath, this is a breeze to use. Smooth, effortless, BIG, able to be chilled, and it has super-cool / "look at the size of this thing!" conversation starter factor. It is definitely something to show off in your kitchen. There is nothing wood that can compare to it. Coming in 3 sizes (and the sizes listed are for the tube itself, exclusive of the handles), you should be able to find one that is comfortable for you and should be able to inspire anyone to want to get into baking. There's a reason professional kitchens use products like this...it's not just because everything is shiny. The listed almost-4 pound weight had me concerned at first, but when I pulled it out of the box and started to use it, it is so well balanced that you don't even notice the weight of it. It is definitely one of the best additions to my baking arsenal. Couple of things to remember: it's ALUMINUM. Which means, no dishwasher cleaning unless you want to pit it and take the finish off of it. Residential automatic dishwasher soaps are very harsh to aluminum...commercial dishwasher soaps are not. Aluminum is a fairly soft metal (compared to others), so don't bang the thing around like it's a mallet. Take care of this, and like everything else on the planet, it will offer up years of perfect service--it could certainly be in the heirloom category. Yes, it needs a light dusting of flour, but then again, so did the old wood one--usually over and over. The nice thing about this aluminum model is that throughout the years of cleaning, it won't absorb the water and slowly expand its pours making it more difficult and more frustrating to use like it's wooden counterpart. It came in the scheduled time, and since I have had it, I have used it 4x. PRO: Heft, material, ease of use, balance, investment quality, 'cool factor'--and not just because you can chill it. CON: Material for home use (automatic dishwashers), hand wash (some may find that a negative, but I don't know many that throw a wood pin in the dishwasher...so weak argument), some may think it's expensive. All in all, a great item.
