UPDATE: I’d been meaning to get around to updating my review, but I kept getting sidetracked—this should have actually been written a couple of months ago. I would like to state first and foremost that the manufacturers are incredibly nice! They saw my review and sent me two new packages of the black color, as well as two new packages of the color for blonde hair (even though I initially only bought one package of the black ones). Along with the new clips, I received a handwritten note thanking me for my feedback and apologizing for the flaking paint. What sweethearts! For customer service alone, I’m bumping my review from 3 to 4 stars. I still stand by my original review, but it’s so nice to know that this is a company that cares about the customers and is seeking ways to fix the problems people see. This company is doing it right, and it’s worth paying attention to in order to see what new versions or products they produce.ORIGINAL REVIEW:Overall, these hair clips are an interesting design that I only thought would be worthwhile based on the reviews and the fact that this was a kickstarter. It certainly has some cool elements to it, and if I can figure out the exact right way to alter it to serve it’s base function as a hair clip, then I think I’ll use them regularly.I’ll make a note here that for all my criticism, this is NOT a bad clip. I’ve bought far worse hair clips whose sole function was to hold hair, and I’ve lost far more hair to them than I ever anticipate losing to these clips. I simply use hair clips nearly every day of my life, and I need them to hold my bangs off my face while I work my labor intensive job, so I have high standards for any hair clip. These criticisms are intended to provide comparisons to hair clips that I’ve used for years without problems, so that the manufacturers might find solutions to the slight inconveniences in the Tacticlip.So, let’s dive into the review.First off, all pictures I have show three hair clips: the top is my standard Scunci brand hair clip that I use every day, the middle is the Tacticlip that I bent in the center intentionally, and the bottom is the Tacticlip as it was shipped to me. Both Tacticlips were worn for two days, and the center one was also used to open a box.HAIR CLIP FUNCTIONALITY:This is the biggest complaint I have with the product. As the side view of the clip shows, there is a massive gap in the center of the clip, as it bows extremely far away from the center piece. This means that the clip effectively pinches hair at the tip, but does nothing the hold itself in place anywhere else, sliding through the hair. The grommets do snag and rip out more hairs than my normal Scunci clip (about 2-4 strands versus my Scunci’s 0-2), and this problem is exacerbated by the fact that I constantly have to undo the Tacticlip and reposition it where it should be.This might be more desirable for someone with curly hair, but with my very straight, very Asian hair, it’s nothing but a pain (literally). Luckily, the metal is soft enough that the center piece is easy to bend into an approximation of the correct shape. While the clip itself is still a little too bowed, by crimping a peak into the center piece, the it can serve as a functional hair clip (I didn’t have to reposition it a single time throughout the day after crimping the clip).The saw blade edge never posed a problem for my hair, though the screwdriver point on the central piece does scratch my scalp unpleasantly—I may just end up removing that portion and filing it smooth if it continues to bother me.CONSTRUCTION:As other users have commented, the paint immediately chips off, especially in any area that moves slightly when it goes from being opened to closed. This is irritating, but not really much of a problem. Fortunately, the measurement marks do not come off, even when the black comes off all around them (visible on the bottom clip on the underside). My recommendation if you don’t want the black flakes in your hair: run your nail lightly over the clip’s front and back before use to remove the loose paint before wearing it (make sure to do this in both the open and closed position). You’ll be able to tell where the more problematic sections are, because they’ll slightly bubble up.The grommet is a problem in the construction, as it has no paint or other sealant to protect your hair from it. Some grommets may be more gapped than others and tear out your hair, so pay attention to your clips to see if there is one particular one that is more of a problem. I believe part of the reason for this is that the tip of the clip at the grommet is bulky and not tightly layered all the way around (measuring ~2.5mm thick as opposed to Scunci’s ~1.25mm thick).The thickness of the metal appears to be standard, and it holds its shape well. While I could bend the central piece without any tools, it was only possible because I intended it—so don’t worry about it bending by accident through standard use (I haven’t tested all the tool functionality to see if one of the uses might leave it prone to bending). Note: the 3 star on Sturdiness is factoring in both the metal and the paint. The paint failed, but the metal is fine.The flathead screwdriver on the tip of the central piece on one of my clips wasn’t filed smooth on the underside before being painted, so it has a little sharp lip on it that pulls my hair when I try to reposition or remove the clip. It’s something I didn’t even notice until I realized it was catching hair (not ripping, just snagging a little) consistently, and ran my nail lightly along the bottom of it. Easy to miss on manufacturing, but irritating to encounter on your hair clip—luckily, it’s an easy fix.TOOL FUNCTIONALITY:I’ve only tested the claw, saw, and ruler functionalities. For the claw and saw: the opponent was a cardboard box sealed with the tape with strings in it, with a shipping label sticker over a portion—a tough competitor to a small hair clip multitool. The claw worked just fine until it encountered the strings, though it was awkward to wield, as the saw teeth poked into my hand as I tried to exert force behind the tool. The saw worked quite easily through the tape and string, but was defeated by the addition of the shipping label. The curve in the tool meant that it was difficult to saw cleanly through the added obstruction, the claw point poked painfully into my hand as I again tried to exert force behind the tool, and ultimately, the thing profile of the clip made the entire tool poke into me pretty painfully. While I have no doubt that I could have opened the box with this clip eventually, it was painful, awkward, and slow enough that I just went and got my pocket knife. Had this box not been sealed with the string tape, but standard packing tape instead, I have no doubts that the Tacticlip would have functioned beautifully in opening it (the strings ultimately meant more force was necessary, as the clip intentionally doesn’t have a knife edge). This is no failure in the design, but rather in my application of the tool. The important takeaway here is that the claw portion should be used on tasks that won’t force you to grip the tool very hard, because there is no way to get a firm grip without digging the teeth into your hand.The rulers appear to be consistent with each other, and the millimeters appear to be accurate. However, the inches start by being 1/32” off at the 1/4” mark, ending at being 1/8” off at the 1” mark. This isn’t really a problem, in any case, as the curve to the clip limits the use you get from the rulers on this tool, anyway.FINAL THOUGHTS:Ultimately, it’s not as useful as I was hoping from the other reviews, but I still don’t regret my purchase. Lightly running a file along the underside of the clip, and crimping the central piece solve the main problems I have with it, and with those two alterations, I’ll put these clips in my regular rotation of hair clips. I expect a pretty similar lifespan compared to my Scuncis (meaning I’ll lose them before they ever actually fail me), though it remains to be seen if rust will be a problem with the paint coming off already.