Corkscrew Review: Code 38 Pro

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Tyler Rico

@Lewis Dawson

Most of the peeps in this thread trashing Chaad and trashing this tool sound a lot like my Mom comparing her jug wine (at its price) to my wine (at its higher price). Seems rather narrow-minded to me. I don’t have an expensive wine key (do have The Durand for old, fragile corks), but I don’t open bottles many times per day the way many wine pros do. If I did open that many bottles, I can see how a superior tool at $245 could be a “no-brainer” smart investment.

I don’t play golf, but have friends who are weekend duffers carrying around high tech, custom built golf clubs. The hand-machined footpegs on my Ducati cost way more than $245, but they are infinitely adjustable and give perect purchase to the sole of my boot when cornering. I’ll bet most of you have a similar example somewhere in your life, if you’ll stop piling on Chaad long enough to think about it.

That’s a stretch.

I would like to think the wine that people drink here tastes better than jug wine or out performs it in some way. Now tell me, does this overpriced corkscrew open bottles better than a regular pulltaps in some way I am not aware of? At least the Durand has a specific use for older corks where as this is just an over priced corkscrew.

Rico, you just…don’t…get…it.

Trying thinking outside of the box for a change.

[E.Todd]

Shouldn’t this debate be moved to the Corkscrew Forum?

[Lewis_Dawson]

@Tyler Rico

@Lewis Dawson

Most of the peeps in this thread trashing Chaad and trashing this tool sound a lot like my Mom comparing her jug wine (at its price) to my wine (at its higher price). Seems rather narrow-minded to me. I don’t have an expensive wine key (do have The Durand for old, fragile corks), but I don’t open bottles many times per day the way many wine pros do. If I did open that many bottles, I can see how a superior tool at $245 could be a “no-brainer” smart investment.

I don’t play golf, but have friends who are weekend duffers carrying around high tech, custom built golf clubs. The hand-machined footpegs on my Ducati cost way more than $245, but they are infinitely adjustable and give perect purchase to the sole of my boot when cornering. I’ll bet most of you have a similar example somewhere in your life, if you’ll stop piling on Chaad long enough to think about it.

That’s a stretch.

I would like to think the wine that people drink here tastes better than jug wine or out performs it in some way. Now tell me, does this overpriced corkscrew open bottles better than a regular pulltaps in some way I am not aware of? At least the Durand has a specific use for older corks where as this is just an over priced corkscrew.

Tyler, it does work better, according to Chaad’s original post. Maybe not in a way that is important to me, as I rarely open 20 or 40 bottles. And 80% of Ducati’s never venture onto a racetrack, and probably 98% of all motorcycles, so those guys would not “get” my footpegs, either.

[Cris_Whetstone]

But again Lewis, you are comparing something of high performance and of a complicated nature. We are talking about a wine opening screw after all. How much better can it be and how will you know? If I bought a really expensive screwdriver would it twist screws better? Do very expensive forks make your food better? I’ve used plenty of different kinds of openers. The only ones you notice are the ones that don’t work.

[Thomas_Puricelli]

@Cris Whetstone

But again Lewis, you are comparing something of high performance and of a complicated nature. We are talking about a wine opening screw after all. How much better can it be and how will you know? If I bought a really expensive screwdriver would it twist screws better? Do very expensive forks make your food better? I’ve used plenty of different kinds of openers. The only ones you notice are the ones that don’t work.

Okay, how about wine cellars. People on this board spend tens of thousands of dollars finishing out their wine cellars with custom racking, marble, tile, lighting, etc. Does any of that contribute to making the wine better than a standard cooling unit?

[Cris_Whetstone]

@Thomas Puricelli

@Cris Whetstone

But again Lewis, you are comparing something of high performance and of a complicated nature. We are talking about a wine opening screw after all. How much better can it be and how will you know? If I bought a really expensive screwdriver would it twist screws better? Do very expensive forks make your food better? I’ve used plenty of different kinds of openers. The only ones you notice are the ones that don’t work.

Okay, how about wine cellars. People on this board spend tens of thousands of dollars finishing out their wine cellars with custom racking, marble, tile, lighting, etc. Does any of that contribute to making the wine better than a standard cooling unit?

Of course not. But that is another apples to oranges comparison. What is the better experience with the ultra pricey wine opener? Chaad didn’t seem to say that it was all about looks.

[Thomas_K]

@mike pobega

While I am not sure I can condone the cost of such an item, I must add: I get it.
Many of us have seen the wine-lover who has an extreme opener, either screw-pull or the one mounted to an oak bench made of brass. I myself have seen some interesting openers in the last year. Just recently I have purchased my first ‘real’ Laguiole. it sure is a beautiful item to hold, it is made of burled olive wood; it’s heft and workmanship is second to none. Form and function because, oh yeah, it opens wine bottles. Now, it does not do a better job at opening those bottles, but it sure feels better in my hand as I do so. It’s precise and just plain awesome. Is $150 too much? Possibly. Especially in this day when many can barely feed their family, but collecting is such, and unless you are one, you would never know. I collect Ernest Hemingway first editions, rare printings and criticism. Many would be crazed at some of the pricing of many items the collector seeks. Who’s to judge?
Enjoy the Code 38.

+1

What’s wrong with a buying thing of beauty, that also happens to be useful?

[Lewis_Dawson]

Cris, I don’t think you and I read the same original post. Or maybe we just had a different mindset when reading it. I just opened 10 bottles I’m serving at lunch today. My cheapass corkscrew opened them all, but not comfortably on my hand, not extending the bland with one finger, etc. The purchase of the lever on the bottle rim was not ideal. For me, no big deal, because I don’t open 10 bottles at lunch every day. When one does this repeatedly (opens many bottles), small advantages become worth a lot, I would think. Bottom line: I think there is a general lack of open-minded thinking displayed in the posts dumping on Chaad.

[Steve_L_Gellman]

@gene keenan

@Lewis Dawson

Most of the peeps in this thread trashing Chaad and trashing this tool sound a lot like my Mom comparing her jug wine (at its price) to my wine (at its higher price). Seems rather narrow-minded to me. I don’t have an expensive wine key (do have The Durand for old, fragile corks), but I don’t open bottles many times per day the way many wine pros do. If I did open that many bottles, I can see how a superior tool at $245 could be a “no-brainer” smart investment.

I don’t play golf, but have friends who are weekend duffers carrying around high tech, custom built golf clubs. The hand-machined footpegs on my Ducati cost way more than $245, but they are infinitely adjustable and give perect purchase to the sole of my boot when cornering. I’ll bet most of you have a similar example somewhere in your life, if you’ll stop piling on Chaad long enough to think about it.

Hardly a fair comparison Lewis. I think a more reasonable comparison is speaker cable. Mcintosh would use cheap lamp cord for their connections (.30 cents a foot. Look up the story, its quite comical) in their listening rooms but the guy who spent hundreds/thousands on kimber, monster or some similarly stupidly expensive wire will of course swear they are superior; they have to, otherwise they would look like complete fools spending that kind of money on something not even test equipment could tell the difference as it relates to human hearing. I mean I guess all of us who use the pulltaps are fools and chaad is the true seer; how else to explain it?

The brilliance of Chaad’s argument is those who don’t agree with him will always be at some level not yet attained by his superior experiences. I mean does the cork screw make the wine taste better?

But there IS a difference in sound of speaker wire! Interconnects as well.

[Corey_N]

\

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Steve L Gellman

@gene keenan

@Lewis Dawson

Most of the peeps in this thread trashing Chaad and trashing this tool sound a lot like my Mom comparing her jug wine (at its price) to my wine (at its higher price). Seems rather narrow-minded to me. I don’t have an expensive wine key (do have The Durand for old, fragile corks), but I don’t open bottles many times per day the way many wine pros do. If I did open that many bottles, I can see how a superior tool at $245 could be a “no-brainer” smart investment.

I don’t play golf, but have friends who are weekend duffers carrying around high tech, custom built golf clubs. The hand-machined footpegs on my Ducati cost way more than $245, but they are infinitely adjustable and give perect purchase to the sole of my boot when cornering. I’ll bet most of you have a similar example somewhere in your life, if you’ll stop piling on Chaad long enough to think about it.

Hardly a fair comparison Lewis. I think a more reasonable comparison is speaker cable. Mcintosh would use cheap lamp cord for their connections (.30 cents a foot. Look up the story, its quite comical) in their listening rooms but the guy who spent hundreds/thousands on kimber, monster or some similarly stupidly expensive wire will of course swear they are superior; they have to, otherwise they would look like complete fools spending that kind of money on something not even test equipment could tell the difference as it relates to human hearing. I mean I guess all of us who use the pulltaps are fools and chaad is the true seer; how else to explain it?

The brilliance of Chaad’s argument is those who don’t agree with him will always be at some level not yet attained by his superior experiences. I mean does the cork screw make the wine taste better?

But there IS a difference in sound of speaker wire! Interconnects as well.

I would have to agree. Granted, on the test bench, measuring equipment won’t be able to detect a differnce in current or voltage of high end vs. OEM wires, but our ears can percieve a difference.

I was invited back in the day to a B&W workshop where different interconnects and speaker cables were used. Source components were from Meridian and the speakers were 801s. IIRC the cables were from Monster, Kimber, Audio Quest and lamp cord from Home Depot. Blinded, the Kimber and Audio Quest were markedly above the other two.

[Alan_Zee]

@Thomas K.

@mike pobega

While I am not sure I can condone the cost of such an item, I must add: I get it.
Many of us have seen the wine-lover who has an extreme opener, either screw-pull or the one mounted to an oak bench made of brass. I myself have seen some interesting openers in the last year. Just recently I have purchased my first ‘real’ Laguiole. it sure is a beautiful item to hold, it is made of burled olive wood; it’s heft and workmanship is second to none. Form and function because, oh yeah, it opens wine bottles. Now, it does not do a better job at opening those bottles, but it sure feels better in my hand as I do so. It’s precise and just plain awesome. Is $150 too much? Possibly. Especially in this day when many can barely feed their family, but collecting is such, and unless you are one, you would never know. I collect Ernest Hemingway first editions, rare printings and criticism. Many would be crazed at some of the pricing of many items the collector seeks. Who’s to judge?
Enjoy the Code 38.

+1

What’s wrong with a buying thing of beauty, that also happens to be useful?

+2, so what if he wants to spend $245, if it is worth it to him, then why should we dump on him.

I bought a Durand during the Berserker Day special and I was skeptical, but after using it on old bottles, I am a true believer and it is worth every penny and is more stable than my ah-so.

if my wife can get me to spend $5500 on a freakin coffee table, this guy surely can go spend $245 on a cork screw if he wants. Would I buy one for $245? no way, but that is just me and my perceived value of the item. If it is worth it to him and he loves that thing of beauty , great, its his hard earned money, not mine.

My rabbit ears work just fine, thank you very much, spent $40 about 4 years ago and its still working like a champ. For the old stuff, the Durand is the tool of choice. This is my preference and I don’t care if anyone agrees or disagrees, it is my perceived value and I respect others who have their own perceived value of a particular product.

I have some expensive art, is it worth it, feck no! But it keeps my marriage healthy (I buy wine, she buys crap). my 2 cents

[Rob_MacKay]

I’ll clarify my position…

Two things…

1. The Ferrari:Ford Focus comparison. That makes no sense. A Ferrari can do things a Ford Focus can not do. This is just a corkscrew. It can’t do anything that my $30 pulltap can’t do.

2. The idea that most of us are not qualified to even speak on the matter because we don’t open 1000s of bottles a year in a high pressure food service environment. Gimme a break.

I am all for expensive toys but at least just admit that that’s all that it is. An expensive toy.

[Enzo_Ruffalo]

[Rick_Gregory]

What I love are the selfrighteous people who will mock Chaad for spending $245 on a wine key that will likely last years and years… and then turn around and post enthusiastically about a $100+ bottle whose contents they will literally piss out in a few hours. I love tweaking snobby hypocrites.

[Rob_MacKay]

Selfrighteous snobby hypocrites is probably the descriptor that 95% of the people outside the wine community would call every one of us if they stumbled across this board and read even 1/4 of the threads on the first page. Welcome to the club.

[Enzo_Ruffalo]

[Rick_Gregory]

Did I mention either of you? Hmm…

[Enzo_Ruffalo]

[Rob_MacKay]

@Rick Gregory

Did I mention either of you? Hmm…

You don’t have to… The first step to being in the club is recognizing that you are already in it.