Zenport ZL201 Adjustable Steel Rake

I like it great for raking things out in my garden. It's ability to dip around my flowers and edibles without tearing them up are a definite plus. I was also pleasantly surprised that it was just the right size for my height deficient frame and smaller hands (I'm claiming 5ft2.5. It's mine. I'm not giving it back no matter how many doctors insist I must be barefoot for it to count). Many times it seems like all the tools are created for giants, but the Zenport is a perfect size for me. It's light and handles easy.However, it's quite worthless at tackling the huge, crazy piles of leaves in my front yard dropped by one very old oak tree and one redwood both of which require costly permits and permission from the City to cut down or even trim where I live (yay for preservation! honestly, I love nature. But sometimes the preservation ordinance is the only thing saving the lives of these two trees. I swear, they drop ACRES of leaves almost all year long and I hate any yard work that doesn't involve my backyard garden...). I guess it was just too much to hope that this rake might help me solve my piles of leaves problem, because I don't mind exercise at all. I was all prepared to treat this front yard cleaning as an opportunity to get in some daily exercise. Alas, the leaves get stuck in the tines and have to be pulled off (costing me time), the tines seem to flimsy to handle anything more than lighter duty tasks especially when adjusted to bigger settings (costing me lots of left behind survivor leaves), one tine actually bent out of place and had to be re-bent back into place (costing me extra effort and an anxiety-filled moment that went a little like, "Oh no!...Oh no! I broke my awesome garden rake! I've had it with these gosh darn bleep bleep bleep bleeeeeppp leaves! From these bleeep bleep bleep old trees! all in my bleep bleep bleep front yard....whoosah) and my grass fights back enough that the rake often adjusts itself in mid swipe (costing me a couple of ouchies). So, the Zenport has been relegated to working only the garden shift, and I went out and bought a 3 in 1 blower, vacuum and mulcher instead. It's not much exercise now, but I'd say the faster clean up, turning 8 bags of leaves into 1, and free mulch is an even exchange.

I really appreciate this rake and would readily rate it excellent except for the slight curvature of the brace -- the cross member of the T -- through which the tangs move. This is more pronounced when the rake is pulled to its narrowest arrangement causing the two tangs on either side to be lower than the others. This doesn't seem like much of an issue -- and isn't when you're standing in a more upright stance -- but when raking under low branching shrubs, the rake is nearly parallel (flat) to the ground. Then the curvature causes those tangs to dig in while the tangs in the center are above ground level and can allow some debris to be left behind. I, at least, would prefer a flatter shape at the working end of the tangs. Other than this, the rake is substantial, effective and well made. I expect it to last for years and I highly recommend it for those who need to clean up underneath long, close hedges where a normal rake just won't work at all.

This rake costs much more than other options. You'd think the tines wouldn't constantly turn sides ways. The locking mechanism is junk. It doesn't hold. I fixed it by tightening a hose clamp at the bottom of the lever for the mechanism around the handle and lever. Now I have to loosen the hose clamp to adjust the tines, but it's better than it was.

I had a rake similar to Zenport rake for many years that I loved. Unfortunately, it had a plastic clamp mechanism that broke while the rest of the rake was still in great condition. So, this time I wanted a metal mechanism. This is the only one I could find. Plus, it didn't have an expandable handle. (I haven't had one yet that stays locked.) I had used it to rake some leaves, then used it as a mitt to pick up the leaves. It is sturdy, stays locked it the position you want the tines to be in. I love the adjustability. Easy to rake between plants. Very happy with purchase.

This one was a replacement for one that broke after 8 years of use.I like this rake because the distance between the tines is adjustable. You can rake in tight places (like between small, tender plants growing close together), or large spaces.The design concept makes the rake very versatile. But, it should be constructed, sturdier. The adjustable mechanism fits too loosely; it's sloppy and imprecise. .

I rarely write product reviews but this rake deserves one. This is the fourth adjustable rake I've owned in the past 5 years. The previous three were from different manufacturers but all had a plastic handle on the mechanism that you close to adjust the rake width. One of them lasted a couple of years before to plastic lever on the mechanism broke. On the other two, the mechanism broke within a few months of use. I bought my current rake specifically because it had a metal lever. I've had it for almost a year and it works great. I probably use it a couple of times a week and have done some pretty serious raking with it and have had no problems.

It fell apart the second time that I used it.Initially, I loved it, the adjustable feature is nice and the tines worked well. However, this item is appropriate for light leaf raking only. If you are going to use it for that, it is fine.I made the mistake of trying to rake under a bush somewhat vigorously and all of the tines fell out of the rake. The portion of the tines that are secured to the adjustable part of the rake are wedged in a metal clamp. Once one of the tines slips out, the whole thing goes loose and they all slip out. Without a machine I cannot put it back together. If it didn't break, I would have loved it though.

I bought one of these rakes in 2004. It finally broke. I was so happy to find it. This rake is the best of three other rakes.Highly recommend it.

Upon examining the rake that came from a pristine box, it looks like there is corrosion on the handle and quite a few scuff marks. Not really impressed that it looks like it was used for a season already.

My previous rake gave up the ghost after 4 years of service, this one is slightly different in the manner that the handle doesn't colapse, which is where the other one broke, so I think it will last even longer. Good price too

This is a great replacement to the aluminum rake I had previously. I'm positive this will last longer being that it's made of steel.

great leaf rake works great