I bought this product on the premise of firm hold as I found many products were fine to use in the morning but over the course of the day your hair style loses its firmness and begins to sag or become completely flat altogether.
I have reasonably short hair, keep that in mind, as I'm sure it would have different effects on hair of different lengths.
In your hand it feels like most other gels, coming out in jelly like globules and becoming a sort of slime on your hand when rubbed. Not particuarly nice to handle and requires soap and hot water to wash off, it certainly has a firm hold on the hands.
On application onto hair it feels reasonably thick. Hair is stuck together in thick clumps giving a sort of wet look to the hair, making it considerably darker in places. Actually I've had comments my hair has a sort of grey sheen (premature or what?). But at first I think I used too much product and my hair became undesirably thick and clumped making it less easy to style, perhaps easier to slick back.
On using less product and using it evenly across the hair the effect is much more desirable, the hair becomes much more mouldable and firm allowing a variety of styles. I often put the gel on and use a towel to remove excess as I think this product is sometimes too strong!
It certaily does its job and produces a firm hold. Perhaps too firm for my liking though! I'll keep looking for a perfect hair product.