Part of my job during the summer months involves building raised beds in people's gardens - the work includes attaching a plastic lining to the inside of the wood to extend its lifespan and prevent the preservatives entering the soil. The plastic lining is attached to the raised bed via a heavy duty stapler - and the model I use is the Stanley 0-TR250. The staple gun costs £13.54 from Amazon, but has a recommended retail price of £26.70.

Design & Appearance
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The first thing that's noticeable about the Stanley is its rugged construction - with an all-metal build it feels like a quality item. Not only does it feel well made, but I can vouch for the fact that it will take all manner of knocks and bumps - i've dropped the stapler onto concrete surfaces on a number of occasions, and it has survived to tell the tale. The handle and the inside of the grip section are rubberised, which makes the stapler comfortable to hold. Regarding its weight, the 0-TR250 is fairly heavy, but I carry it around all day and it's really no burden. The other thing that's important to note is the fact that i've used the product in all types of weather (it's been soaked on a number of occasions) - and i've seen no signs of rust or corrosion.

Specifications & Use
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The stapler uses 6-14mm staples - but it can also work with the mini-nail variety that are readily available in hardware stores. Loading the staples is easy, you simply need to flip back the plastic latch on the stapler's underside, and pull the staple tray toward you. Now slide in the staples and firmly clip the tray back into place. When stapling, you do need to apply a fair bit of force to push the lever down, but then that's usually the case with this type of stapler, and it's no more strenuous than other models i've used.

Final Word
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For the price, Stanley's 0-TR250 staple gun is a responsive and hard-wearing piece of kit which I would certainly recommend.