I was given a high recommendation for Hitachi power tools by a construction veteran, so I purchased one. The compressor is still fairly new and seems to provide excellent power for framing guns, finishing nailers, and hoppers. However, I am not incredibly impressed with this compressors ability to start. I realize during the cold winter mornings (not too cold in the San Francisco bay area), that some compressors require an empty tank to kick over, but this is getting a little ridiculous. On a 45 degree morning I don't even try to kick over the tank before making sure it is decompressed completely, and during the middle of the day I still have to, on a not-so-rare occasion, pull the pressure release valve. This isn't a huge problem, but a noticable flaw. I have seen on another review that a Smart Start inlet filter can be purchased to cure this problem, but it's annoying that you need to buy new parts to cure problems on a new compressor.