Most of the reviewers may not have followed the directions exactly because we had zero problems getting a perfect balance on the first try. But since we have slightly soft water we will never need one or two of the chemicals in the box. Also, there are not many test strips so you will need to buy more of those and the bromine tablets shortly. And anyone complaining about the bottles not being full clearly doesn't own a SCALE to see that they still contain exactly as much as they are supposed to even if the bottle is half empty. 8oz is 8oz, it doesn't matter how much space it takes up.  

Pros: works great
Cons: has stuff we don't need