Product review (3 stars): Flawed but Tolerable (Warning: Internet Width Dimensions Are Listed Incorrectly!)
CON: The most important thing to know about this chest freezer is someone typed a 1 instead of a 2 in the width section of dimensions, so instead of being 19" wide like the description says everywhere we've looked--from Amazon to Walmart--the darn thing is actually 29" wide. Like most people, we carefully chose where this sizable appliance would go, so being surprised with an almost extra foot in width was infuriating. Fortunately, we were able to make it work without it looking too horrible. Granted, where we had to put it doesn't look nearly as good as the planned 19" would have, but since it's not enclosed by a wall or other appliance on either side, we, like I said, made it work and are living with it. Had we known the true measurements, however, we would have reconsidered making the purchase.

Con: Another really annoying thing is one of the big, ugly, yellow stickers on the side has proven impossible to remove. It's the cheapest, stickiest, nastiest type of sticker adhesive. It broke my nails, and my husband has thick nails, but he had no luck either. We're going to try soaking it with warm wash cloths in hopes of removing the top layer of paper; then we'll resort to Goo Gone. It's aggravating that we have to deal with this, let alone by using an adhesive remover. Goo Gone works the best, but it smells gross, lingers for sometimes months after the fact, and tends to cause sinus headaches. I hate having to use it, especially inside, but short of leaving the shredded mess on our pretty, new chest freezer, which we won't do, we have no choice. We don't understand why one sticker was easy to remove but the other has been beastly. Perhaps they came from different printers.

Con: Another eye sore, and more permanent than an ugly sticker, is that the thick power cord comes out the side instead of the back. Unless you plan on butting your chest freezer into a corner, which we aren't, then it's less than attractive. If Igloo cares so little for aesthetics, why even make one in black?

Con: As warned by seemingly 9 out of every 10 reviews, it came with a few dings, but they're towards the bottom, small, and don't include scratched paint, so it's not that obvious and, like the width, is tolerable.

Con: Without anything in it, this chest freezer is reported to weigh 100 lb. Add food to the fact that it has no wheels and you've got a heavy problem when it comes to cleaning the back and, more importantly, the strip of exposed floor behind it. Worse than not having wheels, the outlet side doesn't even have feet and is instead a strip of metal, serving both as structural support to house the compressor unit and, dimwittedly, a single "foot" on that side. We aren't even sure it's metal and think, from the look and feel of it, that it's plate aluminum. It's thick but still soft enough to leave marks on your tile over time, that is if you're trying to move it back and forth to clean, which repairmen recommend when it comes to keeping appliances efficient. The lack of feet on all four corners may not matter to some people, like if you're sticking it against a wall and won't ever see behind it, but like other reviewers, we bought this in black to match our kitchen appliances, so it's backed against the end of our counter. There's a 3" x 29" strip of exposed tile in the back (not 19" like it says, remember), where dust visibly collects, plus appliances attract dust up their backsides. Ultimately, casters (i.e. ball feet) would've been best, but at the very least four dependable feet would've been nice and would've made it to where you could move the unit without risk to flooring.

Con: The silver coating that lines the inside has a few surface abrasions, but they aren't glaring and don't seem to affect the freezer's efficacy.

Con: As reported by others, it does run quietly; however, the compressor does have a slight vibrating whistle to it. Hopefully, this does not intensify over time. Let's just say we're glad we bought the extended warranty.

Con: The controls are on the bottom corner of the appliance's face. It's a bit awkward to squat and lean way over or else get on your hands and knees. This isn't that big of a deal, since, typically, refrigerator/freezer controls are rarely adjusted, but having had back problems in the past, this floor-level placement of the dial is a picky little thing I noticed.

Con: It sits unevenly, so that required a piece of cardboard. Not something you want to have to do after spending a couple hundred bucks, but it's a tolerable, easy fix.

Con: The basket is nice, but it would have been nice if the unit had come with two or even three, so as to make use of all cubic feet without simply stacking everything 4' deep.

How can we still give it 3 stars after so many cons? Well, first off, that's a testament to how badly and how long we've needed extra freezer space, that we're able to look past so many flaws to finally have one AND for it to be in black, a color that, for some inexplicable reason, is very difficult to find in a chest freezer.

Pro: It got to temperature very quickly and has done a good job thus far.

Pro: Other reviews we've read say that although the manufacturer recommends defrosting twice a year, longtime owners have a need to do it only annually. At less than a week old, the walls of ours already had a very, very light dusting of frost, but we are hopeful that once a year will be right. Even at twice a year, provided we defrost right before a grocery run when we're lowest on food, it doesn't look like it'll be difficult, albeit a bit of an inconvenience compared to self-defrosting refrigerator/freezers (as far as we know, chest freezers don't self-defrost). We'll be able to transfer chest freezer items to the main freezer and then, to release all the defrosted water, use the (supposedly easy) water outlets at the bottom of the chest (by opening both the plug inside the chest as well as the one outside the wall closest to the inside evacuation opening).

Pro: It desperately needed to be wiped down inside and out, which lifted a strange layer of something that turned damp paper towels dark gray, as though we had scrubbed our stainless-steel sink with scouring powder, but other than a few aforementioned, minor scratches on the inner liner, it seems lined well.

Pro: The lid's seal and weather stripping seem intact and without leaks, so the lid closes quietly, smoothly and solidly.

Pro: The lid isn't too heavy and, best of all, seems to stay open on its own, even when you don't have it slung all the way open. This feature allows you to lean down into it for food without worrying the lid is going to fall down on your shoulders. It's nice to not have to hold it open or worry about its integrity.

Pro: There's a neat little shelf area to one side, so it's not just a big pit at the bottom.

Pro: The basket is handy and helps utilize more cubic feet. Thanks to Amazon, we were able to find a compatible basket: Haier RF-0300-29 Refrigerator Basket. Now we have three baskets to fully using all top-to-bottom space.