I had the experience of another cabinet earlier and was not impressed so I did not expect much from this one. I was wrong. I mentioned that the earlier product was a poorer value than IKEA; this one offers better value for a change.
The structure of the cabinet is somehow unusual: the load bearing consists of a solid plank in the middle (separating the two main compartments) plus a number of slats that constitute an external frame. You can see the slats in the photos; they are not there just for the show, they constitute the actual load bearing frame. The cabinet is then closed using thin panels made of some engineered wood. Incidentally speaking the back is make of the same kind of a panel, which is very nice given that the products in this price range usually have cardboard backs. The end result looks quite nice and is reasonably sturdy while also being lighter than the competition (not sure how much this matters though, as cabinets are rarely moved around). All the horizontal surfaces can hold a reasonable load. The compartments are well thought out.
Assembly is rather tedious but pretty straightforward (with one exception). The horror, I used a power drill (like I always do for assembling this kind of things), otherwise I would have grown old during the process. I know what I am doing (and I never had any problems), but I do not necessarily recommend power tools for people having less experience and/or a heavier hand on the trigger since things can go wrong really fast if not careful. I mentioned an exception to the straightforward assembly and that exception is the drawers. One needs extra caution to square them properly; the guides provided on the parts are not enough for the purpose. I am guessing that people complaining about the drawers not aligning properly followed those guides as instructed and still got crooked drawers; that's par for the course given the insufficient guides.
Overall I am quite happy with my purchase and I can recommend this cabinet.
Pleasant surprise
I had the experience of another cabinet earlier and was not impressed so I did not expect much from this one. I was wrong. I mentioned that the earlier product was a poorer value than IKEA; this one offers better value for a change. The structure of the cabinet is somehow unusual: the load bearing consists of a solid plank in the middle (separating the two main compartments) plus a number of slats that constitute an external frame. You can see the slats in the photos; they are not there just for the show, they constitute the actual load bearing frame. The cabinet is then closed using thin panels made of some engineered wood. Incidentally speaking the back is make of the same kind of a panel, which is very nice given that the products in this price range usually have cardboard backs. The end result looks quite nice and is reasonably sturdy while also being lighter than the competition (not sure how much this matters though, as cabinets are rarely moved around). All the horizontal surfaces can hold a reasonable load. The compartments are well thought out. Assembly is rather tedious but pretty straightforward (with one exception). The horror, I used a power drill (like I always do for assembling this kind of things), otherwise I would have grown old during the process. I know what I am doing (and I never had any problems), but I do not necessarily recommend power tools for people having less experience and/or a heavier hand on the trigger since things can go wrong really fast if not careful. I mentioned an exception to the straightforward assembly and that exception is the drawers. One needs extra caution to square them properly; the guides provided on the parts are not enough for the purpose. I am guessing that people complaining about the drawers not aligning properly followed those guides as instructed and still got crooked drawers; that's par for the course given the insufficient guides. Overall I am quite happy with my purchase and I can recommend this cabinet.