Franklin's Gourmet Popcorn Bundle - 28oz Organic Popcorn Kernels, 19oz Butter Flavored Salt, 30oz Butter Flavored Coconut Oil with Whirley Popper - Perfect for Movie Nights, Family Gatherings & Snack Time

I got my Franklin's Whirley Pop today and made my first batch of popcorn in it, and to sum it up all I can say is - this thing is AWESOME!Now for some details - forgive me, I tend to ramble on ;)I read most of the reviews before buying and there were a number of people expressing disappointment over the "quality," saying it felt cheap and flimsy due to the extremely light weight & very thin aluminum. Trust me, this is a PLUS for a stovetop popcorn popper. 35 or 40 years ago, I practically lived on popcorn due to money issues. In those days I had a 4 quart aluminum pot that was very lightweight and thin and of all the pots I have used over the decades to pop corn it gave the finest results. The pot I have been using for the past 3 years is an expensive Cusinart Tri-Ply 4.5 quart dutch oven. This is a heavy $90 pot with a thick aluminum core sandwiched between two layers of stainless steel, one on the outside and one on the inside. It got the job done, but took FAR longer due to being so slow to heat up, and the finished product was just not as good as I got from that lightweight aluminum pot 40 years ago.So when I opened the Whirley Pop today I was overjoyed to see how "light & flimsy" it was :) I had hopes that I would get results similar to that 40 year old pot that I wore out 35 years ago - and I wasn't disappointed.I have a 4 quart tupperware-type container I put my popcorn in to store it for the 3-4 days it takes me to eat it, and I know exactly how high it should be filled when I pop a batch of corn. I always use 1/4 cup Orville Redenbacher's Original and 2 tablespoons peanut oil, and using the Franklin's Whirley Pop my container was filled at LEAST 1 inch higher than it ever was using the heavy Cuisinart pot. This is due to the thinness of the pot and the resulting faster heat transfer, causing the kernals to explode with more force and as a result, to expand more.Also, due to the faster heat transfer the entire process in the Whirley Pop from start to finish was done in less time than the heavy Cuisinart pot required for the first kernal to pop. A heavy pot is an advantage if you're making a pot roast, but if you're making popcorn all I can say is "lighter is better."I also really appreciate the vents (4 of them) in the lid to allow steam to escape. No longer do I have to keep the lid ajar to allow steam to escape. The vents are VERY effective, the popcorn came out very crispy and tender without a trace of sogginess. There is also less mess - using my Cuisinart pot I had to keep the lid ajar and oil would splatter on the stove top, but with the Whirley Pop there was virtually no oil on the stove top when I was done.If you have eaten only microwave "popcorn," you owe it to yourself to get one of these. Any resemblance between stovetop popcorn and the microwave junk is purely coincidental, just as any resemblance between "Pasteurized process cheese food product" and real, actual cheese is purely coincidental. If you are new to making popcorn on the stovetop, be aware that it will take some practice and your first few batches may turn out less than ideal. But as you gain experience you will soon realize that there is no going back to the microwave ;^)To sum up, I am VERY pleased with this popper. I already knew that the lightweight construction was a good thing whereas some reviewers saw it as a negative indicating "cheap construction," but upon closely examining the pot I did not see ANYTHING that indicated cheap construction to me. The lid fits tightly and securely to the pot, the crank turns smoothly and easily without binding or sticking, and the thin wire that is turned by the crank is at just the right height above the bottom of the pot to keep the unpopped kernals in motion. Also, my popper arrived with not even the slightest damage.Thanks for taking the time to read this - if you buy one, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I plan to...