This is a basic HEAVY DUTY 100foot extension cord with a 12/3 wire size. For those new to extension cord wire sizes, the lower the first number, the better... so 10 is better than 12, and 8 is better than 10. When I say better, I mean that the lower gauge (lower numbered) cords actually use a thicker wire, which contains more metal, (hopefully copper!) and thus have a better ability to conduct electricity flow, which means more power to that item which is being supplied electricity by the cord. Many home power outlets supply a maximum of 15 amps of electricity, which is about 1875 watts, but in order to convey "all" of that electricity through an extension cord, without excessive losses, the cord must be a bit heftier than the 16/3 size 100ft. cords you buy for $20 to $30 at hardware stores, warehouse clubs, and various other stores. You really don't need a cord this thick to power most home appliances, and tools. You can run almost any 120volt device with a 16/3 thickness extension cord; however there are some applications which call for a cord of this thickness. Once such application is an electric chainsaw I recently purchased which draws a full 15 amps of power. This was the minimum thickness of 100 foot cord that was advisable for said electric chainsaw. Extension cords are not high on features. This one does have lighted ends, which are nice "let's say" if you have a power outage, and you turn on your generator, at night, and then run an extension cord from your generator into the house... at least you'll be able to see the female end of the cord, in the dark, so that you may plug a light into it, or instead plug in your TV if that has a higher priority. This is a nice extension cord and there are many cords, at local stores, which are less expensive but appear to have the same thickness as this one. This is an illusion! If stores are selling a 100ft. cord which is as thick as this one, and the price is much lower, it's because their cord is a small wire cord which has a very very thick plastic insulation around it. Thick plastic insulation is a gimmick and is no substitute for the numbers. The numbers for this cord are 12/3 and the numbers for the cheaper immitation at your local store are probably much higher and thus much inferior. Remember, plastic does not conduct electricity, so you don't want thick plastic... you want thick metal. With quality cords, such as this one, the metal wire inside the plastic insulation is copper and thick copper at that! Copper is super expensive, so when you pay that extra money to get this cord, it's because you are paying for all that copper... and you will know it when you hold this cord because it is noticeably heavier than the cheapy cords. Buy this cord and hold onto it for 20 years, and you might be able to melt it down, for the copper, and finance your kid's education with the money from selling the copper... but, don't hold your breath on the price of copper going to $6000 per pound. If you do buy this 12/3 cord, you'll appreciate that it is almost impossible to get this cord permanently twisted and tangled, which invariably happens to the 16/3 cheapy cords. Seniors would do well to think twice before buying this cord, though, because some may liken moving this cord around to dragging an elephant by the tail. For everyone else who needs a thick, quality, HEAVY DUTY extension cord, this one fits the bill nicely.
