I have been needing a new can opener, so I was excited to get to try the can opener (and rotary cheese grater and pizza cutter) from Trudeau’s Stress Less line.

I must say, I was quite impressed!  This is everything a can opener should be.  It took me a few minutes, the first time, to figure out how to lock it onto the can.  (It isn’t difficult; it was just different than my old one.)  After that, it was a breeze.  When you rotate the handle, the can opener cuts so easily that I was sure I must be doing something wrong, because it didn’t feel like it was doing anything.  There is a subtle change, though, in the resistance you feel once you’ve made it all the way around the can.  Once the can is completely cut, you don’t even have to touch the lid.  There’s a built-in doohickey (very technical term!) that you can grip the edge of the lid with to lift it and toss it in the trash (or the recycling bin, if you are so blessed as to have a locale that will recycle cans).  Because the can opener cuts horizontally, rather than vertically, it doesn’t get into the food and get all dirty and gross and germy.

[UPDATE 12/4/2012:  We have really loved this can opener over most of the year or so we’ve had it, and it did, indeed, work just as beautifully as I described initially.  However, about a month or so ago, it stopped working right.  We’re not sure if the blade is dull, or if something has wiggled slightly loose, keeping it from gripping the can firmly enough, or what.  But it just doesn’t do the job anymore.  This is pretty disappointing, as we would expect a manual can opener to last for more than a year.)

The cheese grater works very similarly.  I had a rotary grater before, from a well-known, well-respected (and generally high-quality) brand.  I loved the idea of it, but it was a pain to use.  Literally.  Because of the way it had to be squeezed shut to force the cheese against the blades, it would cramp up my hand.  The design also guaranteed that the handle would eventually break off (which it did).

I could tell as soon as I saw this that it was a better design.  I don’t find it quite as easy to use as the can opener.  It’s a little hard for me to get the “door” open, because it’s spring-loaded.  And then it’s a little awkward, because there’s this lump of cheese in there.  But it’s much more comfortable to hold onto than my old one.  And the fact that it’s spring-loaded means I don’t have to squeeze the living daylights out of it to make it work.  The handle simply rotates around smoothly, just like the can opener handle.  (This part is very easy!)  I do wish they’d make a larger-holed option, for slightly softer cheeses, but this is a clear improvement over the more traditional design of rotary graters.

Finally, I received the pizza cutter.  I haven’t had opportunity to use this yet, but there isn’t much to test as far as “in-use” is concerned.  It rolls; it cuts.  But this is much easier to clean than other pizza cutters because the blade comes out!  It is designed so that if you turn it upside-down and press down firmly, the blade will pop out and can be thoroughly cleaned.  The fact that you have to turn it upside-down to remove the blade ensures that it will not pop out on you during use.  (Why aren’t all pizza cutters made to disassemble like this?!)

Now I just need to go buy myself the garlic press!  (I had a garlic press once before, but gave up on using it because it was so much trouble to clean.  I am confident the Stress Less press will be better.)

One of you can indulge in a stress-free pizza night, because one of you is going to win the same tools I received.  You’ll get a can opener to open your sauce, a cheese grater for topping it with parmesan, and a pizza cutter for the finished pie.  Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.

Disclosure: I was provided with the tools shown above, to facilitate this review.  As always, all opinions are entirely my own.