Works as advertised
It works well and it's not that hard to program. However, after only about a month one of the digits on the LCD display died so it's a little tricky, but not impossible to program.

Great, with minor glitch that can be worked around.
Great, with minor glitch that can be worked around.

The other reviewers were correct! The unit, although very flexible in cycles, start times and durations, can not do different day scheduling for different stations. Simply put, you cannot do this: water station 1 every day but station 2 only on Sunday. It won't do it.

Now the solution: buy too kits. You get only 2 valves in one kit anyway. When you get two kit and you put the zone with diff day schedule on separate timers. Problem solved! The kit isn't much more than the two valves. Considering teh extra connectors, manifold, batteries, and a spare timer, it is a better deal than buying one kit and 2 individual valves.

Orbit watering system
When I couldn't find this anywhere, I turned to Amazon. While it is somewhat difficult to program these puppies, they work well.

Orbit: interesting idea poorly implemented
I had high hopes for this system, so I tried it. In general, I like the timer, it's simple, not too hard to program.

I like the idea of a removable module you program, etc.

I like the idea of individual valves for 4 hoses, controlled via a battery operated timer - portable, easy install, etc.

All this is great.

But: The barrels on the timer valves are plastic, not metal. That's the "pipe" part with the valve in it that turns the water on and off. Both threaded ends are plastic, the bit of pipe that connects them (the barrel) is plastic. If you have high water pressure and need to have tight connections, or if you yank a hose by accident (put stress on the valve barrel), it will break.

If the barrels were unbreakable, or made of metal so they wouldn't break, it'd be a different story - these would be a 5-star product. But since they do break easily, it's one-star for the idea.

Great product IF it's what you need
There was a similar Orbit package offered at Costco (spring only?) that costs less and has three valves instead of two and included two quick disconnect couplings as well. At their price it would be economical to buy a new one every year (I've found that many non-commercial grade sprinklers only last a season or two any way, so why expect more from this particular item.)

Now, this system allows you to have up to three watering sessions per day, with each outlet timed for an independent amount during the session -- but that same time is used for each session -- so it's great if you have a number of stations and you want to repeat the same program several times a day. It won't help you if you want to operate different stations at differrent times of the day (but if it's cheap enough, just buy two).

Haven't had any problems yet. They are made of plastic so I could see how tugging strongly on a hose connected to it could probably break a valve. Also probably a good idea to bring them inside for the winter. Really hot direct sunlight might be a problem too. But in a moderate climate I think they'll be OK.

Programming and changing the program can be a headache until you get the hang of it. This probably seems like a negative review, but if this is the sort of timer that you need and your environment isn't too hasrsh, it should work quite well. All in all, an adquate product (if your situation fits in with what I described above) and if you get it for a good price.