Which Infomercial Products Make the Grade?

Did these products deliver on promises?

ByABC News via logo
October 14, 2010, 3:41 PM

Oct. 15, 2010— -- Many infomercial products promise the world, or at least a cleaner house, more beautiful hair and smoother skin, with virtually no effort whatsoever.

Do the products seen on TV live up to their claims? "Good Morning America" technology contributor Becky Worley has put dozens of them to the test to find out if they're worth the money.

Here are five of them: the 30 Second Smile, Kangaroo Keeper, Cami Secret, TV Hat and Forearm Forklift, with her grades awarded according to how well they lived up to their claims.

The Forearm Forklift is two canvas straps that have multiple places to put your arms in. You put the straps under a heavy object you want to move and the premise is that you can leverage the power of your legs to lift more easily.

In our testing, we found that the Forearm Forklift did make heavy things easier to lift. It was great when people of different heights were trying to lift something, because the straps equalized the height differential. The straps go under the heavy object so you aren't reliant on your fingers and hands to get a grip on the object.

The downsides of the Forearm Forklift center on stability and going up and down stairs.

Lifting a heavy cabinet with the straps we found that it was unsteady and felt like it might tip over. As the directions indicated, we crossed the straps in an x pattern under the cabinet, but it still felt like it would tip over. Going up and down stairs also was a challenge. The weight distribution became uneven between the two people lifting and the object being lifted got even more unsteady when one person was above the other.

In summary, it seems like a good tool to help move heavy, unwieldy objects on flat surfaces.