This is a nice roller shade. It would be 5 stars if it wasn't for the supplied fasteners and a minor issue with the weighted bar.It was well packaged. Each side had packing materials protecting the roller mechanisms and it was completely encased in bubble wrap.It came with the shade, two brackets, plastic wall anchors, four screws, and the pull down clip.
The instructions weren't super thorough, but it is fairly straightforward if you've ever installed blinds. These can either be mounted to the inside of window frame or the outside with how the brackets are set up.I connected the two brackets to the shade, held it where I was going to mount it on the inside of the inside of my window frame, and marked the four visible holes for the screws.
After removing the brackets, I tried to install them with the screws provided. The window frame is wood, so I figured I'd just drill them in like I would with any other screw. Wrong. The first one made it in about half way before shearing off. I thought maybe I should do this the "right" way and make some pilot holes so there's less stress on the screw.
The next screw made it in half way before shearing off again. I widened the pilot holes to try again. Same result with the third. I had to move the bracket over a bit to install it with entirely different screws that I had on hand. I didn't even try to use the remaining screw. Not fooling me a fourth time! It went right into the scrap bucket. They *should* work with the wall anchors provided, but I still wouldn't trust them not to break under the weight of the shade.
For the functionality of the shade itself, it rolls and it shades.The ability to keep the shade anything less than half shut seems to be out of the question. If the bar at the bottom was just a little heavier, it would work perfectly. Two chip clips or about 3oz/85g will hold it.
The fabric portion blocks out a considerable amount of light. I'd say that it's better than a blackout curtain if you can mount it super close to your window. There's also a line of weather stripping along the top of the roller housing to help with keeping the outside out. Those two features alone would warrant 5 stars as a window covering in my book.-1 for the frustrating fasteners. -1 for the slightly too light counterweight.