I've just bought the bee smoker from Amazon (http://www.amazon.ca/Hive-Smoker-Updated-Design-Protection/dp/B00D8ORVG6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377814117&sr=8-1&keywords=bee+smoker), and thought to give it a quick review.  The price is more than decent, at 29.99, it is a half price comparing to the similar smokers that are offered by the beekeeping suppliers in Quebec.  It also qualifies for Amazon's free shipping (I ordered it Thursday afternoon, and it arrived next Tuesday), and my smoker arrived, as it appears, with the taxes included in the price.  By the way, it is made by a BC company Aspectek (who are we kidding, it was most probably made in China :)) .

    Although I expected it to be a piece of junk (for that price), I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised that this 11" stainless steel (advertised as high-heat resistant standard steel?) smoker is not much worst than the more expensive smokers.  It features hinged lid, heat shield with mounting hook, lid (safety) hook, steel base plate/screen and the package includes a brief manual.  It is advertised as having a leather bellows, but that is not the case with the one I received.

    Now, the minor annoyances,...The base plate/screen comes as a flat plate with punched out holes and legs that need to be bent to place it on the bottom of the smoker.  The plate is made of very thin steel and the legs are a bit too short, so when in place, the plate is positioned in the middle of the air intake opening instead being above it (see the red arrow). 
    Now the interesting thing is that the steel plate/screen is described in the manual as being used as a cover, to prevent the smoking material from flying out while using the smoker.  While some manufacturers build their smokers with the screen built in the smoker's cover, I'm sure that the Aspectek folks got it all wrong :)

    Another thing that bothers me a bit can be seen on the blurry photo on the left, the bellow's metal strapping is wrapped flat against the wood, that is, it doesn't have a lip, so the smoker feels like slipping when held with one hand.  Also, the bellows is attaches to the smoker with screws, instead of bolts, which shouldn't be a big issue (replacing it may be an issue, though).

    Despite those minor flaws, this smoker is of a quite good quality, and will surely last for a good while, if taken care of. Taking the price into consideration (value of 2 kg of honey), this smoker is definitively a good buy.

Now,...there it is,...the very first ApiGuru blog post.  In the essence, it marks the start of the activities on this website, and the activities of the company, which will offer a range of beekeeping services and products, catering to the beginner and mostly small scale, backyard beekeepers.  In a way, the ApiGuru can be seen as my attempt to continue the work started with the McGill Apicultural Association (MAA), to try to realize all those neat projects that were on the table at some point in the MAA history, but were destined never to happen due to this, or that reason.  Although established as a business, offering services and product in exchange for dollar bills, the spirit of sharing the beekeeping knowledge and experiences started with the MAA will also be present at the ApiGuru, mainly through the ApiGuru's support of the MAA activities (hopefully supporting the MAA financially too, if the business picks up as planned), contributions from the people associated with the ApiGuru, this blog's postings and the beekeeping articles that will be published on this website.  Anyways, the website is up, but the work on it is still in progress (some pages may be blank), so check out the pages often for the news and updated content.  The comments will always be greatly appreciated.

Branislav