I didn't have any gear cubes or in fact a "full sized" 3x3 gear cube, until this one. I learned how to solve a gear cube with this cube, and it works greater than some full sized puzzles! Strangely a great introduction to a new puzzle, while being cheaper than a full sized one. Sometimes with 3x3 gear cubes it is hard to tell when the layers are aligned, but that is true with any gear cube. I would recommend this for any level of cuber, it only takes a few algorithms and this one is easily travelled with.