Packaging

Spire sent us two coolers for evaluation - the KestrelKing III and the CoolGate SP450B0 (which is the subject of another review).

Both the KestrelKing III and CoolGate came to us
from Spire's US facility in a UPS box.

Naturally, we didn't waste too much time staring at the box. We got right down to business!

The box the KestrelKing III came in.

The KestrelKing III came in a retail box with what looks a lot like an older Mac on the front. Spire's tagline can be seen in the picture above - "You Get the Experience We Keep it Cool", along with the words "The Perfect Cooling Solution" on the flap. We'll soon put that boast to the test, won't we?

One side of the box extols the virtues of using the KestrelKing...

In spite of Spire's claims that a manual would be included, we couldn't find one. The CoolGate that Spire sent us came with an installation manual, though, so this might have been an oversight.

...and the other side had the hopeful note that
there would be an installation manual inside the box.
There wasn't.

The back of the box showed a series of diagrams to aid in installing the cooler. Considering the multilingual claim that there was an installation manual in the box, it was perhaps a little curious that the instructions were entirely in English!

The installation guide. It certainly is concise...

Now that we've taken a look at what's on the outside, let's open it up and see what Spire really sent us!