Had mine years. It did nothing for the first year, then I took a one day course and since then I have used it for countless tasks. For me the real advantage is that work is not held in ones fingers, it is nearly always clamped. It is excellent for grooving/rebating panels eg jewellery box components when the wood is held on a supplementary table. It cuts excellent finger joints, even ply if sacrificial packing pieces are employed. The ability to climb cut is a revaluation. The work is held so firmly that I have inadvertently routed iron 'G' clamps without realising it! I am not keen on the brush idea for running long pieces of wood under the cutter, a table is better in my opinion. Like most routers, dust is a problem, particularly when using a supplementary table or jig. Adels web site is a must.
The American copy misses the point - the 'Rat was designed to work to a sharp pencil line, hence its construction. If you want precision extruded aluminium sections as in the 'Rat are not the way to go, for that you need linear or machined bearings with properly adjustable tolerances.
Bob