The impulse starters weren't popular for very long here either Kori. It seemed to me that people were attracted to them because they found recoil starters too difficult to use, especially for women (that was before decompressors were commonplace, IIRC). However it did not take much exposure to the impulse starter to cure you of any interest. The echoing "crash" each time you fired it, as the ratchet took up, was less than charming, and if it didn't start immediately you soon concluded that winding it up, firing it, then repeating the process, was not all that pleasant. I do think some women, and people whose kids mowed the lawn, continued to find them useful though. Personally I only ever had a couple of them, and hated them.