The ear-buds of my 10-year old Littmann Classic II stethoscope was changed about an year ago and they’ve been really painful ever since. Though the auscultating power of the stethoscope was not compromised after the change, I found it more and more uncomfortable as days passed by.
Well, that was not the only reason why I started to look out for a new stethoscope. I wanted to find out how the other brands were and the Dr Morepen stethoscope was the third one that I bought in the last six months. This article is a brief review of the [easyazon_link identifier=”B00C0NU15E” locale=”IN” tag=”beithedoc-21″ popups=”n”]Dr Morepen ST03 stethoscope[/easyazon_link] after using it for a month at the OPD.
Likes
Really light-weight. I had to check whether it was on my neck or not!
Best ear-buds considering the whole stethoscope is cheaper than the Littmann’s replacement ear-buds. I must admit, it was better than the original Littmann replacement ear-buds. It fits snugly on the ears and I didn’t mind spending a few more seconds to dig out the characters of that diastolic murmur.
Loud and clear sounds that reminded me of my beloved [easyazon_link identifier=”B000GG7RZ4″ locale=”IN” tag=”beithedoc-21″ popups=”n”]Littmann Classic II[/easyazon_link] before the ear-buds gave in. I was actually surprised when this stethoscope gave me results very much comparable to the Littmann one.
There is a cute little name tag on the tube which I’ve started to get used to. I’ve not written my name on it though.
The spring is snappy and the cling sound with which it goes back is re-assuring of the good quality material with which it’s made of.
The diaphragm is smaller than the standard adult size and that makes it easier to use in the case of infants and toddlers. It’ll make you lazy to go find the paediatric stethoscope when you need it.
The bell part is also good at picking up those low frequency bowel sounds. I need to spend more time with the bell to find out if it’s Littmann good or not.
The spare ear-buds provided in the package looks and feels similar to the stock ones.
The diaphragm is supposedly built with aluminium alloy and the spring frame is an open one which is brass chrome plated.
Dislikes
I missed the Littmannn diaphragm which could easily switch between high and low frequency sounds by simply exerting a little pressure while auscultating. But, no complaints here as the price cannot be literally compared.
No guarantee, warranty of any sorts.
If anything goes wrong, it’ll be better to throw it away and use another one rather than look for a place to mend it.
No tube colour options available. All that you’ll get is a boring black one.
UPDATE: After an approxiamate 10 months of use, one fine morning when I was putting the earpiece, it’s neck frame snapped! It cost me 100 INR to put a new secondary neck for the ST03 and it’s still working but now it looks old style!
Verdict
I was in a dilemma when I added the Dr Morepen ST03 stethoscope to my Amazon shopping cart. But, to my surprise, it has turned out to be a good decision! For less than five hundred rupees, I’ve been using a decent stethoscope with excellent sound quality that I have no regrets in comparing to the Littmann’s. It’s best suited for medical students, nursing students and for anyone who is using a mercury or aneroid sphygmomanometers to monitor the blood pressure. It has been my preferred stethoscope for the past two months even at the busiest OPD days.
India based Dr Morepen has certainly been turning some heads and this time, they’ve got it right with the ST03. I wonder how good their [easyazon_link identifier=”B00LBSXSYU” locale=”IN” tag=”beithedoc-21″ popups=”n”]ST05 stethoscope[/easyazon_link] would be.
So, how did you like this review? Have you ever used a Dr Morepen stethoscope? Let me know by commenting below.
BUY the Dr Morepen ST03 Stethoscope NOW
