Here's my opinion - for what its worth.
A kit is a great way to get started - buying a kit saves you from having to make a bunch of individual decisions. But the thing about decisions is that you win some and lose some - you are almost certainly going to regret some of the decisons you make individually when you are getting started and not totally sure about what you really need. The question is whether you will have more regrets with a kit than you would if you bought individual components.
Specifically -
1. The lathe is a great minilathe - but it may be limiting if your interests expand beyond small projects. 1/4 HP is a bit underpowered for high-inertia projects like bowls.
2. Carbon steel turning tools are fine to learn with. And one of the things you definitely need to learn is how to sharpen them. The good news is that because they are carbon steel, you will have lots of practice! You may later wish you had high speed steel tools that hold an edge longer.
3. The pen kits are probably PSI's "funline" version of the classic slimline - functionally the same as slimline pens, but the materials are cheaper. And pencils - they aren't that popular.
4. The blanks are probably rosewood. The good news is that's a great material to learn turning with - but the other side of the coin is that rosewood is pretty boring.
5. The lathe has only one tool rest. Mine came in a kit with two, one long and one short. To be honest, I rarely use the shorter rest, but I'm sure that I would miss it if I didn't have it.
6. Some will say that the MT1 taper is limiting. In my opinion, as long as you are focusing on smaller projects, you can probably do anything you want with the accessories that you can find in MT1. But it is true that MT2 offers a wider selection of accessories.
7. The dvd is a nice thing to have - but it's free when you place an order with PSI, and you can get much of the same information in various free YouTube videos found in the IAP library.
On the other hand, the kit has some attractive features -
1. An extra lathe belt. You may never need it, but if you do, it will be great to have.
2. The lathe has a handwheel on the headstock. Not all low-end minilathes have handwheels.
3. The barrel trimmer is a great tool to have. However, it will be limited to use with kits that use 7mm barrels - slims, etc. You will need to buy something else if you later expand to other kits.
4. Some of the other elements of the kit do have value - the Shellawax and epoxy for example.
Before committing to a purchase, you might want to look at the ShopFox 1704 kit offered by Stebor. Similar basic scope, but without the barrel trimmer, Shellawax, epoxy, pencil kits and spare belt. But the price is about $100 less.
I opted for the Stebor kit about six months ago. I've spent a lot more than I paid for the kit for other goodies since, and my interests have expanded beyond pens to include bottle stoppers, tea lights, and small bowls and cups. I'm having fun with it and I don't regret buying the kit. But it I had known then what I know now, I might have opted to go with a specific selection of products rather than a kit.
