the t.bone EM 9600

This rating is factoring in the price point.

I use this for field recordings (it has a shotgun switch to change polar pattern) and as a vocal mic. Its not terrible for general desktop use for calls either

outdoors, even with its wind shield it is still going to pick up wind, but some processing (eq etc) fixes that, as it can be battery operated its decently portable. It doesn't appear to eat through batteries when portable.

I pair it with the Millenium DS100 for my desktop "studio", perfectly suitable for this.

build quality is fine, wouldn't want to drop it though, I do not expect it would survive.

Other reviews mention noise, I haven't experienced this (its normally connected to a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen)

As previously mentioned, its good for its price, I don't think you'd be going wrong if this is what you can afford and its certainly good enough for the kind of vocals I record (which are going to be heavily processed anyway)

I needed a relatively cheap mic quickly for a project I was working on, one where I would not be to upset if it went for a swim. I was surprised at the quality of this mic especially at the very reasonable price.
It actually sounded great, in fact better than some of my more expensive mics, I now find myself using it more & more often & it has become one of my trusted pieces of kit that always has a place in whatever bag I take out. I highly recommend this mic for both beginners & more experienced sound recordists, especially when a good but possibly sacrificial microphone is needed.

I've used one of these for two years to pick up sounds from a cricket pitch 60+ metres away. The mic is covered by a Røde WS6, which has kept it dry through all different kinds of rain thrown at it.

So, my needs are simple and lo-fi; to get the soundscape of the cricket pitch to a live stream.

Pros:
- Excellent pick-up for the price (heavily processed to coax out the relevant parts)
- Build quality is pretty good; the screw holding the business parts gave up only after two years of manhandling by people not accustomed to XLR cables.

Cons:
- The included mounting accessories are pretty useless. Consider getting proper ones at the same time with the mic.
- The off-wide-tele–switch slides easily to off during windshield installation. Nothing a bit of Gaffa won't fix, though.
- While the pick-up is good, the sound does reveal that the mic is not quite a high-end shotgun. Yes, you usually get what you pay for, but IMO the quality surpasses the expectations based on the price in this one.