I bought my very first ti 86 calculator when I was in middle school, and I had some practical use out of because of the math courses that I took, but then again I was still only using approximately ten percent of its fullest capabilities. hahaha  Because I had the same calculator for so many years, I did not have the need to purchase a new one because I already had one, and on top of that, they are kind of pricey to get one. So one was perfectly fine with me. Now moving back onto the calculator. It is very reliable, and it has all the necessary applications and programs and functions needed to perform any kind of calculations or programming. I remember back in the day, I used to install game onto the calculator to play games, and they worked wonderfully! On a side, there are some games from the calculator that are on the iphone app store now which is incredible! The jump from a black and white scientific calculator onto now the world wide known media device application store!  I recommend buying this one versus the ti 83, it's just better.  

greenplanet

Waco, TX

It is unfortunate that this calculator is no longer made since it has been replaced. The TI-86 calculator is a great product with easy to use features. It was recommended to me, and I am glad I chose to get this calculator. It does everything from simple arithmetic to graphing complex equations. It is a little bulky, but a calculator of this power typically is. It comes with a nice cover to slide over the front to avoid pressing buttons or scratching the screen. It conveniently slides over the back while you're using it to raise the calculator up a bit. The alpha function is great for creating programs to perform various tasks. The screen brightness is adjustable, and battery live is average for this product.

reviews12345

Medford, NJ

I bought this calculator like so many years ago. Even though this calculator is no longer in production, this is the easiest and the best graphic calculator i have used. It's very easy to convert units with a simple clicks. This calculator can last very long without any problem. I have use this calculator since beginning of high school. The calculator have went through PSAT, SAT, all the math class, chemistry, physics, AP test... etc.  And it doesn't stop just there, now it continue to work through all the college class and maybe grad school in the future. Even though i have bought a new Ti-89 calcuator because it have more program and usb port, i still use only this calculator for about 90% of times. I think there is still new or working model on sale online. The screen is still perfect without any problem with numrous time of falling and bamming. Battery lilfe is really good too with constant use of the calculator. 

iam0204

Walnut, CA

This is a great calculator, and in my opinion, one of the easiest and fastest TI calculators to use. However, I could easily see TI phasing this calculator out in favor of the TI-84 and TI-Nspire. The only reason I may not recommend this to a student is that the classroom teacher is likely to have a different type of graphing calculator that this will instruct with, and sometimes it is difficult to follow directions if you have to figure out slightly different keys to press to get the same result. My favorite part about a TI-86 is the conversion commands. You can easily type in most measurements (whether its in relation to distance, area, or volume) and the calculator can convert it to any label you want) For instance, you can type in 1 mile, and it will tell you that this is 5280 feet. Or type in ounces, and convert it to gallons and vice versa.

benjamindeal

Gilbert, IA

I have owned the TI-86 for almost 10 years now since high school.  When I first purchased the calculator, I had to decide between the TI-86 and the TI-83.  The TI-86 is a much better choice overall, especially for being able to load and create applications although the TI-83 is good for statistical type of work.  The TI-86 have much better screen resolution and a few more options than the TI-83. Having the link cable was a must in high school so that I could play tetris against the classmate that sat in back of me.  It was also essential for transferring things between TI-86's like d*ug wars and other amazing games (note: you can only transfer between TI-86 models). Also, it's helpful for being able to type in notes on the computer and then loading them on the calculator instead of taking forever typing everything on the calculator.  If they don't make a decent app that can mimic a graphing calculator already, I would highly recommend getting one.

kylelikewhoa

Los Angeles, CA

This calculator does almost everything you need in any mathematics class you ever take in college and high school. I cannot tell you how many times this has saved my life. My only complaint with this calculator so far is that it does not have a lot of statistics functions so I would not count on this to get you through a statistics course in college. Get the Ti-83+ instead for a statistics course. I love that you can write your own programs in this calculator. Sometimes this comes in handy for formulas or other functions that you can use to check your work. The layout is easy to use and you will get used to it quickly. There are so many features, it would take pages just to list them all out. It is also very sturdy. I have dropped this calculator a multitude of times but it still performs perfectly. The battery life is superb and it also automatically turns off after a period of inactivity.

lilshortwun

Undisclosed

The TI-86 calculator by Texas Instruments was one of the most important educations investments I ever made in my life.  The TI-86 calculator is extremely easy to use and to program to help solve complicated mathematical problems.  The number buttons are a but small and may lead you to hit the wrong number on occasion, but it's easy enough to backspace and correct the issue.  I got to the point that the using the calculator was second-nature to me---just like using the keyboard on my computer.  One of the things I loved with this calculator was the ease of inputting a complicated fraction with parenthesis and multiple functions.  The calculator also graphs functions with ease.  This calculator has excellent durability and survived MANY falls over the years, but kept ticking.  Only after nearly 8 years of use did it finally break.  I don't know if there's a sigificant advantage of the TI-86 over the TI-83 or other TI calculators---they are all fantastic products!

thesauce

Spokane, WA