Functional, effective blender for simple uses, January 15, 2010

I’m not a hardcore blender-user nor do I need a blender that crushes ice cubes and whatnot. As such, if you’re a heavy blender user or want to crush ice, maybe this model is not for you. However, if you like to make the occasional fruit smoothie, and have simple needs, this unit might fit the bill.

I bought it from Target in July 2009. I use it about once a week and it has never given me any problems. Every once in a while I need to break up amalgamations at the bottom of the glass pitcher, but that’s rare.

Usually my smoothies consist of oats, soy milk, bananas and some frozen berries. The blender doesn’t haven problems with these ingredients and, because many of the ingredients are already cold or frozen, there’s no need for me to add ice (maybe this is why my blender hasn’t broken down).

If I were in the market for a new blender, I might think twice about Black & Decker if only because all of their models seem to be getting negative reviews. Oster seems to be the blender of choice these days. That said, if you just want a simple machine that looks nice and isn’t too expensive, this one has been good to me.

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Terrible, December 19, 2009

I wish I had looked at the reviews for this blender on Target and other sites before I bought it.

This does not handle ice at all….and I was using crushed ice with my smoothie.

It just stops and won’t go. Really does not keep running thru anything, not just ice.

Right out of the box, Brand New this blender was a huge disappointment. I am returning it and I am looking for a Professional grade.

I thought this one might be fine for just making shakes, smoothies etc…but it is

just junk. More frustration than my very old Oster.

Avoid this one.

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Did not last 30 days – avoid, November 2, 2009

By

C. White – See all my reviews

My son used this blender at another house and liked it. He drinks protein smoothies almost daily. Within a few days of use, he said he felt it was losing power. After 3 weeks, it gave out. We put in crushed ice, frozen fruit and fruit juice – he knows he has to add enough juice to not overwhelm the blender. Our last one (Oster) lasted over a year, so it wasn’t a problem with technique. Amazon didn’t have reviews but once it broke down, I found lots of poor reviews on other websites. Best to avoid this blender, IMO.

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Really, really, really bad., August 6, 2009

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B. Marye “iRecordU” (Los Angeles) – See all my reviews

I have no idea if they still make this thing, so I may be wasting a review. But, if they do… don’t buy it. It’s absolutely horrible. Controls are funky. Lid fits oddly and is hard to get on and off and most of all, it’s just a terrible blender. Most attempts don’t end with a smoothie, they end up with a soupy liquid with huge chunks of unblended ice. I’m not sure how you design a blender that literally can’t blend, but Black and Decker has done it. I used to own one of the cheap, Oster models from target and that thing blends circles around this piece of junk. Save your money and absolutely do not buy this atrocity.

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A lot of power but dangerous!, June 29, 2009

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N. Rice (Lawrence, Kansas United States) – See all my reviews

I purchased this blender because of the power and low cost. However, it screws on to its base strangly and a bit dangerously! While trying to get it on one day I wasn’t doing something correctly and the entire assembly came apart. It was in 7-8 pieces..nuts, bolts, washers, blades, etc. Just now, I plugged it in and it was already on. The clear removable part on the lid fell inside and the blades ripped it to pieces. It was flying like glass all over my kitchen. I had to close my eyes and unplug it from the wall. Though I am impressed with the way it shredded the plastic with the powerful motor, it almost took an eye! And, now I have to have something over the lid so the liquid doesn’t fly out! I wouldn’t recommend this blender unless you want to risk your body for the powerful motor! However, it doesn’t crush ice nearly as well as it did that lid!

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It’s a Nightmare, July 12, 2010

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A. Davis “An Honest Opinion” (Chattanooga, TN) – See all my reviews

I used this blender maybe 40 times. I thew the entire thing in the trash yesterday.

Many times I noticed little black pieces coming off the blender after blending my smoothies. They are PLASTIC pieces that connect to the blades and make the blades spin… how cheap.

Yesterday, while I was attempting to blend my smoothie, the entire bottom of the blender began to violently spin around my kitchen counter as smoothie flooded out of the bottom. I had to unplug it from the wall because I couldn’t reach the buttons.

I should have gotten a new one sooner anyways because it never blended very well either. I always had giant pieces of fruit that couldn’t be blended into the rest of the smoothie.

Don’t buy it. It’s a waste of money.

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Don’t fool yourself into buying a B&D appliance, May 3, 2010

By

J. Carroll “elmopop lover” (baltimore) – See all my reviews

You’re not going to be the lucky one who gets a decent amount of use out of this thing. If you’re like me, using it on an almost daily basis, it will work for a month or two. One day the blade assembly will magically disintegrate and you’ll be looking at a replacement cost, with shipping, of to . That means you could spend 0 to keep this thing running for a year, assuming nothing but the blade breaks on a regular basis. Suddenly an Kitchenaide doesn’t look like such a bad deal.

Dummies like me buy these things because the nice, heavy-looking glass jar gives the illusion of quality. It reminded me of the blender my parents had for years and years when I was a kid. This is not that blender. For shame, for shame, Mssrs. Black and Decker!

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great value and good product overall, June 19, 2010

mind you i’ve had the blender less than a week but i’ve been making “ice cream” with it and there’s never any ice chunks or unpleasantries left in the jar after i finish blending it. It works fantastic really, sometimes it gets a bit jammed so i pop the little thing off the lid and add some liquid and blends it right in. The design is sleek and looks great as well. So i’ve used it with ice, frozen fruit, and cottage cheese to make a really thick smoothie and it was great. I’ve used it to blend veggies and broth for soup, not hard, but again it worked well.

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We love it!, March 21, 2010

We have had our blender for about two months, and we use it all the time. We use it to make smoothies, milkshakes, and we use it for cooking. It is very powerful and can blend anything. The thing we love most about it is how easy it is to clean up. The bottom isn’t cupped so it makes it easy to get a wet rag in and wipe it off. And if something spills it just drips down the side and doesn’t get trapped inside. The price was awesome and it arrived sooner than expected. We would recommend this blender to anyone.

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Great Value, April 25, 2010

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Thomas Edward Ledoux “Cooking Enthusiast” (Coppell, TX) – See all my reviews

I purchased this item a few weeks ago and I have been happy overall with it. It was reasonably priced () and looked like it had more power, speeds settings and features than comparable products. I use it primarily for making smoothies/frozen drinks and it performs very well, I also use it to blend food for cooking. I particularly like the heavy glass pitcher which has contours on the inside to guide the contents back down into the blades. Great design there as well as the latching bottom of the pitcher into the base. Very solid and powerful unit when assembled and full. The only thing I don’t like about this is the design of the lid. The clear plastic cap in the middle of the lid does not snap in securely enough to allow you to remove the entire lid assembly (which must be grasped at the outside rim, rather wide for small hands). Overall a great purchase.

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plastic gear drive broke after third use, June 23, 2010

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A. Benjamin – See all my reviews

We use our blender 2-4 times a week, and they typically have a lifespan of about 1-3 years, so after doing a ton of research I figured it would be more cost effective to buy a cheap blender every couple of years than shell out several hundred dollars for a really expensive blender that would last up to ten years. However the crush master was just not built well. It left chunks of ice in the jar and did not have enough power to make a “smooth” smoothie. You had to constantly stir to get the contents to blend. The third time using it, one of the plastic gears broke off of the bottom. Amazon was great about the return. I printed out the return label and they sent UPS to pick it up the next day. A week later I got fully refunded for the purchase. So after that we decided to spend a bit more money and went with the oster classic beehive blender (which you can also buy on amazon). It works wonderfully, has a metal gear drive, higher wattage and crushes up magaritas and smoothies in seconds. In the future I will keep our blenders in the 60-80 dollar range as it seems like anything cheaper than that is just not going to work in our household.

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Buying my 3rd one, grrrrrrr…., March 11, 2009

These plastic jars just don’t last. I don’t know how this even qualifies as a viable product. We have to replace ours every several months. We don’t do anything abnormal with it. Smoothies mainly, and we use our icemaker to pre-crush the ice for it (since we know it’s so sensitive). It doesn’t take long for cracks to appear, and then come the sticky leaks that get all over the blender and the counter. And, it’s so expensive. Unfortunately, our blender (the KSB-580, which is similar to the 560, I think) doesn’t take the standard glass jar. Big mistake on our part. At some point, I guess, we’ll need to buy a new blender so we don’t have to keep replacing the jar. Argh.

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Cracked after a year of light use, August 18, 2010

By

Timothy Wayne (San Francisco, CA USA) – See all my reviews

I’ve had this blender for about a year. It has two cracks in the bottom that cause leakage whenever it’s used. And they have the nerve to ask for a replacement?

A pox on all their houses.

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cracks under normal use, August 16, 2010

I purchased a kitchen aid blender thinking I was getting a quality product. After a year of normal use, multiple cracks started to appear in the base of the jar. Food residue gets trapped in the cracks & the jar now leaks from the base. I would like to replace the jar and not have to buy an entire new blender, but I’m not willing to pay 50.00 plus shipping for another poorly made product. A glass replacement would be nice!

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Top Rate Blender, April 27, 2010

We were looking for a blender that would make smoothies on a daily basis, last longer than 90-days and not cost us a fortune. This blender easily crushes the ice and blends the frozen fruits into a delicious smoothie without problem. It does not over heat or stall and the 4-level blade prevents air pockets common with other blenders. It is somewhat loud but that is to be expected from a motor powerful enough to easily crush ice in seconds. We recommend this blender to anyone looking for quality at a reasonable price.

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No complain!!, July 20, 2010

Before I bought this I checked many reviews. I chose the glass jar over polycarbonate one that would be nice, if there in no leaking possibility.

Cleaning and assembling are easier than other brand that I owned before since it is built well.

Primary purpose of this is making smoothy and ice crush. This is doing better than I expected. Especially, for ice crushing, it does crush and pulse and it is very effective. I recommend it with 5 star.

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Very good blender., May 25, 2010

I’ve only had the blender for a couple of weeks, but it is working well. The base (that the blender fits into) is metal, but the piece that goes into the base is made of plastic. It does ice very well. It is very noisy.

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quick, clean, fast, and tough, December 10, 2003

After tearing through 2 stick blenders in 6 years, I tried this one — and let me tell you — the KitchenAid takes the prize. The motor (the highest powered I found on the market) is tough enough for batters and heavy mixing, and still with the multiple speeds and whisk attachment, is light-handed enough for making fast work of whipping cream, and egg whites.

The chopper is worth the upgrade from the stick alone as it will do everything the old counter-top hogging food processors ever dreamed of doing, but with half the clean up time. It also makes it easy for chopping just enough for one or two servings without breaking out the heavy hardware.

Unless you use a mixer for tons of cookie dough or to knead bread (in which case you want the biggest and toughest counter-top kitchenAid stand mixer you can afford…) then this is the best I’ve seen. Stick this blender down into a bubbling hot soup pot full of veggies, beans and meat — it will puree the whole pot into a smoothe and beautiful soup in a matter of 2-3 minutes.

A great product (and a great gift.)

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Whips like a pro!!!, July 25, 2005

By

Carolyn Rampone “Carolyn D’Amico Rampone” (Plantation, FL USA) – See all my reviews

I learned a long time ago, if you go KitchenAid, you go for life. They make the highest quality, longest life products I have ever seen. This hand mixer is the third of its kind I’ve owned. I’ve had two of the Braun models and they died out after about a year of average use. I finally got the KitchenAid and it has been going strong for a few years now. I really like having the ability to go down to the bottom of a large pot, a full 8″. Even though it is of substantial weight, it fits your hand like a glove. I found it far superior to the Braun, as a matter of fact, it doesn’t even compare.

The plastic cup with lid makes an excellent accessory since you can mix and store without wasting time. The chopper is the most efficient I have seen, does a better job that a food processor. I especially like the multi-speed dial. It goes from 1 to 9 so it has the power you need, when you need it. Egg white or whip cream doesn’t even challenge it, the whipping attachment makes sure of that. This baby handles like a pro. There are times when you don’t need the big mixer and the immersion blender really fills in nicely. You won’t be disappointed with the quality, power or its sleek look.

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The right tool for the job, February 15, 2007

By

Timothy J. Drozinski (Florida, USA) – See all my reviews

I’m at a point in my life where I am developing a taste for quality, and can finally afford the kind of quality I desire. I like to dabble in the kitchen, so I’ve been building my arsenal of kitchenware recently. I’ve invested in some high-quality cookware and utensils, and started working on some appliances. I’ve got an 11-cup Cuisinart food processor, but that tends to be overkill for a lot of smaller jobs – I hate all the cleanup involved with making a cup of guacamole dip, for instance. I like to use peeled whole tomatoes to make tomato sauce for pasta dishes, but my wife doesn’t care for chunks of tomato in the finished sauce. No problem… I just dunk the stick blender right into the can of tomatoes and out comes a nice thick puree with all the rich flavor that pre-made sauces seem to lack.

This stick blender came highly recommended by an acquaintance, and it doesn’t disappoint. With its high-power motor, variable speed settings and versatile accessories, this is a compact and high-impact kitchen tool. Easy to clean, too. I would urge caution if you’ve never used one of these before, especially when working with very watery liquids as they can end up getting blown right out of your container if you’re not careful.

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We like to buy things that last, April 23, 2009

So, after 30 years, we needed a new blender. Hmmm. My wife and I hadn’t a clue where to start nor what was out there. On my first two internet searches all I found were the two extremes: small fractional Hp motors or the ridiculously priced 0 to 0 unit.

And yes, of course we want to crush ice – who doesn’t? I have enough engineering background to know that a 0.2 to 0.5 Hp motor is NOT going to crush ice. Finally, we found the KitchenAid models! Some were 0.9 Hp, which is more like it. The pitcher (I call it) was a larger diameter and a little squat – perfect design for better blending, not to mention storage.

We decided that two speeds just wasn’t enough, 3 speeds would be borderline and we certainly didn’t want anything ridiculous like 10 or 15 speeds. (That’s what they do when the motor is underpowered to do the job.) We settled on the KitchenAid KSB465Wh 4-speed with 48 ounce jar and 0.9 Hp motor. The weight wasn’t given but the appearance gave you the idea that the base was good and heavy – a prerequisite.

We’ve used it several times starting about a month ago – it’s perfect. It’s even better than the one that lasted 30 yrs. The pitcher is dishwasher safe, it has something they call “intelli-speed” which adjusts the horsepower as needed to deliver constant speed. This is something where most blenders fall short, you put something heavy in it and the motors just slows down. The base is good and heavy – hurray, no more tipping over. The ad doesn’t mention this but you do NOT dissasemble the pitcher for cleaning! Another big plus.

By the way those to blenders don’t work and don’t last. This one is priced around and you get what you pay for. A very solid unit with a decent motor and good features. And yes, it does a marvelous job grinding ice – a whole tray at a time. And, if you let it go for about 10 seconds you have ice “powder” – it’s better than our ice shaver for snow cones.

Blending is far superior to our old blender. It digests even the tough stuff easily. We haven’t yet really needed to use it but it has pulsed speeds for those really tough materials. I’d recommend THIS blender to anyone who doesn’t need to grind nails.

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A clear winner!, May 26, 2009

By

B. D. Earthcare “Not quite retired” (Seabrook Island, SC United States) – See all my reviews

After doing more blender research than I care to admit to myself, I narrowed my search to three blenders. I selected this model after speaking to a most informed and helpful Kitchenaid customer service rep who answered my remainding questions one Saturday afternoon. Since, they staffed their customer serviced department on the weekends, I was already impressed. This blender replaced a just out-of-warranty Cuisinart blender which I loved, until it died a premature death, I can say without hestiattion this model is far better. Since I use our blender daily to make breakfast smoothies, some with ice, I thought my blender needs were simple. Quite to the contrary, I discovered. There is no middle ground when it comes to chopping ice and this blender does a superb and lighin’ quick job. I add very frozen berries to the morning mix and this blender handles them beautifully. The performance, design, ease of operation and cleaning each have exceeded my expectations.

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Best blender ever., September 26, 2009

By

William J. Kelly – See all my reviews

I have only used about four blenders in my life but this is by far the best I have come across. I picked it up by chance on the clearance end cap at Target but if I knew how well it worked I would have gladly paid full price. I have never seen a blender crush ice so well, in fact my fiancee and myself are eating snow cones we just made with it as I type. It makes the smoothest smoothies ever, I can’t wait to find more uses for it!

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Great, but no “ON” button, just “pulse”, November 23, 2007

By

L. Bollinger “bollinl” – See all my reviews

I love handblenders. I have this one and its attachments, and I use it pretty regularly. I have two complaints: 1) the powercord is thick, cumbersome, and hard to keep out of one’s way. I had a cordless unit from a different manufacturer before, and I must say–the extra power here is nice, but I’m not 100% convinced the hassle of the cord is really worth that extra umph very often. 2) and here’s the kicker–there’s no actual “on” switch. You’ve got to hold it on the whole time. I really wanted to give one to my mom for Xmas, but she simply doesn’t have the hand-strength any longer to make use of this unit. It takes me two hands to keep it held “on,” and my hands cramp up when I’ve got something that I need to blend for a sustained amount of time. That said, this is a lovely unit (I adore the red color), and I get lots of use out of it. I just would have liked a chance to think about those two issues before I bought it (about a year ago), and certainly before I gave it for a gift.

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Unsanitary – eventually may cause food poisoning, January 22, 2010

I bought this to replace a Braun I had for 15 + years. This was to replace the cheap Braun on which the motor finally gave out after thousands of uses. I have the most expensive Braun and it is the best ever made, however Braun has stopped making hand blenders all together (I wrote to Braun and that is what they told me). I have always thought kitchen aid to be a great product and in the past they were, until they sold out to Westinghouse. The blender works well, although the slowest speed is higher than medium speed on my Braun.

The problem is the seal on the bottom of the mixing shaft under the blade. There is a rubber gasket or sealer that does not seal, but traps blended food under it. After a through washing and allowing it to stand and dry the food particles leak out and dry. I used mine daily, week days at work, to make a whole food/protein shake. Each day I washed it thoroughly and dried it. The next day I would take it to make my shake and note that particles of yesterdays shake had seeped out from under the rubber seal. I tried cleaning under the seal on the outside only to discover that the problem also appears to be in the center next to the shaft where it is impossible to clean. I could actually see food trapped half under the rubber seal and there is no way to clean it out. My shakes are green in color and I can see the green, gradually turn to brown, on the outer edge of the rubber seal and again whole food trapped under the center.

Amazon has been great about returning products that are defective and has assured me that they will get me a full refund for this product. My problem now is finding a quality hand blender equal to the top of the line Braun to replace this KA.

If i can see the very bottom where the blade and seal are it would make the purchase easier. Braun put a stainless steel plate with an O ring in the center and what appears to be a durable sealant on the base. That is how you make a quality product, not the way kitchen aid made this product. If they would fix this problem, the rest of the blender has worked fine 5 days a week for 4 months.

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handy, October 24, 2005

By

Barbara Rockwell – See all my reviews

I had one of these that had a battery and the recharger hung on the wall with its attachments. I loved it, it was light and convenient. It finally broke and they don’t make them that way anymore.

This whips up a storm, its detachable head cleans perfectly in the dishwasher with no fuss. It has tremendous power and its design sucks the food into the blade and a circular motion is set up for efficient blending. It does not whip cream, you need a whisk or beater for that. Instead it would turn cream to butter. It is kind of heavy but stands up on its own without tipping over. The beaker is the perfect container. It is kind of tall and the cord has so much memory that it takes up too much space on the shelf over my sink where I keep it. There is no safety. At all. If it were plugged in and you accidently hit the switch while your finger were in the blade, they would be chopped up. Because of this, it should never be stored plugged in. But overall, I do like it and I use it often. If I had small children, I would not have this in the house. And if I were teaching a child to cook, I would never, ever use it.

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The Blender with Intelligence, July 21, 2007

By

D. Wooten “Real Shaka Zulu” (NorCal, USA) – See all my reviews

I have owned a lot of blenders and this one is very impressive. I was tempted to give it 4 stars as it is not the best blender I have ever owned. That distinction goes to the Vita-Mix which has a nuclear reactor for a base, sounds like a Harley and cost as much as a microwave but if you need a blender that can crush anything and make flour and HOT soup….well….but back to the KitchenAid.

First it looks great. As a home chef, having a sleek modern looking kitchen is important. Second it is easy to clean… I will never own a push button (i.e. old Oster-type) blender again. Nor one with a multi piece jar. One leak can and has ruined an evening or party, as you run to grab paper towel and dish clothes to control the margarita or soup that is running across your counter and down your cabinets. Then the fun of cleaning your blender nooks begin….grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Now the really impressive part. I have owned a Waring for years. Everyone always raves about it and if you have a thin liquid, it works great. But for crushing ice and making smoothies, it just flat out sucks. So I sought out an ice crushing (margaritas), sealed jar (gravies/soups), lightweight, large capacity (parties), easy touch (easy to clean), piece of art. The KitchenAid is all those things and has a logic built in that controls the blade speed. It knows how well it is crushing the ice and modulates the motor to ensure an even snow like texture that is incredible. The same system is also built into the other modes, measuring resistance to step the motor up, then back it down to ensure smooth results.

This is my first KitchenAid product, but it will not be my last. BRAVO

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Top-Notch Blender, March 11, 2008

By

Thomas Tracy (Northern GA, United States) – See all my reviews

This is an excellent, high-quality blender. We replaced an inexpensive Oster with it and like this KitchenAid much, much more. Things I really like:

1) Power – this blender whips through hard-frozen fruit like nothing is there for wonderful smoothies.

2) Smooth, one piece control panel – makes for super-easy clean-up as there are no cracks or crevices to trap spills. Yet, the buttons behind the panel still have a nice tactile click response so you know you pressed one.

3) Brushed nickel finish – very attractive on your counter.

4) Polycarbonate jar – this worried me when considering this purchase as our old blender had a nice, thick glass jar. But, after using this blender for 3 months, I like this jar better. It is thick, yet lightweight, and hasn’t scratched (although I only use rubber or silicone spatulas inside any way).

5) One piece blades & jar – our old blender had a screw-off base, resulting in 4 parts for clean-up – the base, the blade assembly, the jar itself & a rubber gasket. This blender’s blades are permanently mounted in the bottom of the jar making for easy clean-up. I either just put it in the dishwasher on the bottom shelf, or I rinse it out, fill it up halfway with warm water & a small squirt of dishwasher detergent and run it on medium for 10 seconds or so.

Unlike another reviewer, I have experienced no leaks. There is a hex hut on the bottom of the jar that holds in the blade assembly & I am sure there is a rubber gasket underneath the nut. If I ever do get a leak, I plan trying to slightly tighten this nut with an adjustable wrench – I imagine it could possibly loosen over time due to vibration.

The bottom line is that while there are certainly many less expensive blenders on the market, this is an extremely powerful, well-built & attractive option. I think it is worth the price (I had a rebate to lessen the sting), but others may not depending on their budget.

UPDATE after a summer of making daiquiris & margaritas – This blender makes FANTASTIC frozen drinks. It really pulverizes the ice & frozen fruit to make a killer frozen cocktail!

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Monster ice crusher, July 2, 2007

By

Jason Austin (Virginia Beach, VA USA) – See all my reviews

If you’re into crushed ice and smoothie type drinks, this is easily the best one I’ve found. It reduces ice cubes to a smooth slush in just seconds. The “crush ice” mode pulses on and off to crush the ice quickly and few more seconds at a higher speed smooths it out and adds some air volume. It also looks very sleek, so won’t mind leaving it out on your bar or in the kitchen.

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