Philips Kitchen Appliances Philips ProMix Hand Blender, Avance Collection, HR1670/92, Stainless, Black and Silver, One Size

I've had this blender now for almost four years and it has held well up through moderate use (approximately twice per week) over that time. I've mostly used it for making smoothies with assorted fruit, juices & crushed ice, along with using the whisk attachment to make whipped cream and meringue topping (which is lighter work but requires longer blending time).I have been extremely happy with the blender's results, making quick work of turning out very smooth drinks from rough-chopped fruit & chunks of ice. Cleaning is a breeze, requiring little more than a brief blending in some hot soapy water followed with a rinse. I'd have no hesitation in replacing it with the same model if/when necessary.

So much easier to use, the trigger is great, just need to use a light touch for low speed or pull in more for higher speeds, so simple! The fit in my hand is very good too, the only thing I've noticed is that the cord is fairly stiff and sometimes puts pressure on my wrist when I have a good grip on it (the cord comes out of the top of the handle so it lays across my hand and wrist). It blends so smoothly, far better than any other immersion blender - Wirecutters lists it as their upgrade recommendation and it's worth it. I usually blend spinach and blueberries and bananas and with this blender, there's no bits of spinach left, no bits of blueberries detectable, just smooth smoothie! I use it every day so I'll be watching to see how long it lasts, I hope more than a year.

I think the unit is a bit pricey but it is good. I was asked to answer a question about the length of the shaft which is 7 3/4".I do not immerse the entire shaft past the button where the shaft locks on to the motor unit. I don't know why, I just don't. I wanted a stick blender that would whip heavy whipping cream fast and firm as well as a quickie smoothie for one so I don't have to break out the blender. (you'll need to buy the whisk attachment separately). I also use it to whip my body butters, do soups, and puree veges. Love it!If I had to change just one thing, I would have a constant on button instead of having to hold the button to operate it.

After having this for a few months, I have no issues with this immersion blender. I agonized over this for two months before I bought this. I admit that this was not my first choice, but that one never went on sale, and I'm not spending $400 on a commercial immersion blender.I bought this particular one because it had the least amount of moving/removable/open parts. More moving parts means more potential for breakage. More removable parts means more potential from loss or connection issues. More open parts means more areas for your food to get stuck in it, and dried/leftover food in your immersion blender is gross. Also, it seemed to have the most metal parts. Metal doesn't break as easily as plastic.Cleaning? Just stick in a pot of water and soap, and blend it like you normally would; then, disconnect the parts and wash the outside of the blending part by hand. Simple!Power? Eh...it mixes my potato leek soup, pumpkin pureé soup, etc. My main reason for buying it was to make fondant for my bees in the winter because the hand mixer was stalling with the heat from the 200-degree syrupy sugar water, and it was making a mess with spraying the water into the ventilation openings. The immersion blender certainly is cleaner that the hand mixer, but it took much longer to make the fondant than the hand mixer. It does need to cool after using it for about a minute because the motor heats up (like pretty much any motor, really), but otherwise it's fine.Easy to use? There is no stupid safety switch, no extra buttons: It's just one button, and the harder you push, the faster the blade (which is very sharp) spins. It can get a little tiring holding the button for a long period of time--especially when mixing something in multiple batch as mentioned above, so my blending isn't always consistent.The parts are well made right now, though I haven't had it for a year or lots of usage or whatever. If you want to make mashed potatoes, use a hand mixer. If you want to chop nuts or make hummus or peanut/cashew/almond/miscellaneous politically correct hippie butter, use a food processor. If you don't want to break your hand blender/immersion blender, use common sense and don't run it for five minutes or expect it to mix thick, uncooked foods as easily or have amazing hummus with it. If you want to make creamy soups, this is probably what you want to use.

I love to make butternut squash soup, but it seems really difficult to cook it then get it into my VitaMix to puree it. So I finally looked for a way to do it in the pot. This thing blew me away! It took all of 2-3 minutes to have perfect soup with NO lumps! I love it! I had to learn how to manage it, as if I let it sit on the bottom of the pot is sort of makes a suction, but other than that, it was so easy to use. So glad I bought it!

I originally bought this for blending soups on the stove, without having to transfer to a blender with all the mess that comes with that. I was concerned about the cord length, but, at around 60 inches, the cord is plenty long to reach from my stove to the wall outlet. Cleaning could not be easier - just pop the working end off an rinse under running water. Now I find myself making smoothies regularly, something I never had the patience for before. All in all, this has been one of my best purchases.

I cook a lot and use a stick blender a lot. This blender, particularly for what it cost, is a huge disappointment. The blender attachment periodically comes detached from the unit - while mixing. I find that with heavy sauces, the bell bottom on the attachment is drawn to the bottom of the bowl (like there's some kind of suction). So either with that suction, or with a very heavy sauce, the blender comes apart. I am afraid to use any further on anything important. It appears the locking mechanism isn't strong enough.*Would like to add that I have contacted the company and they are replacing it as it is still under warranty. I will update if the replacement has the same issue.