Blender Review

The true measure of a blender is its performance over time. After reading more than a dozen professional blender reviews and hundreds of owner-written blender reviews at Amazon.com, Epinions.com and Cooking.com, we learned that almost all inexpensive blenders in the $40 to $100 range, even the most highly rated models, seem to have some sort of durability issue according to consumer reviews.

For its most recent test of full-size blenders, Consumer Reports tried to simulate heavy blender use by repeatedly crushing ice cubes without water at high speed. Most of the 31 blenders survived, but several failed. In addition to the ice-crushing test, editors whipped up icy drinks and smoothies, pureed vegetables and grated cheese. Cook's Illustrated has separately tested both inexpensive (under $50) and pricier (over $100) blenders. Editors put both sets of blenders through rigorous tests, including a 45-second peanut butter challenge and a race to crush 15 ice cubes in five one-second pulses. Popular Mechanics put three blenders through an "abusive lab test" where they tried to crush whole fruit, ice and even jawbreakers in the blenders. We also read blender reviews in Wine Spectator, The Wall Street Journal, Real Simple and Good Housekeeping, which were helpful but not as comprehensive.

We found disparate reviews for many blenders. Although it has fared well in two professional reviews, the Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed SPB-7 (*Est. $60) has its share of problems. Many owners say that their SmartPower blenders are noisy. Also, both the plastic gear assembly and the plastic base appear to be prone to breaking. While some owners like the wide jar, others have found that it allows food to avoid the blender's blades. Professional comparison tests confirm that the Cuisinart SmartPower blender is noisier than others, and it doesn't crush ice as well as some of the competition.

Another Cuisinart blender, the SmartPower Premier CBT-500 (*Est. $100), is named the best value in hands-on tests at The Wall Street Journal, but it receives only middling ratings in Cook's Illustrated tests. The editors do note that the SmartPower Premier, which has a squat, 50-ounce jar, occasionally leaked in testing. Owners were equally unimpressed. Several consumers posting to Amazon.com say that their blenders emit a burning-rubber smell. Others complain that the lip is poorly designed. Professional testers and owners alike wonder why they have to press three buttons to get the SmartPower Premier to pulse.