We have the Cuisinart Smart Stick, which looks very similar (same attachments) but is nowhere near that expensive. I'd want to figure out why the KA is so much more and if it's worth it (maybe it is, if it's more powerful?) But generally, I love the Cuisinart. Yes, it substitutes for a blender in many cases. Wonderful for pureeing soup, in particular---you leave it in the pot! I use the whisk and the main blender a lot, and rarely use the mini processor attachment.

I have Cuisinart too, but it doesn't have those cool attachments. For stuff like this I usually go to Amazon and read reviews. You might also inquire with the cooking forum people.

We have the KA and like it very much. Does sub as a mini food processor, whips cream (doesn't crunch ice, but then neither does our big cuisinart FP). Was $70 including shipping and coupon on Amazon during a promo. Was favorite of Cooks Illustrated until being knocked to second by a "Kalorik" which is listed at $25. Don't know about the attachments on the Kalorik.

I picked up a KA stick blender for $25 a couple of years ago when amazon.com had a terrific Black Friday sale, and somebody posted it to the Kitchen forum. Don't use it much, though it seems just fine as a portable blender - quite powerful.

I think either Sur La Table or Williams-Sonoma is offering the Cuisinart stick for $39; I posted it a few weeks back.

I bought one of these after years of transferring soups etc from blender and food processor. It's been terrific. It zaps soup in about 1 minute, mashed the Thanksgiving sweet potatoes, it makes mayonnaise, whips hollandaise, milkshakes, baby food.

Comes with a cup and 3 different blades including a whisk and beater in addition to the mincer plus a cup and bracket to hang it on the wall.

So I recommend it as an appliance and I don't have a lot of stuff. I really do use it. But I bought a Bamix (Swiss) from the Williams-Sonoma outlet and it was pricey. Amazon is the place to read the reviews. I think they liked the KA for about $40. I compared at Sonoma -- this one was more but more powerful and felt best in my creaky hand.

Also have the Cuisinart smart stick. I've only used the food processor attachment a few times.

I use the blender when I make some soup recipes.

I also find my immersion blender to be useful, and I have a Bamix as well. I would avoid any of the rechargeable ones...the battery in my previous Cuisinart wouldn't hold a charge after about a year and you can't buy replacements.

I recently purchased the Bamix Gastro. Very expensive but it is a workhorse and I expect it to last forever. Very pleased with it, night and day over my old Braun stick. I found a good price and free shipping (IIRC) from Pleasant Hill Grain, online. Very nice people to deal with.

I bought a Bosch immersion blender to replace an aging one that came from Costco and originally cost less than $30. It was pretty cheaply made and several posters at Amazon said theirs had problems with the on-off trigger shorting. i decided to look for a heavier professional model of Bosch. It cost a lot and was really powerful. My wife never uses it because it is so big, heavy, and intimidating. A real mistake is to go too heavy duty. Ours just takes up a lot of shelf space with its large mixing containers, Whisk and other stuff. The old one was just right, if only it didn't have electrical problems.

Thanks for taking time to post these reviews, folks! Although I'm still not sure about the brand, the good responses on the general tool--handheld blender--are very reassuring. I can see that my daughter will have fun with one of these no matter which one. I also appreciate knowing that some of the accessories are less used than the main product and that a too heavy and substantial immersion blender is not as likely to be grabbed for a quick usage. Did I get that right?

I went to Amazon and found that the more affordable Cuisinart has some pos and some neg reviews, so all is not perfect in paradise, but it's true that the price is less than Kitchen Aid for the same type of product. Am still chewing on all this. Need to go to local stores near us to see if they have the product--might be couponable. Gol, what a silly world we live in these days. Everything at our fingertips and nothing. Suggested prices and actual prices and shipping prices and tax and no tax and special sale and discount. It's surprisingly fatiguing to sit at a computer and shop for hours reading stuff--would be more fun to go to the stores and handle things in real time, if I have an afternoon to kill.

Am always confused when a product gets a number of high ratings and then someone gives it a one star and a story of woe. That last story has a great deal of power, perhaps too much power.

This is OT for your needs, but a stick blender is the best way to bring soap to trace when making "real" (not melt & pour) soap. I had a GE that I loved because the lower half of the stick with the blade detached from the motor housing so it was very easy to clean. However, I did manage to burn it out & haven't made soap in years (I have such a backlog from all of my experiments with getting the perfect recipe and different scents which is sufficient for my use).

Echo the other posters on how great it is for pureeing soup or tomato sauce in the pot. What a great invention for that, alone.

Jo Ann

I have an old Costco special Braun (not made anymore since they were bought out, I think). One thing I love about it is the mini-fp. It works SO much better than any other version of it I've seen. I don't know if the less expensive one has it (the chopper), but it's a feature on the KA that's definitely worth having (and using) if it's anything like the one that came with mine.

florantha, welcome to my world. No more just go to store and buy something. Now it's all a mathematical calculation and only on this friday or that monday once a year.

Coming up on the time to buy a new phone. Spent over an hour reading reviews and trying to figure out what they were talking about. Much of it's in another language.

Back to stick blender: length, weight and balance also are issues. I actually held all the choices before I bought.

Have you checked epinions and consumer source for reviews too? When I bought ours I found that Bosch was not favored by any testing/reviewing organization. I don't recall which stick was.

I bought a Cuisinart with those same attachments this spring (from Kohls for about $50 on sale, plus I had "points" to use up from a previous purchase).

I've not had reason to use the wire whip, but I love the mini food processor. It can chop up a cup of nuts in no time (for cookies). I probably use that more than the blender, but I use the blender often enough that I wouldn't want to be without it now.

I have no idea if the KA is better or not, I bought what was on sale at the time.

Heck--if it doesn't hold up, you can get her one next year too! (It's hard to decide what to get people sometimes.)

I have a Braun 200w stick blender. Bought it Sept of 2000. It gets daily use. About 7 of those 10 years it was used twice a day. I use it for mixing protein shakes. Rarely for other uses like soups. Just in the last 6 months or so it's starting to show signs of wear on the rubber power button and I'm finding that the contacts (power button) is getting a little finicky. Still works well but I might have to move my finger around a little for it to power on. I think I got my money's worth :) BTW, I didn't buy the extras as I was only looking for something to blend protein shakes.
Monica

I have the KA with all the attachments, and I have to say that for me, it's just okay. It's certainly powerful and reliable and all that, but there are certain things about the attachments that don't suit me, but may not be an issue for you. For instance, the blade in the chopper has a fairly high clearance from the floor of the container, so it's not much good for nuts or herbs or other small items.

I don't love mine nearly as much as I had expected to do, but a lot of that is just because of the way I cook. I don't make many thick soups, for instance, so while it's splendid for those as others here have said, that doesn't matter much to me.

I think I only paid about $69 for mine from amazon, though--KA regularly has a biggish discount once or twice a year (usually after the holidays, alas), and then there was some kind of limited time amazon special running, too. But they are often available for less than retail, although never during holiday gift season.

Alton Brown's book 'Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen'
has good info on this 9 and all sorts of other gems.)
I can't remember his verdict but it is worth looking at ( get it from the library) on many levels.

having said that, i have a very old Braun mixer that I LOVE for things like soups in particular and the chopper attachment is great. Not recommending this model as it is out of production but love the device.

I have the KA and I love it. I especially like that it has adjustable speeds. When you are whizzing up a soup in the pot, you can start on setting one and move up till you have a nice, velvety texture. I use the mini food processor for herbs, herb butter, and mincing a lot of garlic fast. I haven't found the whisk to be of that much use except to buzz up some eggs for omelets when I am making a lot of eggs.

Merry Christmas!

Cj

Nice job on the very honest and earnest reviews, folks. Your responses are appreciated--thanks so much.

I think I will get one for myself as well. Merry Christmas!

Of all the online reviews on other websites, I found this one to have the most comprehensive collection of brand info. Thought I'd mention this. There's a lot of info out there, though. Your input was more important to me. Thanks again.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cook's Den commentry on immersion blenders