Help me choose a budget blender

[predator]

I am on a relatively tight budget and would like to get a blender to make smoothies in the beginning and slowly use it to make healthier food ( eat frozen food/out a lot). I was considering getting a magic bullet but I have read in many places that it has problems chopping ice for smoothies and in general is not a good blender ( not surprising since it was on infomercials). Not too sure what to look for in a blender in all honesty so any help there would be great. I would like something a bit compact so it's easy to clean as well.

[doberman_baby]

I am on a relatively tight budget and would like to get a blender to make smoothies in the beginning and slowly use it to make healthier food ( eat frozen food/out a lot). I was considering getting a magic bullet but I have read in many places that it has problems chopping ice for smoothies and in general is not a good blender ( not surprising since it was on infomercials). Not too sure what to look for in a blender in all honesty so any help there would be great. I would like something a bit compact so it's easy to clean as well.

Tight budget ... go to Superstore. They carry the Essential brand. Most of these kitchen equipment is about $10.

[predator]

Sorry, by tight I meant around 50-60 dollar mark as I have seen most good blenders to be 100+. I am willing to stretch the budget slightly for something that has proven to be good.

Have been doing research lately and Braun PowerMax MX2050 seems like a very good blender however a lot of people are complaining about the cheap plastic gear mechanism which seems to plague this machine ( at 29.99 in the states I wouldn't mind but it's much more expensive here).

Another option seems to be certain oster blenders as they come with all metal gearings. They seem to not have as much power/settings and depending on the models and quality problems. All I am trying is to make smoothies with ice and frozen fruits but it seems that this is the toughest thing on blenders. I also find the selection at canadain tire pretty limited and the prices not competitive, any recommendations where to shop?

[heat]

superstore, walmart??

[SHaFTy]

Just picked up a KitchenAid immersion blender. It's big, it's got a detachable wand (so the immersible part can go straight into the top rack of a dishwasher) and a 5' long power cord. Variable power control w/9 increments and as long as you don't want to crush/chop/blend ice for a while with this thing, it's been terrific for smoothies and sauces and soups. Best part? I got it on sale for $40.

This blender was top-rated by Cook's Illustrated in their March 2006 issue. Made a killer raspberry milkshake last night with it.

SHaFTy

[3weddings]

I love the Magic Bullet for smoothies/shakes etc. Much smaller and nicer on the counter than a massive blender!

[duckdown]

I've got a magic bullet -- it's not bad

Ice doesn't get pulvarised too well with mine though

[shannn]

I love the Magic Bullet for smoothies/shakes etc. Much smaller and nicer on the counter than a massive blender!

+1
I love using mine. It doesn't take up too much space, it is nice and powerful, and it can make a lot of good stuff (I usually make shakes, slushies, salsa, guacamole sp?, bean paste, etc...)
Plus when they are on sale they go really cheap

[predator]

My understanding is that the magic bullet can't crush ice due to it being too small and is also unable to crush frozen fruits without burning the engine. Has any of you tried it for that on a daily basis?

[shannn]

My understanding is that the magic bullet can't crush ice due to it being too small and is also unable to crush frozen fruits without burning the engine. Has any of you tried it for that on a daily basis?

Really? Well, whenever I have a bbq...my friend makes us slushies using my magic bullet, and I assume she uses a lot of ice cubes.....my Magic Bullet seems to be able...and I usually bbq once a week during the summer.

[predator]

Ok , so did some shopping around my area and here are some of my options:

Knock off magic bullet for 49.99 ( It's the 21 piece set)
Oster 6802-33 for 49.99
Oster 6891-33 for 69.99
Braun Powermax 2050 for 69.99

now the Braun is probably the best in blending but has quality issues with the plastic gearing frequently breaking. I am leaning towards the cheaper oster as the price is reasonable and it's all metal gearing should be reliable for daily ice/frozen fruit crushing but I don't know how good it is as a blender. Anyone with experience with both these osters?

[goldenegg]

Ok , so did some shopping around my area and here are some of my options:

Knock off magic bullet for 49.99 ( It's the 21 piece set)
Oster 6802-33 for 49.99
Oster 6891-33 for 69.99
Braun Powermax 2050 for 69.99

now the Braun is probably the best in blending but has quality issues with the plastic gearing frequently breaking. I am leaning towards the cheaper oster as the price is reasonable and it's all metal gearing should be reliable for daily ice/frozen fruit crushing but I don't know how good it is as a blender. Anyone with experience with both these osters?

I've had the following Brawn for 4 years and it works great.

http://www.cayneshousewares.com/cgi-bin/detail.cgi?which=338911

[predator]

what were you mostly using it or if you don't mind me asking? It's supposed to be a good blender but the lid leaks due to holes in it and according to amazon and epinions the mechanism breaks a lot when using it for blending ice/frozen fruit

[matdwyer]

What ever you do, don't cheap out.

I'm an idiot and cheaped out on my last three blenders... third one finally died last night, (all were in the 20-40$ range from walmart/canadian tire)

I was using them almost everyday for smoothies (crushing ice) and the motor burnt out twice and the one starting leaking.

Becareful when the motors blow, it sparks and smokes and stuff... its pretty scary at the time

I was looking at getting this one:http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=140847439 6672137&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443300675&bmUID=1209939911674&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true

which is on sale at cnd tire right now... my parents have it at home, but they don't use it very often (the times I've used it there it has worked good)

Obviously the best is a blendtek, but who has 400 bucks for a blender! :lol:

[predator]

Thanks for the heads up about the sale. I will probably go pick this blender. 600 watts, all metal drive (I believe) so nothing to complain about. I also didn't want to cheap out too much and raised my budget and was thinking about getting the 500 watts oster beehive ( 120 at the bay ) but wanted to see if I can find it cheaper since it seems to be a solid blender. But with the sale on I can't say no to this one. I am also looking at this one since it is also on sale : http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444329 1791&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672137&bmUID=1209958826088

P.s:

Was looking at black and decker's site and this is the closest I found , is it this one http://www.blackanddeckerappliances.com/product-330.html ?

[matdwyer]

by the way, according to the side panel and cndtire, it comes with a 1 year warranty through canadian tire, which I'm assuming is just a replacement... so keep your receipt handy in case something does happen

[predator]

Thanks, the CDN tire beside me was unfortunately out of the black and decker one so I got a rain check for that one. I decided to go with this one instead :http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=140847439 6674305&bmUID=1210040053555&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443291791&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true. Works quite well as It handled ice and frozen fruit with ease. Now all I need is to practice different combinations to make a good smoothie.

[matdwyer]

haha, I went to cnd tire and got the black and decker today!

Best combination for smoothies is:

about 333ml of bolthouse (sp? maybe they aren't called this... but they are 3.99/L and come in many flavours which are amazing) smoothie (found in grocery store near the fruits/veggies/organics, in dominion at least)
1 banana (or frozen strawberries)
2 packages of yogurt cups (or equivalent)
1/2 blender of crushed ice
little bit of milk or water if it needs more liquid
(vanilla protein powder if you are doing that)

Btw if you do decide to go with the B&D it demolished my ice today very fast, you can really tell the bigger motor... i'm keeping my receipt in a safe place just in case though!

[4flava]

Thanks for the heads up about the sale. I will probably go pick this blender. 600 watts, all metal drive (I believe) so nothing to complain about. I also didn't want to cheap out too much and raised my budget and was thinking about getting the 500 watts oster beehive ( 120 at the bay ) but wanted to see if I can find it cheaper since it seems to be a solid blender. But with the sale on I can't say no to this one. I am also looking at this one since it is also on sale : http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444329 1791&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672137&bmUID=1209958826088

P.s:

Was looking at black and decker's site and this is the closest I found , is it this one http://www.blackanddeckerappliances.com/product-330.html ?



If you wanna save 10 bucks and can settle for a 600 watt Hamilton Beach check out this one.. http://shop.hbc.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=65030&langId=-1&shouldCachePage=true