Hamilton Beach 52655 12-Speed BlenderChef Blender, Black

 (13 customer reviews)

This blender works very well, in my opinion. It doesn't usually completely obliterate ice, but it does a good job. If you run it long enough, however, I've found that there's no chunks of ice. And even if you don't, the chunks aren't that big of a deal to me. It's my first blender, and I like it a lot. There was a burning smell when I ran it the first few times, but my dad says that usually happens. I've only used it to make smoothies and it makes those wonderfully.

If you buy the one with the food processor (which I've also never had one of) the food processor isn't that great. I've found that I have to stop it often to put the food on the blades, and because of that it takes a very long time to puree anything. I've only tried very soft things (avocado, silken tofu), but they took a very long time to puree. The food processor overall is just awkward--to handle, to wash, to dry. It takes some getting used to.

Since this review is, on amazon, just for the blender...Read more

I've had it about 6 months now. I use it not every day, but maybe 2 - 3 times a week. I use frozen berries and bannanna in it with milk and yogurt. After about the 6th blend, the speed mechanism broke, so now it only has one speed (thankfully its a fast speed). Also, it's not very powerful, so if I want a fairly thick smoothie, I have to constantly turn it off and stir and then blend again...

But then again, I didn't pay that much for it. If I had it to do over I would have bought a more expensive one. If you plan on making smoothies several times a week, I would suggest a better blender. If you won't use it very often, or you won't be putting frozen fruit or ice in it, or you like your smoothies thin, then this will work ok.

works fine. The only small issue is it may leak through the gasket if you don't tighten it hard.