Side by Side Comparison of: Oster vs Hamilton Beach

I haven't used this blender for very long, but so far it's exactly what I need. I also have a ninja which is 1500 watt and although it blends faster, I never liked the pitcher attachment for it because the blades were always annoying to clean IMO. Since the ninja pitcher attachment broke (totally my fault so don't think ninja blenders aren't reliable because mine still works great) I got this one which works great. Gotta love the price too. I've used other Oster blenders before as well and they're never disappointments.

Ok so we all know that this blender is no Vitamix, that being said I was probably non stop doing research and looking for a decent blender after forcing myself to come to terms with the fact that I just cannot afford a Vitamix right now. I Came across this one and read many reviews and watched youtube vids about it and decided to take my chances. While waiting for it to arrive I was kicking myself because I thought this blender was going to suck, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this blender is AWESOME (so far, it's been a month) So I thought this wasn't going to be able to make good smoothies, and honestly every time I use it I'm low key insulting it in an undertone like "lets see if you can handle this, I know you can't, you're just pretending," but it always proves me wrong. I make green smoothies all the time including kale and it doesn't take very long for it to blend any veggie to a nice texture, the fiber that's left behind is not the kind that you'd want to sit there and pull off of your tongue after every sip. For the price, this blender is a yas, even though I still want the vitamix, if you are like me and cant afford one of those, I think I can say pretty confidently that this blender is the most high power cheap blender you'll find and you wont be disappointed, unless of course you think it is anything like the Vitamix. I'm simply saying that this cheap blender does the job surprisingly well for what you pay for it.

I bought this for making smoothies. It does that and so much more. It is the only kitchen electric that I use every single day. It makes shakes, smoothies and the best blended tropical drinks like piná coladas and margaritas. But it also make mundane things like bread crumbs. I am very impressed since my far more expensive blender at home doesn't perform any better. It is loud though, but only for a few seconds because it is also quite fast.

Works very well, Looks good on my Kitchen Countertop.

Comments useful for South Indian Women-
This blender is very good alternative to Indian mixers/Grinders like Sumeet for making Idli and Dosa Batter.
Reversible motor makes it easier avoiding the constant need to stir. Glass jar makes it very easy to wash.
Just remember to use "Food Chop" option at the beginning for few seconds you start making the Dosa-Idli batter

I used to hide my Indian grinders since they don't look good on Kitchen counter top. This one looks so cutee and goes very well with my other stainless steel gadgets. Really made my life easier and now my family is enjoying all sounth indian breakfast dishes more frequently.

I bought this to make green smoothies - those addictive fruit and vegetable combinations (for those few of you who haven't heard about them yet). We have an Oster blender from the 1960s that still works great, but we were worried that aggressive daily blending might be too much for its 50 year old motor. We love our old blender's retro look and we are not ready to part with it, so we decided to buy a new blender. The Vitamix and Blendtec units are being pushed for green smoothies, but as we already have lots of food processors to do all that other work (second marriages, two full kitchens...) all we really wanted was a blender. We looked at other makes, but Oster consistently got great reviews, and as we had been so happy with our other Oster, choosing this brand was very easy.

We chose this model because it was basic, and was a very good price on Amazon. I don't like pre programmed appliances, so I was a bit put off by the "Frozen Drink" and "Food Chop" buttons. Clearly this is aimed at the margarita-and-salsa crowd. Although it was my intention to ignore the pre programmed settings and just use the manual ones, the "frozen drink" setting turned out to be just great for smoothies. It reverses direction a couple of times which pulls all those fruits and vegetables into the blades. You still need to pack it sensibly so that the blades have something to grab and liquify at the beginning but the reversing feature means you don't have to be quite as concerned. Depending on the ingredients, it sometimes needs to blend a little longer than the frozen drink setting allows, so I use the high speed setting on manual for a few seconds.

I have run the motor for a couple of minutes to see what it can do and whether the base unit became warm or started to smell like burning plastic - the signs of poor quality blenders. This has emitted neither heat nor smell as a warning that it was being used too hard. If you let it run on high for a minute or so it will completely pulverize everything, right down to the strawberry seeds. The "food chop" setting is not particularly useful because the shape of the blender jug does not allow enough movement for this to work properly. A food processor or mini-chop does a far better job. If all you want is a basic, reliable, powerful blender, this may be the unit for you. I'll admit that I was almost seduced by the Blendtec demo at Costco, but I know I would never use most of the features (grind flour? Make ice cream?), and all I really needed was a really good blender, which this is, at a fraction of the cost. This one feels very substantial, and has a glass jar.

Just changed my review to five stars. I have had it for 1.5 years now and it is still doing great.

Every now and again you place an order that meets or beats your expectations this item arrived three days ago and I am on my 7th smoothie it is fast efficient not very noisy which I like and I have to say I am in love it's worth every penny thank you Amazon

This blender was purchased to replace a Cuisinart that I bought at Costco that had all the bells and whistles and cost more than double. When it broke down after a few years worth of work (and that was my second), I decided that I would just get a good blender with nothing fancy. I got this and I love it. I use it to make pudding, puree split pea soup, and some drinks and it's really a good blender. It surprised me how much better it does the job than my Cuisinart! I love the pouring spout on top as sometimes it was messy pouring from the corner of my old one. I've owned this for a while now. I don't like reviews from folks that do it right out of the box. I like to use the product for a while to test it out. This one definitely passed.

Beautiful blender buy a rectified and is satisfied with it , I give little use once a day as we are only a couple and is perfect is that last long the master

My older Hamilton Beach blender was dying. I did not like a previous Kitchen Aid blender I owned. The bottom of the line Oster I tried made a viciously ear piercing racket. In my dreams I own a Vitamix. Well..in the meantime I need something NOW. I looked at all the reviews of various strata and then said "just try this one" ..if it sucks well then it's a backup. Because if you are a morning smoothie addict like me you need a backup.

So it shows up. The base is taller than my old Hamilton Beach but the motor is more powerful (700 watts). I like that the buttons face forward and require a bit more of a positive force to engage. I think this is a good thing. You are less likely to accidentally hit them and spray chocolate soymilk or whatever your beverage thing is all over the kitchen by mistake.

This blender has "oomph" as they say. It fearlessly grinds large frozen blueberries to make a puffy aireated (bubbly) chocolate blueberry banana smoothy which is how I get through swallowing all my various vitamins including the "horse pills".

It has a real, high quality glass top. Some of the blenders in this price range don't - they instead use that crappy plastic that discolors and cracks.

They are honest about the buttons. No fancy schmancy: You get LOW, HIGH. PULSE LOW & PULSE HIGH. 4 buttons. I've never needed anything else. The springs on the pulse buttons and the size of the buttons provide a substantial tactile feedback. All those extra buttons - it's just frippery, added cost and more to go wrong. I want either to get started (low) or go all out (high). Why kid myself?

The motor base of the blender is mostly plastic but at this price who's complaining? The styling of the blender is not bad. It doesn't pretend to be something it's not but it's not hard to look at either.

It doesn't "walk" or jump about the counter - it stays put.

I have yet to make Hummous (or hummus) in this blender. Will report back if I have problems with that.

Complaints: I tried making Orange Juice and it got a bit messy. I strongly recommend just using 1 can of water and using Low. Then add the remaining 2 cans into your juice pitcher later. When you pour the blended OJ into the juice pitcher do it over a sink. This may have been user error. : ) I've only had this blender for 2 weeks now.

The blender will not accept my older Hamilton Beach glass blender top from the mid 1990's.

One design decision about the glass blender top on this unit that you may or may not like is ..the inner bottom area (near the blade) has a wider area around the blade..so it needs a bit more liquid (not a ton more) than I was used to with the old blender. Also, I don't know how this wider area around the blade will figure into making hummous. Again I will report back on that later. I have to wait until the hummous making mood strikes.

I do not make vegetable smoothies except for my cucumber tzatziki yogurt sauce on rare occasion. So I can't tell you whether this will blenderize celery or Kale.

All in all, for my specific purpose (soy & fruit smoothies) I am quite satisfied with this blender and feel I paid a fair price for it ($25.71) You could buy 12 of these for the price of a Vitamix and you can be using it NOW! You can always keep it as a backup or make it the vacation place blender.

UPDATE #2 3-30-2013: Still going strong. No hassles. I * did * make hummus (or hummous) recently and found that I had to make a double batch to get it started and get it all blended right - but that's not a big deal in my book. For smoothies the requirements for a good blend are much less demanding. I see some reviews complaining about the motor overheating, or a burning smell. I haven't experienced that. Maybe mine was made on a Wednesday? I just know it works great and continues to do so. Over and out! : )

P.P.S. If you look very carefully at the bottom of the glass blender top right where it tapers to meet the base, you'll see a sort of line in the glass that might "LOOK" like a scratch or break. It's not. It's some kind of little ridge left over from the forming or casting of the glass. I figured this out after much visual inspection as I was initially concerned about it.

Update: August 17th, 2013 Still going strong...

Update #3: Jan 29th, 2014 ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Still going strong...

Update #4 Jan 25th, 2015 TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Still going strong...no issues

Update #5 March 17th, 2016 THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Still going strong...no issues.

Update #6 July 3rd, 2017 FOUR YEARS PLUS ANNIVERSARY! Still going strong...no issues.

I love this blender. The only reasons I give it four stars are these; the blender jar is VERY heavy for a person with arthritis. So I only say this as a warning to anyone who has trouble with arthritis. It can be hard to take the blender apart for cleaning, but again, that is due to my arthritis. The other thing is that when the blender is on high speed, it is so noisy it hurts my ears. I have to leave the room while it is running. But it works great, is so easy to clean, looks nice on my kitchen counter. I may need to go to a plastic jar in future years, but I would highly recommend this blender to anyone.

This is the perfect blender for shakes. It has a frozen drink setting that has a preset amount of time. It usually doesn't even take the entire preset time to make my smoothies perfectly blended. The back and forth motion of the blades have made it so that I have never had to stop the blender and stir my smoothie. I have been using this blender daily for over a month now and have had no problems with it.

Before I purchased this item I read several reviews that took a star away for how loud the item is. It is noisy, but in comparison with the blender I had before it it isn't as loud. I expect having the power to efficiently blend up frozen stuff quickly to be kind of noisy.

The one thing I would change is the pulse options. I like having a dial so I can increase or decrease the blending speed as needed. Even though the options aren't how I have traditionally seen them before it still makes emulsion dressings and purees like a champ. I would definitely recommend this versatile tool to anyone!

I've only used this blender for gazpacho, and for smoothies that do include frozen fruit. So far I haven/t tried it for crushing ice cubes. Attempting to vegetables left them very uneven, it wouldn't replace a food processor, better improve my knife technique. The feature that sold me was the glass jar, plastic never stays so sparkling clean. Four stars for working well with basic uses, no fifth star because it really isn't a food chopper as claimed and because the jar sits loosely in the base instead of going firmly into place, which is disconcerting.

The Oster BVCB07 6-cup food blender is a great and inexpensive way to create smoothies. I make smoothies every day and for 1-2 servings this blender is a good match.

Pros:
- great glass container which cleans easily and won't scratch.
- all parts disassemble and reassemble quickly.
- the base is heavy and won't tip due to its conical shape
- small enough to fit under a cabinet
- strong enough motor to make frozen drinks in small quantities (2-3 servings) as well as fruit and green smoothies.
- lots of settings for different jobs.

Cons:
- blending volume is limited. Motor will have a hard time to cut through too much food.
- extreme conical shape of glass container will not easily chop food on top without stirring in between blending
- nuts, carrots, and dried fruit will not blend completely but be small enough to drink (Tip: cut dried fruit into smaller pieces first). There is some "texture" to the drink which I prefer anyway and is a plus for me!

Overall, I like the Oster. It was affordable and it does all my blending needs. I use it several times a day and I usually don't create more than 2 servings at a time which is probably the best use for this machine. Yes, Vitamix is the king of blenders but they are bulky and prohibitively expensive. The Oster fits my space and budget. A great deal for the money.

I've had this blender for a month and use it every morning to make my green smoothie. It works very well, thoroughly pulverizing tough leafy greens (mainly kale) and cubes of ice into liquid along with various types of fresh and frozen fruit. The powerful 600-watt motor is noticeably more effective than the more common 450-watt motors.

The pre-programed blending modes are very nice. The Frozen Drink program reverses the blade while ramping up the speed. The blade reverse feature really helps get stubborn frozen fruit, ice and tough leafy greens down into the blades.

The glass pitcher and the rubber top seal very well, and the steel blade mechanism is mondo durable. The bottom collar and rubber seal work flawlessly to prevent leaks and reliably mate the pitcher to the base.

A few minor negatives: "7-speed" is a bit deceptive. This is a 3-speed blender (High, Med, Low) with a high and low pulse plus the two pre-programed blending modes: Food Chop and Frozen Drink. Also, this blender is loud when running on high speed. Granted it is not any louder than other blenders, but be aware it makes noise. It would be nice if the blade reverse were available outside the Frozen Drink program, i.e. with a dedicated control button.

Overall a excellent blender. You won't be sorry you bought it.

UPDATE (March 2013): Still going strong, chopping up ice and smoothies every morning. Be sure to replace the blade periodically. I recommend the ice chopper blade if you are doing smoothies or a lot of ice. It is time to replace the when it has a lot of up-and-down movement on the blade shaft. New blades are tight with no such movement.

UPDATE (October 2014): The blender still working great. Just replace those blades.

UPDATE (July 2016): Still going strong. Keep those blades changed. A reply below claims their blender does not reverse in Frozen Drink mode. Not sure if Oster changed the specs. Please see attached video.

Enjoy! :)

This blender holds up really well, even with viscous material like super frozen ice cream. The only issue I have with it, the lid doesn't pour so well. It leaks from the seal where the blender meets the lid when you pour. It has to be put on a specific way- the lid is shaped exactly like the blender so you have to line everything up- still drips. :P I make sure what I'm making is well mixed and just take the lid off and pour like that.It's not overly loud, makes short work of blending drinks, is compact and easy to store. I like that the blender is glass, it's easy to clean. Doesn't hold odor or wear out over time like plastic blenders. It's a good deal for the price/value.

Very compact, powerful, loud (which was fine) and very inexpensive. I wanted something inexpensive whose motor would not burn out on "high" after running for a few minutes. I ordered this specifically to make almond butter. It did an OK job, but you definitely need the grinder attachment (which although was plastic, is well made). Since this is NOT a large food processor with larger blades, you need to work in small batches (I think 3/4 cup is ideal) to get a creamy consistency. And you need patience. It takes a good 5-7 minutes to get it creamy and although it does try to "churn' the ingredients and pull the top of the mixture downward into the blades, you still need to periodically open it up to mix the contents from the sides so the blades can do their job. Adding a very little liquid (water, honey, oil, whatever...) greatly speeds up the process. I mean, if you truly want to make big batches of nut butters, buy a more expensive high powered (at least 700 watts) food processor or get it ground at the store.For my purposes, this is great

I picked this up after being unable to find a blender under $30 in any local stores that had decent reviews (I always check Amazon.com for pricing and reviews before purchasing anything). I had purchased a VERY similar model (same brand, and similar features) on impulse at a local store for right at $30, but decided not to even take it out of the box after reading the reviews on Amazon (my phone was dead when I purchased it, or I would have checked the reviews before pulling the trigger). After a bit of research I came across this unit which was a few dollars less, and is the same brand with almost identical features - so I was surprised that it had so much better reviews, but I figured it was worth the gamble and I needed a new blender for my morning smoothies ASAP (my old one was not working at-all). I never took the other one out of the box, so I can't compare this one to that one - but I can say that I'm very happy with this blender - it works perfectly for what I need it for, and although I have only had it for a few weeks, I haven't had any problems yet and it seems sturdy enough to last for a while. The problem with my last blender was that the gears the connected the motor in the base to the blades in the pitcher were made of rubber or soft plastic, so over the years they eventually got stripped until they were unable to catch each other enough to make the blades spin. During my search, I came across several models that had metal pieces connecting the blades to the motor which seems like it would be ideal. This model uses plastic, however it seems thick and sturdy enough to last a while. The pitcher is also very wide all the way to the bottom. Many blenders have a 'funnel' shaped pitcher that is smaller at the bottom (by the blades), sometimes causing ice or frozen chunks to get caught in the blades which can cause problems with the motor and/or the gears that connect the blades to the motor. Because the bottom of this is so wide, it seems like this happens less frequently because the blades will simply push the frozen chunks aside rather than getting them stuck between the blades and the glass. I rarely used the lid on my old blender, as I don't usually have issues with the ingredients splashing out - however, the lid of this blender has a couple of features that I really like. One is the spout that allows you to more easily pour your smoothies into your cups with less mess/dripping, and the other is a little 'flap' that allows you to easily pour in ingredients while blending without worrying about splashing.I've only had this for a few weeks, but so-far it is working very well and I feel confident that it will hold up for a good while. I definitely recommended this for anyone looking for a sturdy, powerful blender in this price range. I'm only withholding the 5th star because I would really like to see metal pieces connecting the blades to the motor instead of plastic - but hopefully this won't be an issue.BONUS: DELICIOUS SMOOTHIE RECIPE!1. Optionally put 1/2 or 1 full avocado (removed from the skin and separated from the seed/pit) in the blender (depending on how much you are making and/or how creamy and how much avocado flavor you want.2. Optionally add a banana to help thicken it up a bit and add some more nutrients3. Add 2-3 cups (or your desired amount) of any type of fresh or frozen fruit you like. I especially like peaches, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, mango, and cherries.4. Optionally add a scoop of protein powder to add some more nutrients. I use vanilla flavored powder to add a bit of flavor as well. You can also add powdered vitamins such as Airborne, vitamin C, or fiber.5. Mix in about a cup or so (depending on how thick you want your smoothie) of juice. I personally prefer fresh squeezed orange or apple juice, but use whatever you like or have available.6. Optionally add a half cup or so of GoodBelly, or any other type of probiotic or nutrient rich juice. You can also use wheat grass, or something similar to get some extra nutrients.7. Optionally add a half cup or so of kefir or a few spoonfuls of yogurt. I prefer either vanilla or berry flavored kefir which adds some probiotics to your drink, and a bit of sweetness and flavor. Obviously you can leave this out if you prefer a dairy-free smoothie.8 Start blending the ingredients on low, then turn it up to medium once the big chunks start to break down.9. Optionally add a couple tablespoons of agave nectar, or honey as a natural sweetener. You shouldn't need much, especially if you used sweet juice or flavored yogurt. I prefer raw light agave nectar, and just a couple of squirts is enough.10. Optionally, add a few drops of grapefruit seed extract, or other natural oil or extract for additional nutrients.11. Blend on medium until it begins to 'fold' (you should basically have a smoothie funnel/tornado) - if this doesn't happen within a minute or so, it may be too thick and you may need to add some more juice (or use a thicker straw). Then you are ready to drink. Taste a bit with a spoon or straw first, and add more ingredients as desired to get the perfect texture and taste before pouring.12. Rinse the pitcher and lid with hot water right away to ensure you have a clean blender to use the next morning.This may seem like a lot of steps, but once you do it a few times it takes less than 5 minutes to have a healthy and delicious breakfast that you can drink on your way to work. I always make enough to share with my kids, so I know everyone gets a nice dose of fruit, protein and vitamins each morning. Give it a try, and you will probably be hooked! Enjoy...

Yes, you can make a green smoothie with this. Put water in first. Then Kale, spinach, collards, 1 green apple bite sized chunks , 1 orange, 1 banana, oat meal, whole baby carrots and apple cider vinegar. People act like this thing won't blend but it will. If you put water in first and actually let it blend for 1 minute, that's it! Done! This is why you need to decide things for yourself. I'm glad I didn't buy a $500 blender. What is wrong with people? That is rent money and I just want to blend leaves and soft ass fruit.

We purchased this blender after our old Oster died and our Magic Bullet bit the dust. I agonized over various blenders- all with different features- but mostly, it came down to, "What can I get with the best features and not break the bank?" ($400 for a blender just seems outrageous to me!)Our Hamilton Beach 58149 Blender/Chopper arrived today and we opened it up and put it to use, right out of the box!Likes:-LOVE the easy-pour spout! This spout makes it easy to blend and then serve. No fuss, no muss.-The easy-clean feature is a nice feature that helps loosen bits of food that can get caught in the blades.-Our old Oster had a plastic pitcher and I hated it. It cracked easily and I didn't feel like it was very good quality. I love that this blender has a glass pitcher.Dislikes:-The hinged opening on the top of the blender is kind of small. This makes it difficult to add anything too big while the machine is in operation.-Like other reviewers have commented, you do need to add more-than-you-think-you-need liquid in order to get a smooth, smoothie.-I kind of wish that the chopper had a glass bowl, but it's not a deal breaker since I don't think I've ever seen a chopper with a glass bowl. I just believe that glass lasts longer than plastic.Otherwise, we really like this machine and I'm please with the Hamilton Beach 58149 Blender and Chopper.

I bought this blender primarily for protein and fruit smoothies, crushing ice, and grinding coffee.Out of box experience was good, well packaged, simple. Tested it by using the Easyclean feature, and it worked like a champ. While it is noisy, it is quieter than I expected. Just don't expect to be listening to something on TV in another room if you are blending in the kitchen.The Pros:My first smoothie was done in seconds, no fuss, no muss. A cup of ice, two big scoops of protein powder, fresh strawberries not cut up, and 12 ounces water.I put in the ice and strawberries first, and pulsed about 3 times on ice to get a very nice puree of ice slush and strawberry, only a few seconds each. It's got power to spare. Added the powder and water, hit smoothie, and about 15 seconds later I had very happy happy milk-shaky-like goodness to enjoy.Cleanup and storage could not have been easier.So it's a keeper.The cons:I can see how with so much plastic used, SOMETHING will give out over time and use. HB does not warrant glass breakage, but they say NOTHING about plastics, so if a lid or vent or base go, the 3 year warranty will be worth keeping track of.Summary and impressions:It suits my needs, it meets or exceeds expectations, and it was cheap. So cheap that if it dies after warranty, I won't blink and won't miss it.So after browsing through HUNDREDS of reviews, personal blenders, and Ninja's and such, and nearly going for a Cuisinart personal blender, I figure this one takes up roughly the same amount of space, 700 watts beats 300 any old day, and certainly 185, and why mess around when I don't want to have to worry, I want to blend.Very Worth While. If it had more sturdy and durable looking plastics, or they were some other non-bound-to-fail material, it would get 5 stars. For under $25.00 you can't beat it with a stick.I hope this helps if you're reading this!

Be careful not to rap on the top edges of the glass container. After a couple months, I realized glass had chipped away some! Then there was the night I pureed some food for 96 yo my mother and realized the gasket was being chopped up into the food!!! Took time to find replacements (only available online), so unusable til they came and still not sure how it happened, since I checked each time to see the gasket was centered. Also seems to have some issues with settling onto drive properly, but figured out something that worked. Otherwise, did a great job doing the puree.

Had mine for a year, barely used it at first but about a month ago I started whole30 where I make a lot of homemade mayo, I've noticed that after substantial use over 3 weeks when put on low it's beginning to struggle a little bit. And I can't use a higher speed to make the mayo. I'll be looking to upgrade here soon. But I didn't expect it to be amazing at such a low price.

more power than the blender I'm used to.
lighted buttons unnecessary; they feel a bit flimsy... (prefer more 'solid-state' than extra electronics)
Don't fill up over 5 cups; while being whipped around, there was overflow from the top.
Also stepped away for a moment while running, and the '6th cup' of blending liquid lifted the top off so it dribbled down the back of the unit & on the countertops..
Lid is more firm and plastic-like vs rubber top. Good for what it is at this price point. May add add'l reviews if other applications reveal other issues.

Not bad for the price you pay for the blender, but I tried this for at least three weeks and am now in the process of returning it. I used this only for green smoothies and noticed that there were always green specks left over. It is also extremely LOUD. I used towels under it and over it almost every time. The low, medium, and high settings also seemed to do nothing for blending. I found myself using on the high pulse setting for the smoothies. It definitely wasn't bad, but we're officially switching to the Vitamix! Can't wait.

This blender is great for a while, but as someone who uses a blender almost daily, it doesn't hold up. The plastic bottom cap has cracked 3 times on me, and the plastic on the base just broke, so now if the blender leaks at all it will spill down into the motor. This is fine for occasional use, but if you're someone who needs to blend on the regular, I'd pass on this.

Edit: I bumped it up a star because Oster customer service is pretty helpful and sent me a new bottom cap for free outside warranty. He said that they do have a thicker bottom cap than what I've been sent previously (so I'm not sure why they even make a flimsier piece other than for cost savings on their end). I can cover the broken plastic on the base with duct tape to prevent leaks into the motor, but it was not a replaceable part, so I will eventually (pretty soon) need to upgrade to a blender with sturdier pieces overall.

I bought this blender because I thought it was newer and an improvement over my older Hamilton Beach blender. I wanted to use it for smoothies and for crushing ice in it. No different than my older mixer. Does the same job. The amount of time to crush ice is a little faster, not much. I probably won't return it because it is so inexpensive, I'll just use it for now. The really good blenders are over $150.

For the price, it's not bad. I like that the container is glass instead of plastic and that it is completely dishwasher safe. On some blenders, the blades need to be hand-washed. However, it is really loud. My ears are always ringing once I'm done using it. It also takes a really long time to blend my smoothies. Now, I do freeze my fruit before making smoothies, so if you are using fresh fruit it is probably fine, but anything frozen it takes a long time before getting any traction. If you can afford it, I would splurge for something a bit more expensive, but if you're one a tight budget, this one will do.

I have only used the smaller "food processor", but it is completely inadequate.I had block cheese to grate; i cut into 1" pieces and filled it halfway up and used the high "pulse" feature; it ground up the two bottom chunks but did not have the power or design to pull down the other pieces.Eventually to complete the job I cut into about half the size of a die/dice. And could only fill up one row of that. I could have grated faster by hand.

You know, I like the heavy glass of this blender and it does a bang-up job. On the other hand, the included chopper thing is anemic and barely chops things at all. I found you have to chop veggies or fruit before you place them into the aforementioned chopper. For that reason I give it three stars.

I bought this for making smoothies out of frozen fruit. I tend to drink smoothies on a rather erratic basis, so fresh fruit tends to spoil on me before I can use it. The blender is an interesting design, as it is very wide as blenders go, apparently to allow room for the optional food processor attachment blade (never used said attachment, so no idea how well it works). The unit is also sturdily build, looks very nice, has a pour spout which is quite handy for pouring without dribbling, and has plenty of power.I would give it five stars, but for two issues.One, it doesn't blend large frozen strawberries or frozen bananas very well compared with other blenders I've used, I wonder if the wide design has something to do with that. The bananas (broken in half before freezing) were especially difficult to process in this thing. They would tend to get stuck on the side and just sit there. If you leave it running for a minute or two (literally, 60-120 seconds) it will eventually pull it in, if you can wait that long. I found myself turning it off two or three times and repositioning the fruit until it took. On the plus side, once it does take, it does a very thorough job of blending in a short time.Two, the lid really needs a redesign. The pour spout, while nice for pouring, is so narrow that it completely fails as a means of adding ingredients during blending. Seriously, when you can't fit a banana through the opening, something is very wrong.On the whole, it's an ok blender. It had potential to be a great one, but just ended up ok.

I purchased this blender to blend my coffee with butter. I can only put in about two cups of coffee to blend (I usually put in 4) because any more and liquid shoots out of the little hole in the top. Its ok. I have to put a paper towel on the top to blend. The glass is a plus. Guess I needed a bigger capacity.

I wanted quality but was dissapointed. The container doesn't fit the base well. The top in a semi hard plastic. Doesn't have a quality feel

Came from warehouse. Rated as VG, but came dumped in box. Cosmetically didn't seem very "stout". Didn't bother to try. Returned it.

Update: I did return this product. Cannot recommend it due to the fit, as described below, as well as the excessive noise and extreme vibration. I recently bought a Cuisinart ReMix6.0, which I can recommend. I got it on sale for close to the same amount as this Oster. Writing review on Cuisinart now.I have to call Oster about this. It doesn't seem like the container fits on the power unit properly. It's lose, wobbly, and when you turn it on any setting above low, it vibrates so bad I can't hold on to the container and it moves around on the countertop.

I use this for about a month now. It really is okay... especially if you have the patience to spend about 10 min to come up with a smoothie. I personally did not like how long it takes for this to crush the ice and even soft fruits. It feels sturdy enough though and easy enough to clean as well. Update - about 1 year after buying this: it became really dysfunctional over time... and it's too loud/noisy...

I had an Oster blender that I bought a few years ago that we loved. The blender was accidentally broken so I figured I would purchase another Oster in the same price range as the last one. This one looked good. My husband makes health shakes on a daily basis. It is VERY SLOW to make them and requires a ton of stirring. I tried to use it to puree some veggies and it didn't work at all. I tried to use it to mix a small portion of dough (as the recipe called) and it got jammed and was very difficult to clean. I regret buying this item and do not recommend it to anyone. The 2 stars are because it WILL make a shake, slowly with lots of work.

I got his blender after reading the reviews but I hate it. It takes forever to blend anything. I had a black and decker earlier which actually got the job done faster. This one has blades which move in both directions which I thought was a good thing but noticed it takes longer to chop anything as the blade runs and then stops and then moves in the other direction which really didnt help getting the job done any better. If I use the pulse feature, it keeps grinding the bottom quarter of the food and doesnt even pull the stuff on the top down. I have to constantly open it and move stuff down for it to get blended, which just causes uneven blending as the stuff closer to the blade gets very watery with constant blending and the stuff near the top is chunky. Wouldnt recommend it!

This blender is cheap, so if you're broke and need a blender today and won't be able to save up and spend another $20 on a better blender next month, then get this. It's as loud as any other blender (not as loud as the Ninja Professional bullet [900W] which is like an F-16 jet engine). With this blender I have to blend twice as long as my previous cheapo Black & Decker blender (broke the glass unfortunately and the $29 part replacement led me to just get another blender) just to get the same results, and with more blending comes more bubbles/over-aerated protein shakes. Next time I will spend another $20 and get a better blender. At least the pour top on this is an advancement over other blender tops with their annoying removable center clear piece of plastic.

Really disappointed by this product. The blades are really dull and small; so different from other blenders I've used in the past. It certainly sounds like the blender packs enough power to make a smoothie, but ice cubes and large pieces don't get sucked down to the blades. Those pieces just keep getting shot to the top of the liquid and it takes ages to get a chunky 'smoothie'. I don't understand why there are so many good reviews, because my experience was exactly as described by others who gave poor reviews. I'm giving it two stars because I haven't yet tried the food processor it comes with; maybe that item would redeem this product.

I bought this for my 90 year old mother. She has had a stroke and has difficulty swallowing and chewing so her caregivers are blending all of her food. We had an old blender that we were using that worked fine until the rubber seal broke, so I bought this blender based on the reviews I read. I noticed that the caregivers have drug out the old blender and are using it again. Someone found a replacement rubber seal. I asked our main caregiver today why she wasn't using the new blender and she said that the food gets stuck in a weird place and then it won't continue to grind up. She said the old blender works a lot better. So...I should have asked sooner because the window to return this item has now closed. Disappointed.

unfortunately had to return it, due to it did not blend slices of apples or ice cubes. apparently the blades are small; the blades would just spin in the middle, but not blend the whole mixture. also tried by adding water but still did not blend. I really wanted to like it, but did not work for my purpose. buy if you're only blending softer foods/mixtures.

Not good ! SO I got This one ......Oster Pro 1200 Blender 2-in-1 with Food Processor Attachment and XL Personal Blending Cup is far better! Yes its more $ , BUT , it is far better in quality! I am not paid at all to recommend this !

Hamilton Beach Power Elite Multi-Function Blender with Glass Jar and Chopper is fine to use as a blender. BUT THE CHOPPER DOES NOT WORK AT ALL. I have been using this product since November with satisfaction blending soups, etc. However, today I tried to make chicken salad. It does NOTHING but make noise. It doesn't chop and is a big fat disappointment. If you want an inexpensive blender, this is a good choice. But if you want more than that...do not buy this product.

I used it two times then it stopped working. It does not start up. It doesn't seem like it's getting any power; it is totally dead.

This blender is the most horrible POS I have bought in a long time. Terribly loud, turns itself on the counter like a gyroscope trying to commit suicide off the edge. Electrical smoke and grinding noise from blending a couple bananas and milk. Complete piece of garbage.

We've had this blender for only six months and honestly it cannot even crush ice, or frozen fruits, etc. Whether the blades are too dull, or the motor just doesn't have enough oomph, I don't know. We don't use it very frequently so it took awhile to realize how truly crappy it is. I wish we hadn't tossed our old blender when we bought this one, and wish we could return it but it's too late. No smoothies for us;-(

I purchased this on February 15 of this year and the motor died. It is completely useless.

It does a nice job chopping, but the noise and vibrations are so extreme I hesitate to use. I have to use both hands just to hold the base down to keep it from vibrating and spinning around on the counter. The jar does not seem to fit well at all. I thought the metal on metal construction was worthwhile, but it is so unsteady that the plastic around the metal fitting where the blade insert goes is already shearing away. I called Oster, but they needed so much information it was like filling out a tax form and I never did get an answer or solution to the problem.

This is a very LOUD blender. I bought this in April and it is now usable due to the black plastic ring base being cracked. I have tried to find a replacement part and it is impossible. I went to the Hamilton web site and they won't even allow me to contact them. They take you in a circle with poor customer service help. Save your change - you get what you pay for. I gave it 1 star because we did use it daily for 5 months - but I expected at least a year!

Do not purchase this unless you plan on blending water with water. I just purchased this blender to replace a previous Hamilton Beach blender that I have had for over 10 years. I like to make vegetable smoothies, and I was noticing that my previous blender required me to continuously open the lid, mix the ingredients around with a spoon, and throw in ingredients one at a time in order for the blade to not get blocked. I thought that maybe it is not as powerful anymore, and it is time for an upgrade.After reading a majority of the reviews, I decided to order this blender. Today, I attempted to make the same smoothie I was successfully (but not as efficiently) making in my old blender. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING PROCESS. The blender did not want to blend my spinach leaves (with water on the bottom). After spending 15 minutes mixing the spinach leaves, throwing in pieces of fruit and vegetable one by one, and letting everything blend for five minutes, the smoothie was still chunky. The motor started to smell.I am very disappointed with this blender. I guess I will be sticking with my 10+-year-old blender because it works better.

Worked great for about 3 drinks. I didn't even try to grind ice in it and it started mashing bananas. Not blending, it was like globs of phlegm. First time I tried to make some salsa with the attachment. Using a perfectly fresh/ripe tomato, it just smashed it into a pulp. Could not even cut the skin! Do not waste your money on this garbage!!!! It will give you frustration, not a tasty drink or meal!!!!! JUNK!!!

I was able to use it exactly once.When I tried to put it back together, a small piece of the glass at the bottom of the pitcher broke off.Iam not sure how effective the blender is becasue I only blended a mattcha tea, so can't speak to the power of the motor, but there has to have been samething structurally wrong with the glass pitcher becasue my previews blender lasted for 8 years and it never broke when beeing assembled. If it is so weak, that it falls apart with normal use on the first day, it is a big waste of money.If you are looking for a blender, I would say keep looking, because this is not it.

The very first time I tried to use this, it started smoking. I could tell that it wasn't mixing well. The smell and the smoke scared me so I unplugged it. Later, I tried again but it was completely dead. I'm in disbelief at how something could fail so miserably right out of the box.

This blender is the worst. I can't understand how there are rave reviews about it. I have to shake the whole thing to get the ingredients to move around. The blade just spins, it doesn't grab the blendables easily. Also when washed the base retains water. You would be better off putting more money down on a high quality device.