West Bend Stir Crazy 82308 Popcorn Popper  Product Reviews

"This model is not as efficient as previous model. This model has curved handles which are more difficult to grasp securely. The plastic screw top that holds the popcorn stir stick onto place does not screw all the way on so popcorn gets wedged underneath and occasionally causes the plactic screw to completely come off and thereby loosening the stir stick. And the top, which flips over so that it holds the popcorn, is made of a different plastic material causing it to become dangerously hot to touch. Must leave a minute or so before being able to touch. The previous model which had the square handles was much better all around."

"Received mine on 3/14/06. I carefully measured 3 tbls of peanut oil and 3/4 cup of Orville Redenbacher gourmet popcorn. It actually yielded a full 8 quarts! So did Jolly Time, though the instructions say to use 1 cup of regular popcorn for 8 qts. Left over kernals? Amazingly 2 unpopped, 3 partially popped. Thanks, Orville! Sure, your results will vary, but never again will you find all those wasted kernals. Gourmet popcorn isn't cheap and now I make more with LESS! It rubbed off some of the non-stick coating, but I did try pulling the stirring wand back a little to keep it from touching. It does not come with a measuring cup, but that isn't a design defect, so I can't hold that against WestBend. I spent $90 this past Christmas for one of those movie-type kettle poppers. It was more mess, wasted tons of popcorn, and MUCH harder to clean. Never again! The "Crazy 8" is a closed system, so hot kernals do not fly out and pop in the bowl, causing popcorn to scatter. Just stay nearby to listen for the corn to stop popping, and it will be PERFECT. There is some moist popcorn near the bottom of the bowl, but you get delectable popcorn down to the crumbs. Once the popper cools, unscrew and rinse the stiring wand, and wipe the plate clean with a damp cloth. Then clean the bowl with warm soapy water. Sure, I could nit pick about the small things, but once you had the over salted bag popcorn, burned microwave popcorn, the dry air-popped corn, or wasted tons of corn in kettle poppers, you know this is the best. Corn would have to pop in nature to be any more perfect. TIP: Don't put the dome on until the very first kernal pops. (It won't jump.) Then place the dome on, others follow quickly. This creates less condensation on the inside of the dome, making the popcorn drier when fully popped. "