Breville BCS500XL 9-3/5-Volt Cordless Immersion Blender with Recharging Base  Product Reviews

"This blender was very poorly built. The plastic mixing jug cracked within a few weeks. The stainless steel blender attachment (which is held together with plastic, not steel), broke within the a few months. I strongly advise anyone thinking of purchasing this -- or anything else made by Breville -- to avoid this brand. I had a Cuisinart hand blender that lasted more than 8 years."

"Not sure about the reviewers that think this heavy gizmo is powerful. I have been using a Braun corded immersion blender for over a year and it is far more powerful and cost $30 when I bought it new last year. Bought this Breville for the cordless convenience, but it stalls out often, even on full charge. The built in rechargeable batteries are only replaceable by sending it back to the manufacturer, and the cordless unit is much heavier than a corded unit so this probably won't be cheap when the time comes. As mentioned in other reviews, the power and speed switches are inconvenient and would probably not be recommended for anyone with arthritis or anyone lacking in manual dexterity. The "smoothie" attachment is made of cheap plastic, including the "blade" so if you like your smoothies with frozen fruit or ice, forget about using this attachment. For ice crushing you must use another attachment, but if you are a bodybuilder trying make a drink by mixing protein powders, supplement powders and ice cubes, you better get one of the many other immersions blenders on the market that sell for a third of the price, because this Breville just isn't powerful enough to do it without stalling unless you add more liquid than you probably care to drink. The cordless feature is nice, and for that it gets a star. It gets another for looking adequately attractive and for coming with all the attachments mentioned in the manual (i.e., nothing extra to buy). If you don't need the cordless feature, you might want to save your money and buy a more powerful, versatile version of this product for a fraction of the price."

"This is one powerful immersion blender. So far we have used the product for making deviled eggs and lots of mixed drinks. This product has no problem crushing ice! The only criticism I have is the button configuration to turn the thing on. You must hold down button #1 before hitting button #2 (safety issue). Not easy to work with at first."

"I hated the standard blender and the noise it made when in use. Plus the clean-up was horrible and all the parts to be put together! This cordless is GREAT!. Clean-up is a snap and although my wife was reluctant to have another gadget she is now a complete convert! Great for sauces;soups;pancakes;crepes;dutch babies etc. Mike Apcar"