Hamilton Beach Power Deluxe Stand and Hand Mixer Combo for Kitchen, 4 Quart, 6 Speeds with Quick Burst, Red

This is a great hand/stand blender for $30. Every time I use it I marvel at the deal I got; it genuinely competes wit blenders 2-3x the price! Pros: -Price: only $30! -Attachments: normal beaters, whisk, and dough hooks -Quality: the attachments are so strong and sturdy, not at all like the cheap ones you get with those $15-$20 hand blenders -Size: Great size. Doesnt pretend to be a kitchen aid and take up a ton of space with worse technology. Everything on it is just a size smaller than those heavy duty stand mixers, and I love it. Very practical for my tiny kitchen as I can just tuck it inside my (larger) cupboard when not in use! -The glass bowl! Did I just list the bowl itself as a pro? Yes, and it absolutely deserves it. Even when I was unpacking the mixer I marveled at how heavy and sturdy the bowl felt (and how large it was). I cant say Ill only use this bowl for mixing; I think it would be a fun way to display certain foods like trifles or other layered desserts for a large party. Cons: -Odd angle: the stand arm is at a slightly off angle with the base so that the mixer doesnt aim directly into the center of the bowl when everything is centered- you kind of have to push the sand base out a bit. Not really an issue when it comes to use, but it looks like a design flaw rather than intentional. -Stand too low: now this is what Id consider the one flaw in this great lil machine. The stand arm is either too high, or the base is too low, but the beaters dont reach the bottom of the bowl. Instead, they hover around .5 inches above. The fix Ive found for this is either making whatever I want to make in large batches (and possibly freezing some if I dont want to use it all right away) or just lifting the bowl to bring the beaters to the bottom/detaching mixer and using the as a hand mixer. Once again, not a dealbreaker (glass bowl is large enough that you want to make large batches anyway), but it is the reason I marked this 4 stars as it does interfere with operation. Hope my interview was detailed enough for those of you deciding whether or not to get one of these! All in all, I think its a very worthwhile little blender for $30, and worth trying out if youre on the fence of switching to a stand mixer at all. And, as someone who likes making breads, the dough hooks/stand mixing is a welcome change to hand kneading bread at my countertop. Now I can just set it and forget it! (For up 5-8 minutes max at a time through as I dont have high expectations for the $30 motor...)