KitchenAid 2-Speed Hand Blender, Empire Red, KHB1231ER

Freaking love this thing. I make my own pasta sauce a lot and this I can use to blend right in the pan, instead of transferring to a food processor. Also great for making apple butter and apple sauce. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for one. But I also love kitchenaid items. So if you're looking for something like this, I would definitely keep this as an option.

Very powerful. Easy to use. Easy to clean up, just detach the lower portion and throw it in the dishwasher. It is a little spendy compared to the rest.

this is a very sturdy machine, its blends great, only thing i didn't like was having to hold the button down while using it, i didn't have enough grip strength to hold it down for too long at a time, other than that i really liked it a lot

Easier to clean and is more quiet to use than models costing 3x as much. Round cord is easy to clean, body is not excessively tall, meaning you don't need to be 6' plus to easily use and it so much quieter (doing the same job) than a 'hb' model that costs 3x and has an LED display and more speeds. The limited speeds are just right for what use it for--mainly smoothies and light whipping. The mixing cup will outlast the mixer, but the mixer's downfall is the rubberized switch (which is easy to repair with permatex water pump gasket-maker RTV if you catch it in time. Just a simple, inexpensive, well designed device with the accessory you need and not a lot of stuff you don't. I like the red color as it stands out, but silver is easier to keep clean looking longer.

Love this thing. It has become a staple in my kitchen gadgets, I use it for soups, mayo, homemade chicken bouillon, sauces, etc. it gets the job done for sure. It's a powerful blender, I don't really notice a huge difference between the power settings. It is also very pretty looking, it does not look cheap it looks fancy and it has a good weight to it. I like the cup it includes, thats definitely a plus. It's also pretty easy to clean. The reason I took a star is because the button to operate it is kinda hard to press and hold. I have bad inflammation in my hands and holding that button for a long time blending a soup can be difficult/painful for me when I'm flaring up. I do wish that it was easier to press or it would just have a normal on/off switch so it is easier to use for people like me. I also wish it had some sort of storage case or just better way to fix the cord to it during storage. All in all, I love it, and I'm glad I purchased it. It gets a lot of use in my house. Just wish it was a little bit easier to operate and store.

It's heavy duty and works well. Clean up is so easy! Only thing I would change is maybe a third speed. The go button is on the side, if that makes a difference for someone.

This item blends well, but I have only had it for 3 days and it has rust spots on the inside of the blending part. I would think that for almost $40 and it being a kitchen appliance that regularly gets wet, it should not rust. I have never had a kitchen appliance show rust this quickly.

Did not receive full product!!!! Only received the motor… and the worst part was that this was a gift… this was obviously a returned product. So disgusting!!

I have a previous model of this blender (no longer listed on KA site), so this review is to let anyone know to pay attention to quality. My KA hand blender is cheaply made, upper connecting part of the blade housing is made of plastic and painted to look like stainless steel. Haven't used it in a while (not a frequently used kitchen gadget), was making soup and detachable blade went into soup, the blade won't stay on. contacted KA - they said it's out of warranty and I can't even buy a different blade... Basically it's treated like a disposable item. if it was made with quality control I'm sure it would not be done this way - connecting mechanism made of plastic. I have Moulinex and Braun hand blenders that I use for small batches of soap making and they are far more superior to this KA blender. KA is better looking (I LOVE the rubber push button ), but poor quality product. May be more expensive models made from real metal. How can be an integral connecting part that holds all the power of a blender be connected with plastic housing ? this blender was used twice and now useless.

This product hat a nob on the top that you have to turn to change from the low to high setting which is not at all ergonomic. It also takes a remarkable amount of pressure to tun it on as you are gripping it by the handle. Anyone with any weakness at all in their grip strength would find this problematic. I ended up returning this for a much cheaper alternative that works much better and came with more attachments (chopper/processor and whisk). This one only included a smoothie cup which was useless for what I needed this for.