Oster 2500 Inspire 240-Watt 5-Speed Hand Mixer, White

I bought this mixer two years ago and I can say it's the best I've ever had. The motor is powerful when you need it and slow when you don't. It handles anything without over heating. I bake bread and I do use the dough hooks. I have never used them to knead the bread all the way through as I like to do that myself. I've seen some of the complaints about this model and I will say that the eject was fairly stiff when I first bought it. Over time, it has become less so. Even in the beginning, I didn't find this problematic and I have arthritis in my hands. I certainly would have called the company if it was so bad they wouldn't eject at all. I find most companies are very cooperative and would like their customers to be happy with their product. So it's silly to just sit and suffer. If I have a batter that is "crawling" up the beaters, I simply lift up a little for a second until it settles down. I don't know any mixer where a thick dough won't rise. At any rate, the price is certainly reasonable and the quality is very good. I can't tell you how many times mine has hit the floor (due to my carelessness) and it's still operating perfectly. Buy it.

This is a great hand mixer! I can really recommend it as it is not only lightweight and handy but also has 240-Watt and 5 speed settings. I particularly like that the first speed is actually a slower one (which a lot of the other products clearly miss!). I have only used it for whipped cream, frosting and cupcakes so far but I would definitely recommend it!Pro's:- lightweight and handy- long cord- 5 speeds with a slow first one but powerful turbo one at the end- love the dough hooks!- easy to clean- not too loud for a hand mixerCon's:It is not really a con (maybe I am just too weak?) but I find it sometimes hard to eject the hooks. But this is not a problem at all, you just have to push the eject button properly and they come out just fine. Maybe that is a safety feature so you don't accidentally lose them while preparing your cupcakes?! :)I will use it soon for baking bread too so will update my comment regarding its functionality with the dough hooks.Overall, I can really recommend this hand mixer, particularly for that price!

Gave as a gift to my mother after she told me her 30yr old mixer (a Sunbeam) was finally starting to slow down. I was going to get her a Sunbeam since it would probably last her the rest of her life, but they are all notorious for having really fast speeds, even when set on "low". This one, however, does very well. Slow is slow, fast is fast. Apparently the Sunbeam was always a little fast anyway (explains why I could never use the thing without messing up the entire kitchen as a kid) so she's a little glad to have it. Seems it will last a long while, not quite as long as a Sunbeam (though we can't say for sure) but certainly a while, especially if you don't do a TON of baking like us. The one reason I took off a star is because the clip or button or whatever at the top that starts and stops the thing is a bit hard to use. My mother has little trouble because she's spent her life working and has strong hands, but if you have any sort of wrist condition or weak hands/fingers, you might take the possibility of that into consideration.

So, me, the boy, I found that -- like my buddy with the blender-mashed-potatoes tragedy, a hand-blender should not make fondant icing. Fondant comes out like dough, but it's really a temporary suspension of icing sugar with a tiny trace of oil. Think: stucco.Things things shall not be made with a hand-blender, lest the Holy Magic Smoke issue forth (celebrated by the smoke alarm -- hooray!)Although the fanfare of the smoke alarm typically celebrates when The Boy Cooks, this was one of those really bad "uh oh" times, when the boy knows well what he's done wrong. bad dog.Now, The Girl, she gets on well with the cheapest bread maker she can, thinking she'd run it into the ground, and the damned thing keeps ticking. ... so she's not one for price, but price-per-usage. Accountants are great that way.This hand-blender has no seams that suck to clean up (dough in that fashionable grill piece? ha!) -- you can even see that the bottom part is shaped like a boat or a riot cop's shield, and that's clearly by design. 240 Watts, that's 1/3 horsepower, I swear it's more than my dad's first lawnmower. It's light, works well, cleans well -- also better than the lawnmower.It doesn't sit so well on the base, but heck, that's a dripping recipe for clumsy boys and hospital trips anyways.Great price, cleans up well, it CAN work the fondant somewhat (but let's stick to the butter creme icing), and the girl has nearly forgiven the boy.Did you know that fire alarms in some buildings ring every floor? All 32 of them?

When I was looking for my mixer I checked out many that were available with the power that I needed. After years of buying cheap disposable mixers, as I call them, I had decided to find one that would get the job done without going up in smoke. I still own a Oster Kitchen Center that my hubby bought for me about 25 years ago, so I know the brand to be reliable. I read the reviews on this little mixer and have to say...any negatives that were mentioned I didn't find to be the case for me. The eject button works fine and I've had no problems with it trying to fall over. The power is amazing after all the crapy mixers I've used in the past. I got it just in time for Thanksgiving so it got a proper workout. I would definitely buy this again. I really do love it and hope to have it for many years to come just like it's big brother.Just adding an update...I've had my mixer a year now. Totally happy! It's still going strong and gets a workout often. Looks like a keeper. I still love it and would recommend it to anyone wanting a great little mixer with the power to get the job done.