Our family loves smoothie's and milk shakes and we love making them ourselves as it is cheaper to make and you can mix your own flavor. At home, we make our smoothie using our Oster Blender and when we are at our in-laws home, we use their Thermo-mix to make smoothie. Our experience with the two is virtually the same, we need to do a lot of stirring and create a lot of mess to create our smoothie. We went to Walmart two weeks ago and this product catches my wife's attention because of its design and dispensing unit so, when we got back home, I did a research on this item and found good reviews.

I really want to get the 10 or 12 speed as it has a 700 watts peak power compare to this 8 speed that only have a 600 watts peak power, not sure what difference will it make. Anyway, Walmart only sells the 8 speed so we have no choice but to get the 8 speed as it is the store closest to our home.

First impression after using it was "WOW" it works as advertised! We make a blend of Strawberry, Peach and Pineapple and I have used the ice that came from the ice maker. We filled 1/3 of the jar with fruits and almost fill it up with ice. At first I thought that this machine will not going to handle the load that I put in as the Thermo-mix and Oster blender (that is more expensive and heavier compare to this blender) are having problem with the same mix of Ice and fruits. I felt like the plastic jar will going to break with the amount of ice that I have put in but it just proved that the this plastic jar is very durable.

Next test is the dispenser, it was able to dispense 1 1/2 cup of blended item then it stops. But if you read the manual, it say's that you need to turn on and dispense especially for thick mixture. I did exactly what is recommended on the manual and were able to empty the jar through the dispenser alone. I did not experience any problem dispensing and did not create any mess like what other people are claiming.

Last test is cleaning the item. I removed the bottom part (Blades and Dispenser unit) --Easy. I separate the sleeve (double wall) from the jar -- easy. Easy to clean too. All you need to do to clean up the dispensing unit is to run the water on and open the dispensing unit. The jar and sleeve will need to be separated which is easy to do to avoid leaving soap in between the jar and the sleeve.

Below is the Product Description from Walmart.com

Unique, patent pending Wave-Action system forces mixture down into the blades for smooth results every time. No large chunks of fruit, or ice, floating on top No need for stir sticks One-hand, cup-activated dispensing
Slanted jar bottom sends all contents to the spout
56-oz double-wall thermal jar
Eight speeds for versatility
600 watts peak power
Spout detaches with a twist
Both spout and jar are removable for quick and easy cleanup

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 32.99