Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have a Vitamix and love it, but I was eager to try the Oster BLSTPB-WOR My Blend 250-Watt Blender in Orange, to see if it could streamline my AM blended mocha. My toddler is freaked out in the early morning by the crazy loud noise our very powerful Vitamix makes, so I was hoping this would be quieter. It is quieter, but I do have to blend longer -- it is a fair trade off though since it doesn't make my daughter cry. Considering my Vitamix was $300+ and this is almost 10% of that, I was not expecting to get the same blend results, but I was very pleased with how the Oster performed considering its low price and plastic parts. I was amused that the neon summer colors offered match the candy colored MacBooks of the early double 00's, reminded me of college days :) Things I really like about this blender: - It is cheap! I like that this is under $40 and works amazingly well as long as you add crushed ice from a fridge ice dispenser and not the giant half moon cubes. If you do add whole cubes, it works best to add a little more liquid than normal and give the bottle a shake mid blend. - It has a small footprint and is light weight, this would be great for a tiny kitchen, RV or someone with limited mobility who can't lift a large glass jar on a full size blender. You do have to twist the bottle to activate the blades, but it was easy to do with little resistance. - This would be a great gift for the health nut in your life. I make blended coffee drinks in mine, but my body-builder cousin would love this for his protein shakes. - It is perfect for a dorm room, the bright colors insure there is probably a shade any 19 year old could like. I would have loved one of these in college, I would have told my parents it was for smoothies, and then enjoyed margaritas on the weekends ;D - As a new mom with a little toddler, I really do like blending my mocha in the same cup I drink from to save on time and dirty dishes. After a quick rinse, I use it to keep ice water handy throughout the day; 4-5 of these means I am well hydrated. Things I wish were better: - I wish the container were a half inch winder and an inch shorter. This would allow ice to blend easier and a standard straw would be compatible with this sports cup, as it is now a straw slips down just below the lip of the sip hole so you have to take the lid off to fish it out. Get a long straw if you want to use one with this. - Better bottle calibrations. It only has a mark for 20 oz., which is the fill line. I would have loved a calibrated side to get proper smoothie ratios right in the cup, it would have saved getting out measuring cups. I may do it myself with an orange Sharpie. - A better lid. The current flip cap has just a weak tension closure with no rubber gasket around the sip hole, this means it is just plastic clicking lightly into other plastic with no seal at all. I filled it will water and knocked it over on the counter and the cap came open immediately and spilled water out. You could not stash this in a gym bag for later without coating the inside with smoothie. It is best to treat this container like a lidded coffee mug and not a sports bottle. It would be great if the lid had a small rubber gasket around the sip hole and a simple tension latch to keep the lid closed enough to survive being knocked over. - The colors offered. I was given the orange model free of charge to try and review, so my complaint here is not about what I received but what I see being offered. It would be wonderful if this was available in all black or all white with a clear bottle. I liked this blender enough to see if they had it in white to get my mother for her RV, but she would hate all the day glow colors so I will pass. Too bad, it would have made a nice Mother's Day gift! Tips for better results: 1) Add your ingredients in reverse of a regular blender, for smoothest blending add in order: liquid, fruit, powder, then ice last. This makes sure the ice gets to the blades straight away and powder mix ins don't stick to the bottom/top. 2) Keep ingredients a little below the fill line. The narrow shape of the bottle means the ice needs a bit more room than recommended to properly grind and blend. 3) If you are trying to make a really thick smoothie and the stuff just isn't moving around enough, alternate between blending for a few seconds and then disengaging the bottle from the base and give it a good shake to help mix the ingredients. This will blend the drink to a surprisingly smooth texture and shaves time off getting it there. It is easy to do this and beats making the baby cry :) I can recommend this product for blended drinks. I would not attempt anything else with this blender; I'd leave salsa, nut butters, granitas, soups and such jobs to a full size blender. I do not own a magic bullet, so I cannot compare it to that. GRADE: B