Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have a Panasonic 1250 watt microwave and found that this tub works well at 2:50 on the timer, at full power. One Star deduct for the fact that, when I use 1/3 cup of Jolly Time popcorn (which takes it up to the lower line level inside the popper, that it always leaves about 2-3 tsp of unpopped kernels. After removing the popped kernels, I can put the unpopped back in for another minute or so and get most of them to pop. Well, what if I just extend the original cooking time? Although I have not tried it, I fear or suspect that it might start burning the already popped kernels. I do not use oil, since that would be counterproductive to why I bought this to begin with. I don't understand why the rest of the kernels don't pop in the original time frame, but am willing to live with the wasted kernels, since using this is so easy, hassle free, and needing no cleanup afterwards, beyond wiping the insides with a paper towel. 1/3 cup of kernels is just right to completely fill this tub, but to make larger batches for movie night for several viewers, I have to resort to my Stir Crazy, which uses 1 cup of kernels to produce two large movie theater style popcorn tubs. I would have to do 3 batches in the HOTPOP to equal that, which becomes less convenient than the Stir Crazy (which requires 2-3 Tbsp of oil to pop 99% of the Jolly Time kernels. After seeing a lot of 1 Star reviews, I do not trust them at all and think some reviewers purposely fabricate sabotage reviews or false reviews for reasons that I can't fathom. When used as directed and following advice to do test runs on length of time to microwave successfully in whatever microwave one owns, this tub performs pretty efficiently and does not burn the popcorn. I think most people can set their timer for 3 minutes or 3 plus 15 seconds and then standby to listen for the signs that kernels have pretty much stopped popping and noting the time left, to be subtracted from their starting time, to establish the optimum time to set the timer in the future. Generally when popping lapses reach 3-5 seconds of silence, its time to open the door and remove the tub. At that point, all but 1-2 tsp will be left unpopped. One thing I noticed which surprised me was how hot the HOTPOP tub gets (on the handles as well as the body of the tub). It is manageable after one tub is popped, but if you do tubs in succession for more than one tub, the handles get too hot to handle without using pot holders. So something in the chemical composition of the silicone is causing the tub to react to the microwaves and heat in response. This can sometimes also be noticed when microwaving things in glass cookware, such as Corningware bowls. I don't know whether that is a negative thing with the HOTPOP, as regards to health, but I suspect that it is harmless since I don't think that there can be any transfer of the tubs substance to things that are heated in the dry environment of no oils to leach from the tub to the popcorn. As a former restaurant owner I was, and am keenly focused on food safety (not using any aluminum cookware especially, since the jury is out on whether aluminum can leach into liquids cooked with acidic ingredients such as tomatoes etc). So for me, if it isn't stainless steel, I am not cooking in it. But when it comes to a product like this, I think it is most likely a safe situation. Other reviewers keep mentioning the failure of the pinch test to determine if something is 100% silicone. I am not convinced that is the absolute barometer one should use in judging all of the various brands of competing microwave popping tubs. So many of the brands pledge on a stack of bibles that they are 100% pure silicone, but when you read reviews on every one of them, there are plenty of naysayers out there in the 1 and 2 Star review categories that claim and show through pictures that the pinch test revealed the inclusion of non-silicone ingredients. Something is not right on this point. Is the pinch test really relevant at all or are the manufacturers flat out lying, or are the reviewers not being entirely honest. For me, in the big picture of all this, I think it is a worthless attribute to focus on, without empirical evidence through destruction testing to define what exactly is in a specific product, if it is not pure 100% silicone. And lastly, as regards to the safety of silicone, we should be mindful of the fact that silicone breast implants have been proven to be extremely injurious to the health of women who have had silicone leaking into the system from failed implants. So who is to say that it is save in a situation like a microwave popper. I thing it is all a bunch of false noise and will feel entirely comfortable using this popper or other brands that are the most popular on the market. Sorry for all of the detours in this review, but these are thoughts that come to mind when deciding what to share, that might be helpful or of value to consider. I also have a stir