Cuisinart CSB-77 SmartStick Handheld Blender

Opening
A chef is only as good as his tools and last night at that critical stage of soup-blending, my Fred Meyer hand blender gave up the ghost. It was never very good for cooking, anyway. Luckily, I live within three blocks of two chef shops. I ran up the street and looked at the few options that were in stock, opting for the Cuisinart model over a Kitchen-Aid and Viking, due to the price differential (the Viking and Kitchen-Aid was $120 and the Cuisinart was $75).

Price
There is no doubt that I overpaid for my unit, but I really didn't have much of a choice. I purchased it at full retail from a specialty store, but if you don't need it immediately, it can be ordered on-line at almost half of what I paid. That being said, I am still very happy with this unit and don't have any buyer's remorse.

Design
The CSB-77 Smartstick has a stainless-steel upper unit which contains the motor, power supply and cord, and on-off switch. Its cylindrical layout is really no different than every other hand-blender on the market, although the use of stainless-steel instead of plastic gives it a slight edge in the style-department. Most hand blenders that are on the market are configured in this manner: with an upper part that houses the motor, and lower attachments that can be used for different jobs.

Functionality
The motor is rated at 200 watts and is significantly powerful enough to move through thick soups. I researched the wattage of the Cuisinart's main competitors and they are also rated at 200 watts. However, a blender is also only as good as its cutting surfaces, and Cuisinart has made a nice effort to include high quality blades. I suspect that this is true of its competitors, as well. One of the nice touches is that the food processor blade is reversible, allowing you to use the sharp blades to finely chop items, or the blunt sides to create more of a blended texture to your projects.
The whisking attachment has a "step-down" gearbox attachment that the whisker plugs into, that keeps egg whites from being pounded into a useless state.
Switching between attachments is quite simple to do and the most difficult operation is changing the chopping blade from sharp to dull. This requires a bit of caution due to the razor-sharp blades, but is not physically challenging to accomplish, otherwise.

Applications
The Smartstick is really best used in small kitchens for projects of moderate complexity. Its blades and motor are not designed to puree anything tougher than crushed ice or cubed vegetables and fruits. It works well for blending soups and whisking a small bowl of egg whites, but is simply not designed to take over the duties of a standard blender or food processor. That being said, Cuisinart advises owners not to run the motor for more than 50 seconds with the blender, 20 seconds for the whisker, and 15 seconds with the chopper, as this is an electrical motor with no ventilation ducts. While these limits may seem a bit restrictive in theory, in practice, I've found that this is more than enough time to get the job done.


Size
This unit is 14 inches tall (versus 17 inches on the Kitchen-Aid). It is also just a couple of pounds. The sizes of most of the units I have researched are all within a few inches of each other, but one has to remember that the height of the motor-unit is secondary in importance to the height of the attachment (which hopefully will be able to reach the bottom of your pot). The Smartstick's blender unit reached the bottom of two of my standard soup pots without any difficulty, despite being a bit shorter than its competitors.


Durability
I don't have any long-term experience with this product, but I did do some online research after-the-fact. Amazon reviewers of the Cuisinart are generally positive, with on negative reviewer who points out that the Braun Multi-Quick is much more functional and completely dishwasher safe—of course this review also has some technical errors. Kitchen-Aid reviews seemed split, with an indication that the unit may not have the most durable motor.
I was forced to purchase one right in the middle of meal preparation and have to say that this unit feels tough and durable right out of the box. It handled all of my requirements without any sign of difficulty. I fumbled the smoothie beaker and it hit the floor but didn't break. The unit has a very hefty feel and the assembly points are tight. I have great faith in Cuisinart quality and will post an update should anything fail.
That being said, the Smartstick does come with a 3-year warranty so make sure you fill the card out.


Clean-up
Cleaning the unit is not very difficult and Cuisinart recommends just using mild detergent and warm water for most parts. The plastic covers for the food processor and the whisker gearbox should not be washed in the dishwasher, but the blades can be put on the top shelf. The instruction booklet does not say if the blender attachment is dishwasher-safe, and to be on the safe side, I don't clean any of the Smartstick's parts in the dishwasher. My scrub brush whiskers got stuck between some of the blade surfaces other tight areas, but this is a minor inconvenience. As with any razor-sharp surface you have to keep your wits about you when cleaning the food processor's blade.

Positives
Nice stainless-steel design.
Powerful motor.
Easy to change attachments.
Quality construction.
Useful attachments.
3-year warranty.


Gripes
No wall-mount brackets—my cruddy Fred Meyer blender even came with these.
The blender attachment is made of stainless steel and its blade guard can easily scratch Teflon surfaces.
One-speed only—again, my Fred Meyer unit came with two speeds, but you can get around this by carefully pulsing the unit.
The Quick-Switch feature gives you versatility, but I have concerns over the long-term ability of the unit to resist seepage at the attachment juncture.
Some of the parts are not dishwasher safe.
The plastic container for making smoothies was cracked within three weeks by another reviewer and makes me worry about durability issues.
The whisk is fairly small and not suited for large quantities.

Closing Thoughts
This is a powerful and good-looking unit that only stands out from its competitors through its stainless-steel design. It is a hefty, well-built hand blender that can be used to handle other tasks of moderate difficulty around the kitchen, due to its useful attachments. Cleanup is simple and the warranty is of a generous length. It lacks variable speed settings, and some parts must be hand-washed but it is perfect for the home chef. A bit of shopping around will yield you a very good price for a unit.

-Deanna, a little tipsy: "It's a primitive culture, I'm just trying to blend in."

-Riker to the drunken counselor: "You're blended alright"