Customer Reviews

Cuisinart CB-18BK SmartPower Basics 18-Speed Blender, Black

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

OK gang, listen up. Need a really good blender at a very resonable price? Well, this one is a real winner. I am an exercise enthusiast and, over many years, have made a lot of special shakes, consisting of whey protein powder, frozen strawberries, flax seed oil, ice, & cold water. And, thus, I really do need and appreciate a really good blender that is robust, easy to use, and very easy to clean.

While recently trying to decide on a new blender, I read the Amazon reviews on this particular model. Everything sounded just right, so I decided to purchase it. And, thankfully, this Cuisinart model is just terrific. Whoever designed this thing definitely deserves a bonus and/or a promotion, because they simply GOT IT RIGHT. If you apprecieate the fact that a powerful tool, that is also simple and easy to use, takes a lot of good design work, then you'll really enjoy this blender. It has all that you need and nothing more for almost all blender-related tasks. Here's why I like it so much :

- Very solid, robust design. Nothing wimpy about this little guy.
- Heavy, wide-mouth glass container (MUCH better than plastic!) It holds 48 oz. of liquid, and the extra wide diameter is definitely superior to the more narrow, tapered containers.
- The top is thicker and much more robust than those I've tried on several other models. It also includes a plastic knob that you can easily remove whenever you want to add more incredients without removing the top.
- The base is the best designed I've ever used. The blade & gasket sit within a wide plastic base, and then the whole thing screws into the container. This is really nice, because when you remove the container, this wide base stays attached and you can sit the whole thing down on a counter or table with no risk of it accidently tipping over. This is GREAT when you want to surf the Web on your computer and drink your protein shake at the same time!
- The 500 Watt, easy to use motor is very powerful and takes care of ice with very little effort. I like the controls on this model much better than blenders that have one or more rows of buttons. Fewer buttons means easier use and less tendency for some of the buttons to stop working (a problem with my old Oster blender).

So, there you have it. I am very thankful to the other folks who posted their reviews on this blender, because this really helped me to decide on which model I wanted to examine and purchase. You'll note that this particular model is more highly ranked than others which are more than twice as expensive. If you'll looking for a very robust blender that is simple & easy to both use and clean, I think you'll find that this one is simply terrific. Hats off to the folks at Cuisinart; this is one design that really WORKS.

This is a fine, basic blender. It doesn't have a flashy design (basic black), and it has the requisite glass pitcher. The mouth is wide, the pitcher short (good for stability.) The blades are sharp enough to chop cold beef for hash. The controls have an ice pulse button which works for short pulsing anything. At the price point, this blender beat many others much more expensive. It's a bit plain in looks, but it sure does the job.

I've been using this blender for a few weeks now, and it's a pleasure to use! I make a daily smoothie using frozen fruit, which it handles with ease. I don't usually crush ice, but I did a test batch just to see if it worked well, which it did. I especially like that the base which screws onto the container is broad and shaped to match the lower part of the blender, so it is very stable in use. The one piece glass jar is easy to clean & looks better than the plastic ones some other inexpensive blenders have. The speed control is just a knob which you turn up or down as you are blending, which I find to be intuitive & easy.
It seems to be on the noisy side at top speed. I rest a hand on the top to calm it down if I'm using "high". I find that it blends everything just great at low to middle speed, so I usually just stay in that range.
--I'm adding this comment after 5 months of daily use. The blender keeps on doing what it is supposed to, day after day...

I was hesitiant to purchase this blender after reading the other reviews about leaks. I took a chance and I am glad I did!

This blender is better than I had expected. It is heavy and sturdy. Easy to clean. Absolutely no leaks. More powerful than I needed. Easily beats out every other blender I have ever used or owned.

My wife makes fruit smoothies for breakfast in the morning. We pre-make them by putting the fruit and other ingedients in individual feezer bags and keeping them in the freezer. Our "old" blender would take forever to chop up the frozen fruit and would have to continually add more and more liquid to get it to work right. With this one, she just dumps in the bag of frozen fruit & stuff, adds a splash of juice, and seconds later it is done. No hang ups or stalls, just powers right through. It is relatively quiet to boot! (quiet for a blender at least)

We have had ZERO problems and NO COMPLAINTS about this blender. We have had it for about 6 months now and use it every week day before we go to work. I wish every product I bought met my expectectation as well as this one.

I saw a similar Cuisinart blender in the store that was [more money]. The motor was only 350W; this one is 500W. This has a dial (which I prefer); the other had a touch pad. Everything else is the same. I called Cuisinart and she confirmed that both blenders are basically the same but this one is [less expensive] even though it has a larger motor.
I bought it specifically to make smoothies and it's great. I don't pre-crush the ice--just add it with the other ingredients. It is extremely easy to assemble and disassemble. On the Waring this replaced, it was almost impossible to screw the bottom on straight. It is noisy, but aren't they all! I love it.

This replaced a 450W Oster, and I was expecting a mild improvement. Wow! What a difference! The 500W motor in this blender makes the Oster look like a weakling. This blender chews through ice and frozen fruit FAST--leaving no large chunks behind---making very nice smoothies. I see no need to buy a seperate Smoothie King device as long as I have this one. Must Buy!

My original review stated: It is very reliable,can handle tough jobs; and I would recommend it to anyone. (That was after only a few months of use.)

TWO YEARS LATER UPDATE:

The SmartPower Cuisinart burned up in less than 1 1/2 years, and I mostly used it for hummus that had been watered down to help the motor handle it.

After a thorough search on the Net, we decided to buy a Blendtec Total Blender (competition for a Vitamix, but cheaper). Blendtec Total Blender is the product you see being used at all of the smoothie shops, and it is able to handle 1/3 of a pineapple, whole apples, raw beets, carrots, you name it! You can drink your raw foods with this machine, by adding them into your smoothies and get REAL food in your body pretty easily this way!

I no longer recommend any of the Cuisinart or Osterizer Blenders for any reason, unless you want something that will burn up every year and have to be replaced AGAIN! Even my two college kids are envious of the great Blendtec blender we now own! :-)

The Blendtec has a computerizer motor that senses when to speed up and slow down as needed to produce a completely blended smoothie. It automatically times out when the food is blended and is very easy to clean and maintain.

If you do your research properly, you will find one on sale for sure. Do yourself a favor and save up the money. FORGET buying a new cheapo blender every 14-18 months! Buy yourself a REAL blender that can handle more than gravy. You will not regret the investment, I assure you!


Joyce Stotts
Newark, NY

I've had this blender for several months. The selling point was the ice crush feature. I make a lot of smoothies and throughly crushing ice was key. I loved it for a few months. But then..it burned out. It started shaking and I always had to push my hand down on the lid to keep it from shaking. Then it started leaking, not from the rubber gasket, but from the blade. Liquid slipped through and after blending, I would pour my smoothie only to notice that the liquid mixed with the motor and black liquid leaked all over. So, my $40 blender lasted 6 months. I alway thought cuisinart was the best....but I think I will try another.

I was looking for an inexpensive quality blender that could crush ice, and this one did a fantastic job for it's price.
I read the mixed reviews, but I decided to give this blender a try.

The CB-18 is so much better than our old blender! It's very simple and easy to use with the ON/OFF/PULSE buttons, and the Speed Dial/Ice Crush buttons. It crushed my ice finely within seconds. It is on the noisy side, and it seems to have a very light burning smell (if I go more closely to it), but other than that, it has been one of the best I've ever used.

I bought my blender refurbished, so it may have been used before, and then repaired.

This blender is THE BEST blender I've even owned, and thats quite a list of those 20-75 dollar blenders from all over town. None ever did ICE and FROZEN FRUIT as well or fast as this. Top notch power, speed, and quality. This is a GREAT blender. We've used it for several parties now and it rocks! Others would have died after the first holiday bash...