(WARNING- IN DEPTH REVIEW for those who are really looking for help in deciding what hand blender to purchase. If you would like a quick summary, see THE BOTTOM LINE section at the end)

I can not tell you how much time and research I have spent trying to decide on a stick blender (hand blender). Every year, I do a lot of food preservation. We do very large amounts of tomato sauce and tomato soup at a time. One of the things that I have been doing is using a Cuisinart Smart Stick hand blender to take some of the tomato sauce and blending it into a large amount of tomato paste. There are not lumps and it is smooth and luscious. I have used this blender for years, but thought perhaps a stronger one could do the job better, and I could enlist the Cuisinart blender for soap making, as it is important to have a hand blender dedicated for soap only and not use them for food at that point.

WHAT IS THIS BRAUN HAND BLENDER LIKE?
First of all, let me say that a hand blender is not meant to replace a BLENDER- the kind that sit on your counter. What they will do is make a smoothie out of fruits and/or veggies, but not green smoothies. They will blend shakes. They will blend soups of COOKED vegetables and as I am using tomato paste into tomato soup. There is not a whole lot of things that these are meant to do other than these things. Perhaps some powders into liquids also.

This hand blender comes in two pieces and snaps together nicely. It is easy to take apart by pressing two buttons on either side of the bottom extension. It has two blades and a scalloped edge to keep the blender from sucking to the bottom of the pan or container. The top has a safety button which glows red and when you press it, it turns green and then you are good to go if you press the trigger button within 5 seconds. If not, you need to re-press the security button. The cord is about 5 feet long. The hand blender bottom is a little over 8 inches long which is as long as other blenders which claim to be bigger.

The set also comes with a whisk and adapter, a cup for smoothies and mayonnaise, and a very small food processor.

IS THIS HEAVY?
I did not find that the hand blender was too heavy to use although if you are really short, you may want to stand on a step stool for large pots of soup.

WATTAGE
My Cuisinart Smart Stick has 200 watts which is a pretty nice hand blender. This Braun, however, is 400 watts and it is designed to use it well and be effective.

HOW DOES THIS HAND BLENDER WORK?
I have to say that the Cuisinart hand blender I have been using is wonderful. It is 200 watts of power and has done a decent job of blending tomato paste and tomatoes and cooked vegetables into soup. When I tried out the Braun for the first time, I was not prepared for what I experienced. The difference was amazing. What usually took me about four to five minutes to do- blending tomato paste and cooked vegetables into smooth soup, literally took under a minute with the Braun. It is powerful, very easy to use, and if you press and re-press the trigger before the five seconds are up, then you can still use the blender in pulse fashion instead of constant running of it. You don't want to use it continually more than three or four minutes, however, as it can get hot. These are not meant to be used at a constant rate, but in more of a pulse fashion.

I have also made mayonnaise with the cup and this blender and it did make a decent mayonnaise in just a couple of minutes. That is a great feature.

I also wanted to say that I didn't experience a lot of splashing or mess at all when using this either in the cup or a large pot. It is easy to control the speed with the trigger. That was the one thing I liked about the Cuisinart which this has also- a nice responsive trigger button.

WHIP
First of all, you need to understand that the whip on this blender is designed to whip eggs and cream. That is pretty much it. If you are thinking of doing heavier work, you need a REAL mixer. I suggest Cuisinart HM-90S Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Handheld Mixer with Storage Case, White which is the best mixer I have come across in many years. This hand blender with the whip attachment makes whipped cream in a very quick amount of time. I simply put it in a 1 quart canning jar (or similar size) and fill up about 1/3 of the way with cream and honey or maple syrup and whip away. The cream whips up very quickly and is easy to serve too.

FOOD PROCESSOR
This attachment is meant to do SMALL amounts of chopped vegetables such as salsa for one or two people, chopped vegetables for salads, etc. This is not meant to replace a table top food processor. This is more of a quick small food chopper for quick small amounts. It is not for large time processing. This processor works great for herb chopping and onions or garlic. It is important not to fill above the line and it works quickly and chops well without leaving large pieces afterward. I still prefer my Ninja chopper with double level blades, but this is a decent quick chopper.

IS THE SAFETY SWITCH A BOTHER?
I have to say that one of the reasons that I did not want to get this set is because of the safety switch. I was worried it would be such a pain that it would frustrate me enough to regret purchasing this blender. I am happy to report that it is no problem at all. I have medium sized hands and it is easy to press the safety switch on the top with my thumb and then press the trigger switch with my fingers. I can still turn the blender on and off without issue as long as I press the trigger within four second intervals. I have not had a problem with the safety switch at all getting in the way of my processing and I am happy I can tell anyone else about this so you don't have to wonder about it.

SOAP OR LOTIONS?
Yes, you can use this to make soap, but keep in mind that you can adjust the speed with the trigger, and you won't want to use this at top speed because it can actually whip the soap too much, you will want to use it at a lower speed. It is an expensive blender to use just for soap, but if you make a lot of it, and take care of this blender, I am thinking it would be an excellent hand blender and would last as long as several cheaper blenders so in the long run not any more expensive. It can also be used to make lotions. As for skin care creams, it would work too, but might not do as well with whipping air into it if that is what you are looking for.

THE BOTTOM LINE
For using to blend soups, mayonnaise, tomato paste, and basic smoothies (please don't try to use this with a lot of frozen fruits as it will burn out any hand blender), this hand blender is an excellent choice. It can also be used to make soap and lotions. It comes with a cup that is nice for quick smoothies and mayonnaise, a decent mini food chopper, and an excellent whisk for eggs and cream. Although this is not designed to replace an actual table top blender and food processor, it is a great tool for small food prep, and those who live alone. It is much more effective than the Cuisinart Smart Stick (which is now going for only $30 less than this one) and does the job in a fraction of the time. I have used other hand blenders which were inferior to the Cuisinart, but this one blows that out of the water too. With a security switch that is not intrusive, it is still easy to use for jobs, even large pots of soup.

At this point, I highly rate this hand blender set at five stars, but I would put it at 10 stars if I could. I am really glad I bought it.

UPDATES
I will update as I continue to use this set over time. If there is any more information that I can post to help you in your buying decision, I will do so over time.

This product is a wonderful concept, but it is hampered by design flaws and cheap materials.

I unwrapped and washed mine this afternoon, read the tiny manual and used the immersion blender to make soup, then assembled the food processor attachment for a salad.

The immersion blender works perfectly, and the variable-rate speed controller is convenient, easy and satisfying. The redesigned PowerBell (no silicone seals, better drainage at the top) is an improvement, too.

The MQ 70 food processor attachment is large enough for many meal tasks, but cutting blades are not easy to insert into the blade-holder, and one carefully installed came dislodged almost immediately while it was slicing small carrots for a salad. The dislodged blade then shattered part of the MQ 70's top, putting plastic bits into the bowl and rendering this $70 component unusable.

Interestingly, when I contacted Braun through their website to let them know about the problem I got a bounceback message asking me to try contacting them through other websites instead - amateur hour in their customer relations.

I'll buy another MQ 70 to use with softer foodstuffs, and like the main part of this product, but you should know when you purchase it that it isn't nearly as solid as a standard food processor.

I had the original hand blender for years and just tossed it because of its age, but it still worked. I was worried about the plastic shattering, and it was mostly plastic. This new one is so much better. It has a removable electric handle part that attaches to the different parts. It also has a safety button that you have to depress it each time you go to use it (reminds me of my hedge trimmer...) It is a great child safety feature, but it can be a little irritating, having to get that green light back on if you let go of the button each time. If you press down harder, it goes faster. That is different. I like it.
I love that it has the small processor attachment so I can just use it for small amounts like to chop some onion in a hurry, etc. It is easy to clean too. It is wonderful.
I ordered the large food processor attachment separately, since I really wanted the small one for most of what I do on a more daily basis. (The large food processor is great for so much more with its extra blades for slicing and julienne, et. It also holds a lot, so if you want that processor, this one does not come with it.)
If this lasts even half the time my other one did, it is well worth it. I use it to mash potatoes with the metal piece attached and it works great. I love that you can put it into something hot and use it in the pot. It is like nothing else.
I have yet to use the whisk...forgot to use it the other day and used my regular whisk by hand. I forgot about that attachment. I bought it for the others mostly, but I will try it.
I recommend this product highly. I will update my review if anything changes, since it is still quite new.

When it comes to the unit itself, I'm extremely happy. We use the immersion blender part daily, and have used the whisk and food processor several times in the last couple months. The blending cup it comes with is a piece of crap. We generally just set the blender in the cup after making bulletproof coffee. Less than a week after getting it, it got its first crack. No idea how as it's never been dropped and we don't have a dishwasher, but it was still holding liquid so whatever. Less than 3 months out, it's totally useless with multiple cracks and definitely doesn't hold liquid. I called Braun customer service and was told that there wasn't much they could do as if they were to send out a new one, it'd be the same thing, and the representative didn't even try to send it out. So if you buy this, just go ahead and buy a cup from another brand if it's something you'll need to use.