However, the narrow head shape and small vents meant it required long blend times to complete our tests. Braun Multiquick Hand Blender: This has a well-designed safety feature, along with several useful attachments.

It struggled to purée soup and beans, crush ice, and even make whipped cream. To our surprise, though this model was the most expensive, it repeatedly scored at the bottom of all of our tests. Bamix 2-Speed 3-Blade Hand Blender: We were very eager to test the Bamix, which is prevalent in many commercial kitchens (it's the original immersion blender).They were neck-and-neck with the winners in every test, but we found the safety feature-a theoretically great idea-to be too cumbersome: You have to press and hold down an unlock button while pressing the power button, but the placement of those buttons made it an awkward two-handed operation for just about everyone who tried it. Cuisinart Smart Stick 2-Speed Hand Blender and the Cuisinart Smart Stick Variable-Speed Hand Blender: These were comparable to our budget pick, the Hamilton Beach 2-Speed Hand Blender, and the winning corded All-Clad, respectively.We strongly advise not buying this one, for safety reasons. Mueller Ultra-Stick: This model didn't last long in our testing: As soon as we plunged it into a container of ice water for the ice-blending test, the blade got ripped off.KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender: This was nearly the same price as the winning All-Clad corded model, but it trailed in testing, with results similar to the much less expensive Hamilton Beach 2-Speed.Alarmingly, after a minute of pureeing soup, the motor emitted a slight burning odor. But the motor is extremely loud and it didn't do a good job pureeing or crushing ice. Dash Chef Series Immersion Blender: Like the Nutribullet, this under $50 immersion blender also comes with a whisk attachment.It did do a good job pureeing soup, but created an alarmingly strong suction, making the blender unwieldy. But, it took too long to puree beans, and had a lot of trouble crushing ice. Nutribullet Immersion Blender: This blender costs just $30 and also includes a whisk attachment.It does come in some fun colors though, and is reasonably priced. The plastic removable pan guard for the blade cover was hard to get on and off and seemed likely to eventually get lost in a drawer. KitchenAid Variable Speed Immersion Hand Blender: This wasn’t nearly as fast at crushing ice as our top pick and pureed beans turned out gritty.However, it was less powerful than the All-Clad corded model and took longer to get the job done. And when you press the blender into something, like the bottom of a pot or a pile of ice, the base moves up and down, which keeps solids from getting trapped underneath the blade.

It can go from low to high power depending on how hard you hold down its power button.

Braun MultiQuick 7 Immersion Hand Blender: This is a newer version of an immersion blender we already tested for this review, but it has some notable new features and performed well, doing an especially good job at pureeing celery soup.

Serious Eats / Emily Dryden The Competition

Submerge blender