I spent several weeks researching blenders.  Even the top rated Braun 
has reviews that aren't that great when it comes to crushing ice, which 
is what I was looking for.  This thing completely pulverizes ice to a 
smooth, soft, slushie consistency.  I was looking to recreate a certain 
frozen drink that I get at a restaurant, and the one we made with the 
Oster was even better than the restaurant's!  And they use one of those 
expensive frozen drink machines!  It's loud, but it works like a breeze.
  The only thing I noticed is that it's so powerful, you need to put a 
towel over the lid because it will splatter out a little through the 
middle cap.  A small price to pay for the power this Oster has!  All the
 extras it comes with are a great bonus too!
Edited to add that 6
 years later the blender works as well as day 1! I read through the 
reviews and see that some customers received blenders with the 
instructions in Spanish. My blender set came with the regular English 
language operating manual. I did purchase this directly through Amazon 
so maybe some sellers are selling a model for another country?
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