Transparent Spiral Slicer Ultimate Bundle (2 Different Protective Caps, Cleaning Brush, Ebook). Two Sizes: 1 Julienne Size and One Cut Slicer!

My spiral slicer came in a handy little box and also had 2 useful brushes for cleaning it. Basically, it resembles a large pencil sharpener, with 2 openings, one at either end, and 2 cutting edges. Provided your vegetable is a cylindrical shape (like a courgette or a carrot), it is quite easy to use - I got zucchini noodles with no difficulty. I have not really experimented much yet, but I met with disaster when I tried different shaped veggies such as onion. The veggie also needs to be firm or it could disintegrate in your hand. It takes a while to explore the limitations so hopefully I will find myself improving as I go along. So far it seems useful, is easy to clean (with the brushes), but it's a really simple gadget for the price, and it remains to be seen how long it will last.

I am not sure why people think it's so ingenious: Here's why I give it three stars. 1) It works but could be engineered better. 2) It takes *forever* to get enough strings for one meal. 3) it will exhaust your arm and wrist from all the twisting you'll do. 3) You'll have to hold it over a bowl to get the stuff to fall out. In short, it's ok, does the job but seriously I could think of ways to easily improve it.In the next version:1) have slicer designed vertically and have some extra appendages stick out to clasp onto a bowl so you just dont have to hold it above floating in the air for the pieces to fall into it. (duh!)2) Use some leveraging device/level/dial etc., so you can turn around the vegie without wearing out your wrist. (anyone with weak writs or carpal tunal do not use this!)

This is the first time I have tried a spiralizer. We are trying to eat more vegetables and I thought this would add to our options. This spiral slicer works very well. The blades are sharp and it fits in your hand well. The only thing is that the user can get tired of all the twisting. I can see why some spiral slicers are mountable with a hand crank. All in all, this is a very nice product. I comes in an attractive box that hols all of the supplies. I recommend it.

I finally, after all these years, get to leave one of those "COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY" reviews I see now and then.WTF was I thinking??!! Didn't the Old Wise Ones tell us that "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!"And how many times have we laughed at anyone who would fall for one of those "it's AMAZING! IT will slice, dice, mangle and maim your vegetables JUST ... LIKE ... THIS!! AMAZING!!!" infomercials?We were so excited to make our very first "zucchini pasta" with this thing, but the longest piece of zucchini "spiral" that resulted from this pathetically cheaply made gimmick was about 1/4" ... and this was a nice, firm, fresh zucchini, followed by a nice, firm, fresh squash ... same thing.It'd be too fine a chop, even for coleslaw ...The good part: we had a good laugh over it.Do yourselves a favor: buy a mandoline and learn how to use it.This thing is a cruel joke and a complete waste of money. I'm sure I'll get a slew of their employees commenting, telling me how wrong I am, but just let me point out that if there's some special technique to using it, then why don't they put some instructions in with it? It comes with NOTHING ...You can find "spiral" recipes online, but all the people who post them are using mandolines. THAT'S a CLUE, people! Pay attention!And although they can't be bothered to include any instructions (perhaps because they know it probably won't work??) they FLOOD you with emails asking you how awesome this piece of useless plastic crap is ...Nope ... I got what I deserve. After making fun of all those chumps buying utensils from TV infomercials for all those years, and and for not heeding the clear instructions of the Old Wise Ones ("if it sounds to good to be true, it probably IS to good to be true ...") - I've been completely chumped by this piece of useless trash.It's in the trash with the scraps of the zucchini and the squash. I salvaged what I could and sliced it with this miracle device I found in our kitchen: a knife and cutting board.Imagine!

Bottom line is if you are wanting an inexpensive, functional, good quality handheld spiralizer then this is the one to buy!DO NOT BUY THE LOOK-ALIKESIf you want to read an amusing story keep reading. Don't be fooled by the other handheld spiral slicers that look like this one from All Times Finest. I found out the hard way. Luckily I ordered this one several months ago and have really enjoyed using it. It works great for a handheld spiralizer. If you use it properly it works perfectly. Now my experience.... Before Christmas my wife wanted to get a couple of these spiralizers for her friends. So I searched for spiralizer on Amazon and naturally a lot of these that look the same popped up. I ordered two of the first one on that popped up. It was a few dollars cheaper than this one from All Times Finest. At first glance they all look the same. Boy was I disappointed when the look-alikes arrived. I seldom review items I buy on Amazon. But felt compelled to express my disappointment. So I did. Here is the link to the review I gave for the look-alike, the sellers response and then my response in return. It's a long read but kind of amusing. http://www.amazon.com/review/R3SKQ1BDX9AAGR/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00J19AR7W#wasThisHelpful