Norpro 2273C mini mixer, one, Black

** Update March 20, 2024 ** After nearly 3 years, my unit is starting to falter a bit: Sometimes I need to rotate the shaft a bit to get it going. Not a huge deal but I'd prefer it to just work seamlessly all the time as it has for these past few years. The paddle switch that I had been a little concerned about in my previous review proved to be robust enough to last all this time so no complaints on that front either. So, I'm buying this exact unit again with no regrets. I looked at some of the other options out there and I still feel this is a great value. ** End Update ** I've been using the Prince Lionheart Formula Mixer for the past 10 years. And was pretty amazed that it lasted that long. What I hadn't noticed is that it had been getting gradually less and less powerful after maybe 6 or 7 years. Anyway they replaced their nice, chunky plastic mixing wands with little metal ones. Those are fine if you want frothy drinks but I think anybody wanting to mix protein powder into milk in a glass wants as LITTLE froth as possible. So I went searching and found this Norpro mixer. I was surprised how powerful it is which tells me that I really should have replaced my other unit sooner than this. This unit comes with 4 mixing wands, only the two plastic ones are any good IMHO (who wants to clean that whisk every time you use it?). The "straight" white plastic one will actually flare open when spinning but it gives pretty much the same result as the other plastic one that is built with the split legs and the latter is MUCH easier to fit a cloth in all the nooks and crannies to effectively clean it. Of course the little metal "frother" wand is a non-starter for my purposes. Probably great if you're an espresso aficionado. I'll never know. My only concerns are that the batteries are a bit challenging to replace so I'm concerned if this will have me damage the unit while taking it apart (make sure to memorize the battery orientation 'cause the unit wont tell you which way they go...) and that the on/off "paddle" switch seems a little flimsy, but I've been using it for a month now and have had zero issues with it. Note: Ironically, because of the angle I was holding myself at to film the Norpro in action I frothed the heck out of my drink. Sorry, only doing one take. I can only drink so much protein drink at a time! :)

This is a review for using the sharp blending tool mostly, but also the parts that mix and stir. I searched a lot of products on Amazon and this is the only one I found with a sharp blending tool. I feed my cats stew-type wet cat food and they seem to always leave shreds in the bottom of their bowls. I wanted to find a hand blender that had a tiny head/blade but you just cannot find one for this purpose. This tool is not as powerful as an electric hand blender, but it will do the job well enough, you just have to work with it to find the right way to do it for it to blend the cat food into a puree. You can put the cat food in a small deep bowl OR you can cut the top off a 20 oz. plastic soda bottle and make a shield, much like a hand blender has. The tool fits down into the top of the bottle opening perfectly. Using an "up & down" motion while blending works best. If you want to blend cat food, this will not work very well with "flaked" wet food, but if you shred as much of the cat food by hand and add a little liquid before blending with this tool, it might be okay. Overall, it will not be completely pureed, but if you are working with "stew", it comes close (see photos). Someone could make a lot of money if they manufactured a tiny hand blender just for the purpose of using with pet food like this! The other mixing tools are great as well. I have used the attachments to stir powdered drink mixes, collagen powder, MCT Oil into my coffee -- - they interchange very well so it is a solid kitchen tool that is 100% worth the price. I have used it everyday for a month now and still running good on the first set of batteries I put in it. Reviewers complained that there is no instructions as to which way the batteries are installed, so I included a photo of how to install. WARNING: Keep the sharp blending tool away from children and be careful when cleaning it if it is still attached - - - if you accidentally press the "ON" when cleaning and your fingers are in the way, it could definitely do some damage.

I was surprised at how well this worked. It does very well mixing my powdered supplements.

2nd UPDATE 11/3/25 Back to 1 STAR: Well, as much as I learned to enjoy and trust this little mixer for daily use for many months, it didn't last a year. The introductory price I paid was just $5.95, so I was not too surprised or upset. I tried to get along with other methods of mixing protein powder into water, but I was spoiled and wanted another one! I couldn't get it through Amazon, so I ordered the same item through Walmart. That one was more than twice the cost, as expected, BUT it was more cheaply made. The on-off button that is built into the battery cover, is so poorly made that once I press it to start the little motor, it stays depressed when I lift my finger off of it and continues to run until I use two hands to pull up the end of that on:off/battery cover to stop make it stop! It sometimes starts up when I just pick it up! I don't think it is defective. It just seems poorly made with poor quality control. I will be returning it and never will buy this brand of mini mixer again. Not recommended at all now. I didn't get one day's usage out of this second one! UPDATE 2/25/2025 To 5 STARS: Since my sturdier-appearing whipper was inoperable, I have been using this much lighter version by another mfr. To my great surprise, I LOVE how much lighter it is. I use it several times each day, and until now, I never realized how much difference several ounces can make in a tool so often used! The little thing seems well-made, and it can handle very thick protein smoothies. If a smoothie is too thick for it, I've found it's really too thick for me to enjoy drinking so I add a little water. So, no problem there! It's given me no problems at all, so I'm giving it 5 stars this time. Each time I reach for this little whipper gadget, I am amazed by how little it weighs and can't help but smile bc it is SO much easier it is to use than my older one. And it does just as good a job, too! It no longer seems cheaply made to me either. I have been using it for months now and can highly recommend buying this item. ORIGINAL 1 STAR REVIEW: This item is much lighter and REALLY cheaply made compared to the robust "Fit&Fresh" one I am trying to replace now after wearing it out over several years of daily use in smoothies. It's made from such thin plastic, I can't even get the battery cover off to try it out! The cover literally COLLAPSES when I press down on it hard enough on the ridges to grip and then slide it back and off to load the batteries. I actually just found it will come off, but not easily and ONLY IF I use a very thin (sharp!) knife tip pressed down against the ridges on the cover and then use that tip to push/slide that flimsy cover backwards and off. It will hold 2 AA batteries, IF YOU CAN JAM THEM IN! It's not clear which way they should be inserted bc the contacts don't look familiar. I guessed right the first time, though, and it seems to work well. I just don't know how I'm going to ever get them out when they need to be replaced without tearing up the plastic with another type (not so sharp!) of knife tip. It took brute force to push them in straight bc the battery holder box is just too small. No wiggle room at all!! The on-off button is actually just a thin piece of plastic that extends off of the front end of that battery cover. It turns the unit on by pressing down on it, like a diving board first is jumped on will go downward and then bounce back up to rest. Turning it off is the same movement. The "diving board" tab is always at rest in its "up" position while it runs and also while it's off. You need to keep your thumb on it to keep it running. What concerns me is how to keep that open slot under that on-off tab clean. It's very easy to splash something onto that area and would be very hard to clean later! I know from using my similar one that it is very important to have a durable on-off switch. This one just has a long, thin piece of plastic with an opening below it to enable it to bounce up and down. Never seen anything so cheaply designed, although they did give its upper surface an ergonomic curve to hold the thumb in place on it. (That does feel good!) So, honestly, I recommend spending a little more to buy a better stirrer than this one. You will definitely get only what you pay for with this one. So, expect problems! It costs very little, so it is nothing more than a throw-away item. It will never hold up to mix anything into a smoothie, day after day, which is what my other one did with ease, even when its batteries were kinda low. Hope I can find another! Would pay $12-15 for it if it was made as well.

This little “whipper” is great, after one day of use. It is better than a whipping “frother”. This new one has the power and speed to mix my 2 scoops of powder protein shake mix with ease. I will need to adjust to the shorter mixing wand length (only 4 inches), but it is worth the compromise. It’s easy to assemble the attachments, cleans with ease, and a no-brainer to use.

Performs as expected and my expectations were pretty low LOL! But for the price and my use case it's OK. Very limited power but does the minimum of what I need it for since I am mixing tiny quantities of powdered mica and oil. Box arrived open in the Amazon packaging envelope (so no tape sealing the box) and THE STIRRER IS MISSING. Given the number of times people have noted that the stirrer is missing, this is DEFINITELY NOT a one-off "accident"... Battery placement is either one way or the other so not hard to figure out if you are familiar with using AA batteries but the design is not great or very intuitive but not rocket science so you can figure it out.

I searched for "battery whisk mixer" and liked the cheapest $9 one so much I got another for my granddaughter who loves to froth up her almond milk, fruit juice, or whatever she's drinking. I only ever use the all-metal whisk which is fairly sturdy and doesn't froth up my coffee much. The other attachments tend to wobble but froth up any liquid in seconds and batteries last a year for me with occasional use. For a daily whisk or two, they'll last months. These mixers are delicate in that you don't want to bend the whisk rod or attachment shaft or it'll spin off center and make a mess of spatter. They're very fast; my rough guess is at least 2000 rpm. Couple or three seconds usually. Pick it up, mix, rinse under faucet, shake dry and put away in like ten or fifteen seconds. Mix superfine powders into cold liquids instantly, like matcha, cocoa, food starch, gravy, whipped cream, nutritional drinks; emulsify sauces and mayos. Aerate fine wine in the glass in the blink of an eye. Completely safe and convenient, unlike immersion blenders. Works pretty well up to at least a pint of liquid. Super quiet and both kid-friendly and kid-magnetic. Switch must be held down, but usually for only a few seconds so no hardship. Start with roughly equal amounts of powder and liquid, and once it's evenly wetted, added liquid incorporates almost instantly. Or just dump it all together and after a few additional seconds it's lump-free liquid.

I've had several of these now (the first two were identical design but different brand), and they last about 5 years. Not bad for under $10 these days. When time to replace the unit, it'll suddenly seem weak even with fresh batteries. The attachments are a very snug fit, so you may want to decide on a favorite and not remove it unless your needs change. It's easy to quickly hand wash the business end without detaching from the mixer. Do not immerse the end containing the batteries. *The all-metal attachment is surprisingly good for frothing. The photo shows about ½" head of foam; it started with ¾". If you prefer to mix without foaming, try the plastic pincer attachment. The split one works just as well but is harder to wash. The "egg beater" attachment is pretty much useless in my experience. *Really powerful for just two AA batteries. I tried making a single serving of homemade pudding, and it had no problem beating out lumps as the pudding started to thicken. Handles protein powder like a champ; leave about ⅓ of the container depth to avoid overflow during mixing. The main con with the item is the touchy power "switch." Not a true switch; just a plastic flap that presses a contact into position. Soon as batteries were installed, it turned on. That was easily fixed by bending the contact very slightly, so that it doesn't touch the unit while in the Off position. That being said, I actually prefer this design for several reasons: first, it's almost impossible for it to fail unless the metal contact breaks, which has never happened to me. Second, it's very easy to "pulse" your mixing, which you can't do with a slide switch. Third, when you release the item, it's completely OFF. This is important if you have carpal tunnel and drop things often. A slide switch would continue to run if dropped; not a plus in my opinion, so I'm glad this isn't a true switch. The only other con, also easily fixed, is the batteries being difficult to remove. I'm fine with pressing them in firmly to install, but it doesn't come with a battery removal ribbon and can be a struggle without. Cut a small ribbon slightly longer than twice the depth of the battery compartment, leaving just enough extra to grab both ends. Install batteries on top, leaving the ends visible. Fold over the ribbon ends before closing the cover; problem solved. Very powerful and functional compact unit that fits any cup easily for mixing without having to transfer liquids. Only minor drawbacks.