Cheaply made, not well thought out components, not a hygienic design. But does it chop? Yes, very well! The pros: The base unit seems well built, if a bit light. The suction cups on the base are a nice touch on surfaces that will work. The three speed selector is a nice bit of simplicity. Three speeds, it's all you need on a blender. The cons: What non-cooking, non-cleaning, microwave only cooking, pre-packed meal preparing idiot engineer committee came up with the carafe, lid and chopper/mixer design? They are all but impossible to successfully clean! Our previous blender, what it lacked in power and mixing, made up for it at least in disassembly and cleaning. That unit had a heavy glass carafe that could be disassembled. The base, spinner and gaskets could be unscrewed from the bottom and the lid also taken apart so the individual components could be cleaned. The carafe itself was a heavy glass that went into the dishwasher, no problem. The Ninja's is a poly-carbonate material that I question its durability. It is all press molded fittings that can not be disassembled for cleaning. The mixer/blade array, while very efficient at it's job, has a deep inset for the drive shaft that defies thorough cleaning. And the lid? I almost want to toss the whole unit because of the nooks and crannies preventing a thorough cleaning. The accompanying photos I hope will show what I mean. My spouse is a neat-freak, germaphobe so despite her obsession with cleaning she can't get this device as clean as it ought to be for food processing. What to look for is the thin discolorations and buildup in the photos where you can see it is impossible to get at. These are production seams on the carafe and along the blade base edges the user can not truly clean up. It is unfortunate because the Ninja is a great mixer as far as power and mixing. Things that would make it better. 1) Flat bottom, sealed lid. Food splashes on a flat surface, easy to clean. 2) A glass carafe with the base mountings that can be twisted off, leaving all parts easily exposed for cleaning. 3) The blade/mix array over-molded so the blades do not meet the plastic shaft at 90 degrees, making a tough cleaning surface. Imagine a 45 degree slope or concave surface around the blade bases and the shaft. Just a small one, maybe an 1/8 of an inch. But enough to make food easily removable. Not a good buy.