Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This slicer is very difficult to use, especially with any speed. The "food safety holder" is a major pitfall. It's large and unwieldy--and very hard to use with any foods that don't actually fit up inside the center of it. With long veggies like yellow squash or zuccini, you only get 2-3 slices before you hit the holder and the food falls off. You can cut the vegetable into smaller pieces that fit up inside the holder, but this makes long slices impossible. (I like to julienne squash/zuccini lengthwise to substitute for pasta in low-carb cooking.) Once you cut it to fit in the holder, the pieces are too short to use as noodles. I'm sure they added the wide guard for safety purposes, but when the food almost immediately falls off and your hand goes sliding down without it, it's actually more dangerous. There are no tracks to keep it in place on top of the slicer when you're working closer to the blades, or guides to prevent it from slipping sideways. It is also very difficult to keep over a bowl; it has no grips and you have to hold it with one hand and try to slice with the other. It slides around and slips off the bowl rim, which is really dangerous for the fingers. The blades are good and sharp, but because of the holder and lack of grips for staying on the bowl, I can work faster--and safer--with a good sharp chef's knife. UPDATE: 4/19/2011. I mentioned in my originial review that the holder/guard on this product makes it difficult, and maybe even a little dangerous, to use. This morning, it slid sideways and took my hand with it--avulsing the top digit of my pinky finger. I used this product exactly according to the instructions and am an experienced cook, but I had a lot of trouble with the guard sliding around or pulling sideways on the V-shaped blades. I've seen rave reviews for this product, but I found it clumsy and ultimately painful to use. I've contacted amazon and am returning it thanks to their great customer service. Others may have much better luck than I did, but I urge anyone with one of these slicers to handle with extreme care.