We put the Slap Chop to the test against a standard kitchen knife and an electronic food processor. Who won the day? Watch this week's savings experiment and find out, plus read the full review below!
The product: Slap Chop The price: One and one "free" for $19.95 plus $7.95 each for shipping and handling, bringing the total to $35.85. The claims: Chop up vegetables, nuts, & fruits, quickly and easily The Buy-o-meter rating:1 out of 5
That headset-wearing guy Vince who is slapping and chopping with great excitement must know some secret trick or have had some kind of special advantage with the food he was using. Maybe it was pre-cut. Who knows? But outside that studio, WalletPop put Slap Chop to the test -- both in a regular kitchen and the kitchen of someone who chops for a living.
The result: not so good. Slap Chop couldn't cut through the outside of a tomato. It left a tomato cut-apart inside while still held together by a cut, but not cut-through skin. Other items on the chopping block, such as an onion -- unlike Vince's experience -- had to be prepped so much for slapping, it was hardly worth the bother of adding another tool to the mix. Slap Chop did work well for chopping nuts in its little cup attachment -- but that was no great advantage over simply putting the nuts in a plastic bag and hitting them a few times with a kitchen hammer or the bottom of a pan, for that matter.
To really put Slap Chop to the ultimate chopping challenge, we brought the contraption to the kitchen of Emma Acevedo, who makes salsa fresh every day at Sol of Mexico, a tortilla shop she owns in Worcester, Mass. The 40-year-old business owner has been making salsa since she was a young girl in Mexico.
Emma put Slap Chop up against her traditional tool, an inexpensive chef's knife (about $15), and a food processor (about $100).
The food processor had one clear advantage over the knife and Slap Chop in the making of salsa -- which involves chopping tomatoes, onions, garlic and cilantro -- speed. Acevedo said when she makes a batch of salsa using 50-60 tomatoes, it can take her 45 minutes to cut and then chop them with her knife. With the food processor, it takes just a few minutes. But the resulting product did not meet her standards. And, she said, customers complained about it.
The reason: The tomatoes became too watery and the cilantro browned after going through the food processor. Watery salsa doesn't taste as good and, Acevedo said, it spoils more quickly.
Using the knife -- an eight-inch chef's knife that is regularly sharpened (she uses an inexpensive manual sharpening tool) -- takes some practice. But Acevedo said in short order anyone can get the hang of chopping and achieve an acceptable speed working with far fewer tomatoes than she does.
Pros: RoboMaid really excels at amusement for animals and young children.
Cons: Its pad does collect dust and pet hair, but just moves around anything else in its path.
Cassandra Hubbart, AOL
Windshield Wonder
Stars: 2 out of 5
Cost: Buy one get one free for $10, but add in $6.99 each for shipping and handling and the price really is $23.98
Claim:"Clean Windshields Without Stretching or Straining," uses tap water instead of cleaners...
Pros: Gets hard to reach spaces, works for mirrors at home and leaves windows streak free.
Cons: The cost of the Windshield Wonder is a little high and you could get the same results from any microfiber cloth.
Cassandra Hubbart, AOL
ShamWow!
Stars: 3 out of 5
Cost: $19.95 + $7.95 P/H on Web site
Claim: It's like a chamois, a towel and a sponge.It holds 12 times its weight in liquid. Easily removes stains, doesn't drip or make a mess, machine washable, lasts 10 years.
Pros: It did the job nicely and the cloth held the water in the fabric. Was not messy. Upheld most of its claims.
Cons: The bold orange and purple colors are not pleasing to the eyes. After use the fabric gets ratty, would be shocked if it lasted 10 years as claimed.
Snuggie
Stars: 1 out of 5
Cost: $19.95 + $7.95 P/H on Web site, but our tester found one for $15 at Walgreens
Claim: The blanket with sleeves keeps you totally warm and gives you the freedom to use your hands.
Pros: It was warm and it was a good conversation starter.
Cons: You overheat after about 5 minutes, and it's so long it's impractical. Your hands and arms get lost in giant wizard sleeves, so movement is actually rather restricted. It's just a backwards robe, so your entire back is exposed -- and not so snug.
Cassandra Hubbart, AOL
Debbie Meyer ColdCuts Bags
Stars: 1 out of 5
Cost: $4.99
Claim: Revolutionary new way to prolong the life of your cold cuts. These incredible bags keep cold cuts fresh for up to fourteen days and are reusable up to 10 times each.
Pros: None
Cons: Tester did not notice much of a prolonged life compared to regular storage bags. Seemed like too much work reusing the bags -- the bags got slimy and were hard to clean.
Pros: Easy to use once pet is used to having nails filed. It eliminates mess of traditional trimming & has quiet motor.
Cons: Requires time and patience to get pet used to it. It was a challenge to keep hyper dog calm long enough to file all nails. Unit head is a little bulky for use on small dogs.
Cassandra Shie, AOL
Mini Power Pods
Stars: 3 out of 5
Cost: $9.99 for 4-pack
Claim: No wiring or AC power needed. Adhesive backing lets you install them instantly, anywhere. Super bright LEDs last up to 50,000 hours.
Pros: The lights are very easy to use and can be stuck just about anywhere; once you stick them they stay put.
Cons: Only three of the four worked out of the pack. The blue tint is a little off-putting, but normal for LED lights.
Cassandra Shie, AOL
EZ Foldz Folding Step Stool
Stars: 5 out of 5
Cost: $14.95
Claim: Unique patented design makes stool extremely stable and sturdy enough to hold up to 300 pounds. Folds less than 2" wide, only weighs about 3 pounds and is easy to carry.
Pros: Works exactly as advertised: Very handy, tucks away in small spaces, easy to carry and raises you up by 9 inches.
Cons: Step on the stool across the bend or it may give way on you.
David Rogowski, AOL
Between the knife, the food processor and Slap Chop, Acevedo said it was no contest. The winner: the $15 knife. Second place, the more expensive, but faster food processor, with a lower quality end product. And in last, Slap Chop, which she found annoying and ineffective and could not justify the $19.95 list price or the nearly $36 actual price tag if you including shipping costs.
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