Dubbed under the term “True Triblade”, the first few hand blenders utilizing the Triblade technology was probably under the HB680 series range. It was a revolutionary idea back then, particularly because the simplicity of having just one button to use the device was what distinguished the hand blender from other food processors. Not only that, these hand blenders were relatively efficient, where the requirements of mixing and blending ingredients were taken to task with little to no effort at all. Save for a turbo button, the HB680 series range under Kenwood made virtually any liquid-based food processing a breeze.
With the ease of use, also comes a design that is meant for comfortable usage. Not only the HB680 series, but almost all the other Kenwood hand blenders were made with this in mind. Ensuring a firm grip is of necessity for any user, and every hand blender under this brand has a silicone handle (called a SureGrip handle). Hence, even slippery fingers will have no problems with grasping it.
As it is desirable for functionality, this range of appliances are also easy to clean. Any accompanying plastic and metal attachments can be plugged off, rinsed under water, then reattached back on once more without much fuss. Or, if you don’t like cleaning it that way, you could also run them through the dishwasher (apart from the device itself, of course).
One more thing about this series of Kenwood hand blenders is storage space. Standing at a height of merely 34.5 cm (or just barely over 1′ 1″), you could just wrap the cord around it and place it virtually anywhere in the kitchen – be it a drawer, cabinet or on a tabletop for ease of access. Needless to say, you will have more room in your kitchen in comparison to having to store a conventional food processor instead.
With a price range of £25-£45 (or $40-$70), making a small investment out of such a simple device will yield relatively long-term results. So instead of buying, lugging around and having to find some room to store a heavy food processor that can only perform a couple of functions, why not get a Kenwood hand blender that can perform all the above and more? Of course, as with all Kenwood products nowadays, you could always get your basic year-long warranty.
Though there are only a couple of hand blenders in this series, they are more than capable of doing the job, regardless of which you choose. They are:
HB 680
The most basic of the lot, this is the hand blender that spear-headed the uniqueness of Kenwood’s products in current times. Don’t be fooled by the plastic frame of the blending wand attachment, as there are stainless steel blades beneath it. Substantially more powerful than most other similar-looking hand blenders, it uses a 450-watt motor that can perform 5 separate tasks. Thrown in together with it is usually a slottable 0.5 L plastic beaker. It is considered to be one of the lightest hand blenders around, since it weighs less than a quarter of a kilo (0.74 kg, to be exact).
HB 682
Seeing the success of the HB680, Kenwood decided to improve upon the initial design of it, and introduced its successor (pardon the pun), the HB682. Instead of the usual plastic wand attachment, consumers were taken aback by the metal coating of the wand, giving the HB682 a more polished and professional look. With the metal reinforcement, the number of functions on this model was doubled to 10. Of course, in this case, a slottable 0.5 L chopper attachment was included instead (made out of plastic though). The added amount of metal increases the total weight to 1.18 kg, though this has not hindered users, rather it improved stability of the device when functioning.