GEFU Spirelli Spiral Slicer (13460)

I used to have an OXO julienne peeler and thought it did an OK job of julienning items. The teeth on that product got bent and I found it did find with the hard, outside flesh of a zucchini or squash, but not as well with the softer, seedy centers. Then someone decided it should be used as a potato peeler and it never worked right again. So I bought the GEFU Spirelli Spiral Cutter.Provided you buy 'skinnier' produce (1-2.5" diameter) items, this product works great. Keep the veggie very upright (you don't need to press the veggie up against the whole length of the cutting blade) and it will produce a lovely, long string of jullienned veggie. Zucchini and squash are a great pasta substitute. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very pretty when roasted in the oven with a little oil, salt & pepper. I even have good success with carrots and cucumbers.For the safety conscious: I don't use the hand guard for most of the process. I tried it when the veggie got pretty small, but didn't have much success with it. When I can't spin the veggie anymore, I dice the rest and call it good.The obvious con, if you're an efficiency expert, is that there is a center core of about .25-0.5" that is waste if you choose not to dice it and cook it up as well; and the end nub of the veggie is also "waste" or diceable because it's just hard to push the whole veggie down the V shape.It comes clean mostly by running water over it. I do use a toothpick for the pesky bits that choose to hold on too tight. This item is small, easy to use, clean and store. I don't really understand user complaints of not knowing how to use it or "cheap" materials. Mine has worked fine for over 6 months with regular use. Julienning really doesn't get easier than this...

Update after many uses:I have used this a number of times for zucchini pasta and salad spirals, works great for that! It does not work great on carrots or potatoes. While trying to spiral carrots a piece of the black plastic at the grating blades broke off. I will admit I tried the "Veggeti" and this one is better than that one! That is why I am upgrading to 3 stars. I also tried a table top version which I honest though wasted more than it made. I will continue using the Spirelli for zucchini, squash and cucumbers, but I have to say it is limited to what it can spiral.Original review:not bad for occasional use, but plastic is not built for harder vegetables like raw carrots. Does spiral cucumbers and parsnips well, but only in the middle of the blade. The top that has teeth to grip the top of a vegetable in order to spin with you hands is not very good. I have cut myself on this. I say go for the table top spiraler.

We have only used this spiralizer three times but it works great and thought I should add my two cents...It is VERY easy to use. It doesn't need directions. Insert the carrot or zucchini/courgette into the spiralizer just as you would insert a pencil into a pencil sharpener. Put it straight in and not along the side with cutter. It will get to the cutter after you give it a couple of turns.I don't find the cap very useful and don't stick your fingers inside of the unit because the blades are REALLY sharp. When it gets down to the end of the vegetable and there's not enough sticking out, I stick a fork into the end and then, grasping the fork tines close to the veggie, I continue turning and end up with just a little nub of the carrot or whatever left. I either pop this leftover into my mouth, cut it up, or set it aside for a different use... No problem.Besides this little nub, you will also have the core. This is about the size of a pencil. Either take a knife to it lengthwise to cut it into fine strips or use it as is... There's nothing to complain about except some folks think they must...Something like this Corn On the Cob holder/skewer would work much better than a fork 12pc Large Corn-on-the-Cob Holders Skewers and I will add this to my next Amazon order.Another plus is that it takes up very little of our limited kitchen space.We are very happy with our Gefu Spirelli Spiral Cutter.==> UPDATE: The corn cob skeweres didn't work as well as expected (the 2 prongs were just not strong enough) so I'll just use a small fork in the end of the carrot when it gets down too far for my fingers. Don't use the fork handle to twist the veggie... Grasp the fork as close to the veggie as possible so not to induce "wobble" as Black Adder would say!