Review on Hamilton Beach Waffle Stix Maker by Nick Nunez

This is a very good product for the price. I was able to sell this waffle maker for less than $8. Plus an additional $17 and free shipping. What offer. Anyway, I checked it out because the waffle stick feature looked very interesting. I have a three year old (now) and bought it mainly for her (and for me of course). I've used it a few times and the waffles turned out great. I think I may have made mistakes by not using a measuring cup. I pour out the batter and measure by eye. And of course that's bad. Too little and the batter won't rise enough to brown the other side. Too much and it will ooze out the sides. I learned my lesson when I once poured TOO much and it just came out and kept pouring. So much so that he fell on the back of the car and shorted out the heating elements. I had to take everything apart to clean it and put it back in order. This gave me the opportunity to see how it was put together. It's very simple, so I don't understand why another similar machine can cost more than $50. At least I don't see the need to buy another car that would cost a lot more. So now I measure accurately and get good waffles. The chopsticks are great for my 3 year old daughter who can hold a chopstick and eat great. And I also like it because I can have a bite-sized snack. The only thing I don't like is the unforgiving nature of the waffle maker. I think all waffle makers are the same, if you don't put in the right amount of batter you won't get good waffles. If they added some sort of overflow protection, that would make this waffle maker perfect. Highly recommended. ===========================================Update 12/16 / 2012 - 7 years later. I just decided to have some fun and do an update. I still have that waffle maker which I still use regularly 2 or 3 times a month for weekend breakfasts. My daughter is 10 now and my son is 3-1/2 and they still love waffle sticks. My son lets me carry it to get the waffle maker from the closet because he wants waffle sticks. I've used a few different waffle and pancake mixes over the years and each has responded differently. It's just a matter of entering the exact amount you need. Too much and everything runs out. Too little and you have a mutated waffle. I learned how to "flip" waffles halfway through cooking to evenly brown both sides. Knowing all this, the waffle maker will serve you for a long time. I had to take it apart once (too much batter ran in and caused a short circuit), it was a simple design so it was easy to fix, but it's simple and effective.