Others say...

"Nicely sliced"
Lyndee Bee is right. I don't know what kind of slicer the one-star reviewer used before, but it must have been amazing to slam the Zyliss so badly.

To Lyndee's positive review, I can only add a couple of things. I can't even imagine how much sideways or twisting force it would take to "derail" the guide. The guide is a long, heavy plastic piece with a "C" profile that engages the track slots top and bottom.

I also like the fact that there are guide slots on both sides, so whether you're a lefty or righty you can put the guard on the side you want it.

I have medium-sized hands, and I find the pusher piece perfectly comfortable - and if it were smaller, the one-star poster would be griping about having to cut everything up to get it to fit into the guard tube. As it is, you can comfortably get a decent sized potato in there.

I also don't understand how you can get to the point that you're randomly jamming in the inserts into their storage box to the point that you're bending things. Friendly household tip - don't force things. Plus, there's no real need to have more than one insert out at a time anyway - they are clearly labeled in such a way that you only have to slide them out of the holder a half inch and you can see exactly which insert you've got.

And it's perfectly simple to store this upright. Slide the insert box onto the guide rails so that the open end is facing the tall end of the slicer. Then slide the guard onto the rail from the top. Put the pusher piece into the food tube from the underside, lower the guard and slide it up against the inserts - the edge of the guard will slip between a couple of the inserts. At that point, you can store it sitting on the flat end of the insert box, or hang it by the tall legs from a pot rack, which is where mine is right now.

I also don't understand where the blade risk is when properly stored. First, as Lyndee points out, storing a few inches of razor in dark places is probably not the best idea. But if you've stored it properly, you'll notice something. The thickest insert (mine says 7mm, roughly 1/4 inch) is longer than the other inserts. They made it that way for a reason. This is the insert you clip in to store the slicer, and it underhangs the blades quite safely. With the insert box covering the blade from the top, and the long insert covering the blade from the bottom, you'd have to be seriously talented and determined to touch the blade edge.

This is a good unit - the only reason I gave it 4.49 stars is that it's a plastic unit, and there are metal ones for a comparable price. On the flip side - the plastic seem strong enough, and in two years of routine use, mine still works like new.

"Almost returned it!"
Based on the poor reviews I almost returned this unused! Glad I didn't. Once I downloaded the manuals and saw the complexity of the other brands and that everyone who owned a Swissmar Borner cut themselves... I decided to try this one myself. Some of the complaints are the safe guards against "the hard to use other brands" and the dangerous Borner. The Zyliss is very easy to use, very easy to clean and to store. Though I took the warnings from the instructions not to throw the parts with blades in the dishwasher as they may become dulled. Anyone who appreciates their cutlery never uses the dishwasher! I made the best oven baked potato chips the first night I had it. I do recommend it. It is less expensive than the Oxo and much easier and safer to use.

"Good intentions"
I'm surprised to see the all or nothing reviews; it makes me wonder if the production line produces some better than others!

I received this as a birthday gift a couple of years ago and have been dissappointed from the first use. While I love that it has so many options and features, I hate that they don't work very well.
The V-blade was sharp, but not in the right places? I was blown away by its lack of cutting through some of the sturdier vegetables like carrots and beets at times.

I actually now spend the extra time in cutting my vegetables instead of using this product because of the hassle it causes. That was my cue to start looking for a better mandoline.

"Second time's the charm!"
I recently purchased the OXO-Good Grips Mandoline and was utterly dissapointed. I returned it, looking for the Boerner slicer instead, however, I couldn't find it anywhere.

I settled for the Zyliss slicer and couldn't be happier. I tried to cut everything that the Good Grips slicer mutilated, and it works like a champ. The only reason I don't give this 5 stars is that the thickness isn't always consistent, but it really isn't that big of a detraction. And the julienne blades are phenomenal.

I am very very pleased with my purchase. Especially for the price.

"great for the general user"
I received this as a christmas gift from a friend who knows how much I dislike mundane slicing tasks. I like to dehydrate fruits in my dehydrator so I do a lot of slicing. This mandoline is great for home users that are okay with slight variation in thickness, if you cooking demands precise perfect slicting, look elsewhere, but for me to have a few milimeters of variation is just fine. It had made short work of tomatoes, carrots, apples, and bannanas so far for me, and the julienne blades work nicely for quick chopping onions. I also really like tha the blade insersts all store in a convient rack that attackes tot eh mandoline for easy storage and everything is top rack dishwasher safe.