Mixers?

Hey everyone,

Does anyone have any recommendation for good brands for mixers?  I'm still reeling from the sticker shock of the KitchenAid brands (I'm love the Pioneer Woman blog, and she's always doing giveaways, and I just never win)..but wow, are they expensive.  I don't want to waste money on something cheap that will fall apart, but I definitely don't want to spend the KitchenAid prices!

A standing mixer or a hand mixer? I love my KitchenAid standing mixer, but I have friends who have Magimix ones that are supposed to be good too - and, I think, less expensive.

Kenwood has a good reputation.
Doug

Standing - thanks!  I'll check those two brands out. 

Scratch my suggestion. Magimixes are more like Cuisinarts than mixers. Sorry!

I think Kitchenaids are totally worth the price, but I can understand your hesitation.  I still don't have one (I had one years ago with my ex and he took it with him) and really want one, but I just can't handle the price right now. 

I ADORE my kitchenaid mixer, its worth the money as it looks great, and it works great! It will last forever in my opinion.

I've used the same Kitchen Aid in the US for years over 30 years.  They are the absolute best.  I would still go for the Kitchen Aid even though it's expensive; think of it as an investment.  One suggestion--check the watts on any mixer that you purchase.  The more watts, the more power, and you will want power when you mix!  

I think I'll invest when I go back home - I think we'll only be here a couple of more years, so I am thinking of an inbetweenie mixer that is good and it'll last frequent use (I do that sort of cooking at least a couple of times a week), but I would be afraid with the different outlets/currents to try to ship a nice one back home for fear of not being able to use it.