Everyone says 'you get what you pay for' - and that's not always true. You usually either get more or less than you pay for - and if I'm honest in my experience paying a little less, especially for kitchen items, you get a little less.

I'm in the kitchen a lot at home and work, and I know the importance of reliability as well as how itis important something does the job its designed for. I'm usually more than happy, after a little research, to pay a little more for something if I know it will last and can withstand the impending abuse I'm going to hopefully spend the next few years inflicting. I was delighted when they build a Poundland round the corner from my house - tons of bits and bobs at a great price. I was gutted after everything from there I have ever bought has let me down. Tongues snapped. Timers that don't time. Blunt knives.

So, I don't like to spend and I see the merit in spending a little more. Thats why last when shopping I saw this great little hand mixer at a pretty decent £12.99. I read they did a value mixer at £4.99, but nothing in sight. They had a few branded ones ranging upto £25, but this was the cheapest and looked fine. It had the attachments we wanted and was within our price range. If they had the value one I would have still opted for this, its almost twice the price but had the look and feel of a much more premium product. Its matt black and silver, 300w has 5 speeds and comes with interchangeable whisks and dough hooks.

We wanted a hand mixed because we make lots of bread and cakes. Its something we both insist on as we both love cooking and its great fun. When we have time off together we often cook and bake and over the past year or so been slowly building up the gadgets and gizmos for the kitchen. A hand mixer is a little bit of a late addition mainly due to the fact we both love kneading bread by hand mixing up cakes ourselves. We agreed to pick up a cheap mixer when we saw one and had the money as it mixing by machine save a little time and effort - and as with ever busying lifestyles we thought it time. When we saw this it was a no brainer. We love Sainsburys - feel genuine value for money when we shop their and as a result have built up a real affiliation and brand loyalty. We wen't to our local Morrisons tonight (its closer and were in a rush) and the are having a refurb. The signs out side say 'please accept our apologies while we improve your store', as soon as we read that my girlfriend said 'are they building a Sainsburys?'

This mixer has not broken tradition with the great value for money we have grown to expect from Sainsbury - it simply does is job and it does it well. Something like this, a future staple of the kitchen - I don't want anything more. The first time we cracked it out last week was to make a lemon drizzle cake and mixing by hand squeezed down the preparing time by about 10 minutes - and also resulted in a better cake. Cakes need air, and mixing by machine fills you mixture with more air than by hand. So you not only get a quicker cake but a better one too. For me, mixing by machine leaves you with a more premium product when cook - it just tastes more professional. You also eliminate lumps in the mix giving a much nicer cake - and with a mixer you get more consistently good results.

The first thing you notice is it has a nice weight. Not too heavy but heavy enough. A hand mixer should have a little weight to unsure its sits more firmly in your hand and the mixing bowl - to help maintain a stead mix. No one want batter all over the kitchen wall. It has five setting and the thing you will notice is even the first setting is quiet violent - you almost worry that setting 5 will start to drill through the work top - its ok though as once its running if feels easy to control.

For me though its the dough hook I love, if not for the fact its cleaner and quicker to mix like this than by hand. Mixing dough by hand is messy, and doing this saves time mixing and cleaning the kitchen. I'll be making much more bread simply due to the fact I own this and don't have to take into the mess. Its mixed quickly in the bowl with me touching it at all.

Next to the speed control is a little trigger to release the attachment. Its really easy and quick and makes cleaning a breeze. Once your done mixing, click off rinse and your done. 20 seconds max. You might have a little mix on the blender itself but has a nice smooth finish underside so just wipe clean. Its not cordless which some may find a pain - but not me. Plugging something like this in is not a hassle and the difference between £12.99 and £30. It just makes sense to go for the cheaper option.

It feels like a product that will last. Its sturdy and robust. The controls are not fiddly or small and its super simple to use. There is nothing to dislike about this, and just add to the belief I have Sainsbury is a great value supermarket. I assume other supermarkets have similar products, but this feels like a premium product at a really good price.