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Getting It Right the First Time: Hands-On Review of the Ultimate Spatula
Add this new acronym to your phrase book: GIR, or Get It Right. For their very first product, the designers at GIR have cooked up what they're calling the Ultimate Spatula, a single piece of molded silicone that's easy to hold, easy to clean and can handle food temperatures up to 460 degrees. You'd think by now someone would have been able to nail spatula design, but most spatulas available to consumers have a number of flaws. For example, a spatula made from multiple parts, including a head, handle and grip, means there's at least three extra joints for food gunk to get stuck in. Metal handles get too hot; wooden handles have to be hand washed. The GIR spatula, however, is made from a single piece of silicone molded over a nylon reinforcement that runs through the entire body, ending just 5cm from the tip, lending the blade enough structure to mix heavy, wet ingredients while retaining the flexibility to run it flush against the inside of bowls, dishes and cookware.
To see if the GIR spatula really was "the best spatula you've ever used," we road-tested it in a variety of dishes and temperatures. At first we were skeptical that the blade wasn't thin enough at the tip to scrape the bowl clean, but after using it in dense, wet cookie dough, hot, sticky oatmeal and a greased frying pan for flipping our eggs over easy, we found the tip was able to run between the food and the cooking equipment seamlessly. We bent the blade back with the palm of our hands, used it in an impromptu kitchen sword fight and ran it through the dishwasher, where we were sure the heat would mangle its pristine silicone body, but it emerged from our endurance test without a scratch. Consider us convinced.
GIR's Kickstarter goal has already been met two-and-a-half times over, but you can still donate $20 and preorder your Ultimate Spatula in one of ten colors.
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Comments
@Jean Biche
Ali-Baba? Seriously?
The previous reply acknowledges there are other silicone designs, but that they've tried to improve on them. Likewise, for almost any product you can think of, there are plenty of cheap, mass-produced versions. Doesn't mean they're all the same quality.
Besides, the links you posted don't look identical at all--the shapes are visibly different. I'm going to give the reviewers the benefit of the doubt, since they actually tried this particular model in person.
Exact same curves, same construction and even same hole design with a chamfer treatment !!! , some people do really take others for dumb customers, Get it right :) but i guess if you are ready to spend 24 $ for a 30 cents product , i mean it would be the same without the GIR logo on it .. Get it right or Grab it there...
good luck with your futur line of product , hope people will check out the authenticity of your CREATIONS before wasting their money in the ultimate spatula :)
check it out :
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/590526242/silicone_rubber_cake_spatula/showimage.html
or here ..
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/590617694/rubber_spatula_with_long_handle/showimage.html
Bio compatible! Women don't want this shit in their bodies and neither do I, guess you don't mind it in yours!?
If you do get one, let us know what you think! Open to criticism and improvement :)
@Luke
464*F is a fairly conservative estimate on our part. It'll probably do fine higher than that -- certainly, it won't melt or go up in smoke. It may discolor around 550-570*F or so, with prolonged exposure.
Interestingly, food-grade silicone products that claim higher heat resistance are citing results of thermogravometric analysis (TGA) tests conducted in inert N2 atmosphere. The presence of oxygen (like, in earth-bound kitchens) will typically cause partial oxidation above 300*C (572*F) -- so that's about where degradation (or technically, "weight loss" as a result of depolymerization) will start to occur.
Silicone cooking tools that claim resistance to temps like 600* or 650*F are basing that on conditions that really can't occur outside a lab. Great for marketing perhaps, but not so good if you actually want to know the product's limits for performing on a hot pan or wok! We're super comfortable saying 464*F for prolonged exposure. Truth is, you could take it higher if you're willing to test the limits, with some risk of discoloration if you're too bold and it hangs around at 550*+ for too long. Just don't stick it in the fire ;)
I could understand not wanting a nylon or polypropylene spatula -- the results aren't very nice when the pan gets too hot -- but silicone? Are you serious? It's one of the most inert and biocompatible materials available to designers.
@every other critic
Design isn't solely about aesthetics. If all you can do is make a bunch of pretty sketches, you're a shit designer. So this spatula doesn't push the envelope in terms of form or visual appeal. So what? Let's see if it delivers on its functional promises before making a judgement, shall we?
@Samantha
How well does the silicone you chose hold up above 464 degrees F? I ask because I sear my food at much higher temperatures than that from time to time.
I feel that in much of contemporary design there is a notion that things were not up to par or too inconvenient before (enter product name) came around, but honestly people have been getting along fine with whatever is available. I mean, hell, I used a mangled and melted spatula as a child and it got that cookie dough off the bowl like no other!
There are also different tools for different applications, and even a small apartment and kitchen has enough room for a spatula, wooden spoon, tongs, and flipper. Also, hand wash your shit. Don't be lazy. It takes a second!
And while I'm at it, when will we stop being excited about crowd sourcing? There have been things for centuries that have been supported by the masses that have not always been good ideas.
I totally respect everyone's opinion, and simply wanted to share a couple notes about our spatula to give you a better sense of where we're coming from and why it really is unique.
Sure, there are other all-silicone spatulas out there. But if you use them (and we bought dozens and tried them all, including the ones mentioned), you'll notice some major flaws, from too-floppy blades to metal cores that act as heat sinks and get pretty hot when they're left on the stove. MG's design, and the ones at Home Outfitters, fall prey to the first issue. And we love Chefn's products in general, but the Switchit is super different from our Spatula (at least, in the narrow realm of Spatula-land), and honestly didn't have a role in inspiring or influencing our design. It has a metal core, a somewhat uncomfortable handle for long-term use, and... broke. We read a lot of similar stories about ones that had broken in the same place, right where the metal core meets the blade, so it wasn't just a one-time defect. Major bummer - and no, we didn't break it on purpose!
With all that in mind, one of the things we made a priority in designing our spatula was the creation of a strong but flexible blade that could withstand a lot of punishment - and heat - in the kitchen. It's not just about the silicone, even though that's important. It's about all the little considerations that went into making our version materially different than anything we'd seen before.
If you want to give it a shot yourself, check it out on Kickstarter. If you get one in December and hate it, I will personally refund your pledge, write you an apology note, and replace any batches of cookies or sauteed veggies that were put in harm's way during the formation of your opinion. That's a promise.
You're being silly.
It looks pretty similar to Chef'n All-around champ:
http://www.chefn.com/Product.aspx?id=143
Perhaps this is the new hipster model that goes with those plastic covered ray bans.
Eric : What do you use to brush your teeth ?, where do you get your research on plastic safety ?
K
I'm honestly starting to have doubts in Core77 as a valid source for good design.
This Spatula is a joke. Its been done. Infact I saw an entire set at Homeoutfitters, and for half the price!!
there must be something else going on to have put this review up... a friend? a paid review?