This is the first Mandoline Slicer I have ever used, so I can't compare it to other ones. But I can say that it works very well and comes in handy for special situations. My favorite use is slicing potatoes for scalloped and au gratin potatoes.Slicing by hand is tedious and hauling out the the food processor and cutting the potatoes to fit into it is a 
pain.Setting up the mandoline is easy and I can make perfectly even slices from a big potato in less than a minute ! We like very thin slices and this mandoline can slice thinner than I could cut by hand. The blade is extremely sharp -- you can even slice tomatoes -- so you have to be very careful and hold whatever you're slicing with the provided handle and not with your fingers.All in all, I can't quite say this is something I can't live without -- but it sure makes several tasks a whole lot easier.