Bought a Hawaiian ice machine first. After freezing ice in their ice molds all day, I finally was able to make snowcone that evening. However, I soon discovered the machine came in broken. The motor would not turn. So disappointed. Then I discovered that the Company wanted me to pay for shipping their broken merchandise back to them for a refund. Anyway, saw this one and thought it looked sturdy and it used regular ice why not. It cost me $20 more than the Hawaiian product, but if it worked - than it would be worth it. Wow, was it worth it !!!!!! Wont ever go back to a cheap plastic snow cone machine again. This thing is built like a beast and works like one too !!!! Uses regular ice right out of my freezer door. Shaves it too snow like quality in just seconds (not ice chunks like the plastic ones). So easy to use. My 7 year old can do it with supervision of course. Take a red solo cup, fill with ice from freezer door and shave it. Ice shaves into bowl. Scoop ice up into cup from bowl. Add syrup and you have one great snow cone. And unlike those cheap plastic machines, no need too wait before doing it again. Made 8 big snowcones back to back. I'm sure this would function well for any kind of back yard get together/birthday parties. Yes, it makes a small mess, but dosent all snow cone machines. After all your shaving ice cubes into snowballs. I put mine on a drying Matt. Works great for keeping the mess down. The whole thing is stainless, but weighs only 9lbs. Easy to move around. The bottom has a plastic covering as not to rust out its feet. Easy to clean, just wipe it out. It is kinda bulky to store, but so far I've just kept it on my counter as I've used it everyday. I love this this beast!!!!!