Blumotion review

[Jamie Buxton]

Blum’s Tandem drawer slides have been my favorite for years, so I’ve been curious about Blumotion. I’ve recently used it for a kitchen, so I have basis for an opinion. The short version is that I don’t think it is worth the cost. A longer version follows.


Blumotion is actually two products: Blumotion for drawers, and Blumotion for doors. They’re both based on a oil-filled cylinder which damps motion. That is, the cylinder offers little resistance to slow motions, but lots of resistance to fast motions. In the door product, the damper catches the door in the last ½” of travel before the door closes, and eases the door closed without slamming. In the drawer product, the damper is used in conjuction with a spring. In the last 1 ½” of motion, the damper slows the drawer, while the spring pulls it closed. The result is almost an auto-close feature; the drawer closes slowly by itself after you’ve taken your hand away.


Blumotion for doors costs about $3 per door. Blumotion for drawers costs about $8 per drawer, and that’s in addition to the $25 or so that the basic Tandem slide costs.


My alternative to Blumotion for doors is little rubber bumpers. Doors go “thump” when you close them, which is fine. And my alternative to Blumotion for drawers is to use regular Tandem slides. They self-close very well; in fact, that’s one of their advantages over their competitors.

[Per Swenson]

Thank you Jamie,

We were looking at those and procrastinated.

Sometimes thats a good thing.

Per

[Alan Simpson]

You never really explained why you think they are not worth the money. :confused:


FWIW... Customers generally love them. THEY are the ones who determine if they are worth it or not. If they decide that they are... then great. I get to charge more. :D

[Frank Snyder]

Hey Jamie,

We spent the extra $ for Blumotion on both our kitchen doors and drawers. IMO, they are worth the extra $. You'll be amazed at how quiet it'll make your kitchen. Before, my wife would get up before me in the morning (she's up at 5am) and she would wake me with the cabinet doors and drawers slamming shut. Now, I don't hear a thing. If your bedroom isn't within earshot of your kitchen, then this may not be a benefit to you, but ours is. Blum now has their Blumotion built into the slides (not an attachment) and they now have their Clip-Top hinges with the Blumotion built into them as well, though I'm not certain you can get them over here just yet (check out their European website). To me, they are worth the extra cost.

[John Hemenway]

I'd have to vote for the Motion. Perhaps you don't have teenagers at home. They only know two options w/ drawers, leave 'em wide open or slam 'em. At least the Motion takes care of one...

[Mark Singer]

I used them in the home I recently built and teally liked them. They are worth the difference IMHO....since the others are expensive also....My $6 Dynaslides are still running smooth.

[rick fulton]

Jamie,

First off I agree that the MSRP for the 21 inch Full-Extension Tandem Blumotion's are more than a bit over the top. But if you buy them in quantity you can find them for under $29 per drawer (at TH&H).

I just installed 28 of these in my kitchen remodel and they passed the most important test of all. SWMBO approves.

rick

[John Kendall]

I have 2 sets of Blumotion drawer slides that I had intended on installing in an existing cabinet drawer hole. I found out that the drawer depth is compromised by the slides taking up the room. Unless I'm reading the prints wrong, an original 4" deep drawer would end up being a little over 2" deep when the Blumotion was replacing the old standard size slide.

If I am wrong, please let me know so I can adjust everything so I can use the slides. I like how smooth and quiet they are.

[John Stevens]

For kitchen drawers, the price difference wouldn't be worth it for me, but it sure was worth it for the chest of drawers I built for A-V media for our living room. What a great sensation when the automatic closing feature kicks in--guests and kids love it.

[Jamie Buxton]

You never really explained why you think they are not worth the money. :confused:



It seems to me that Blumotion is basically a gimmick. It adds little to the functionality, but it does add cost.

Clearly, others posters have other opinions, but this is my take.

[Frank Snyder]

Jamie - I wouldn't call them a gimmick. They do provide a function...they control the speed at which the door/drawer is closed, thus eliminating any possible "slamming" of the door/drawer. If loud, repetitive noises don't bother you, than its purely a subjective opinion as to whether or not they'd be any value to you. I would compare them to the gas cylinder found on screen doors...they keep the door from slamming shut. Is that a gimmick? I certainly wouldn't want a screen door without one. But then again, that is just my opinion. I just wouldn't call either one a gimmick if they provide a function which is of value to someone else.;)

[Bill White]

Our customers LOVE the product. Just show it to 'em, and its sold.
Bill

[Mike Spanbauer]

How about I give one VERY solid argument to installing Blumotion drawers?

I have small children. Have you ever seen how badly pinched their fingers can get from a heavy drawer shutting quickly? These eliminate that issue in my kitchen (doesn't help in the computer room where my 19 month old just smashed his finger this weekend though :( )

Are they a premium product? Yes. Do they work as advertised? Yes. They aren't for everyone and they certainly have a "cool factor" but in some instances, like mine, they are worth every penny.

Tell me that you haven't felt bad when a young child gets his fingers caught in a door that YOU shut and didn't see him?

mike