Testing a $180 Smart Cutting Board Set 

There is ZERO chance those UV lights are sanitizing the whole boards. UV light doesnt like to bounce off non-reflective surfaces, so you need direct exposure, and having tiny lights at the bottom wont do that. At $180 I expected there to be lights going up the separator panels between each board. This thing is a scam.

If a cutting board were actually scratch proof, wouldn't that be awful? Wouldn't that mean the board is stronger than whatever the knife is made from meaning that you're horribly messing up the blade instantly on use?

Would have interesting to see the paper slice test after using the knives. Getting a knife sharp is easy, having the knife retain sharpness over time is the issue.

Gotta respect his commitment to these videos...he does no sponsored content, doesn't beg for donations, and spends his own money half of the time knowing he is buying something he won't keep using, all to give us the review we deserve. That my friends is what a RU-vidr should be. *EDIT* Due to idiots in the comments, allow me to clarify something. Making money on these videos has no bearing WHATSOEVER on the fact he does no sponsored content or beg for donations. He makes the money regardless of the content of his review, whereas sponsored content has a way of getting us untrue or misleading reviews from people simply to keep their sponsor happy. The money he DOES make is partially spent on these items out of his own pocket so the reviews remain honest, and if you can't respect that, you shouldn't be here.

You should've used the blacklight to see how sanitary it really is

I have one big question: Is it even needed? Soap and hot water have done the job for a very long time. Also, using cutting boards and knives that are too small both increase the risk of injury. Combining two weaknesses makes that risk even higher.

I appreciate how you always mention that you wash things before testing them, and that you actually read the directions. Makes me trust your reviews!

UV light is not visible to the naked eye, so the blue lights might not be indicative of its strength. There’s a weird check for UV-C (if that’s what they’re claiming). UV meters can’t fit in the slots but there are cards that you can get, mainly used to test sunglass protection. However, the UV light needs to bathe all the surfaces for it to be effective and those cutting boards are opaque.

I doubt that that UV LED light does anything. Judging by purple glow and size it looks like typical 5mm LED diode which is usually between 395-400NM wavelength(UVA). For disinfection you need wavelengths between 180-280NM(UVC) which usually glows blue. I wonder if you would perform proper test for that, what would the result be?

The whole point of the cutting board is to protect your tabletop surface, and if you have an impervious cutting board then you are dulling your blades with each cut. You should be thankful for the marks

Great review as usual. However this certainly seems overpriced and unnecessary considering you could just as easily buy a few inexpensive cutting boards (assuming you already have a decent set of knives!) and sanitize them in your dishwasher, and if you can afford $180 for this product, chances are good that you also have a good dishwasher! Having said that, if I win it, I'll use it!

I think the UV light is a solution in search of a problem. I put my cutting boards in the dishwasher. And the UV light thing takes up counter space.

For 180 bucks, I want a knife big enough to cut a regular sized apple. Pass. Thank you for doing this for us! Love your channel!

Thanks for taking the $180 hit to test this out. I am most curious about the usefulness of the UV feature with the boards lined up/close together. I initially thought the uv would sanitize.

I have a suggestion. Put $180 in the bank, place 4 regular cutting boards in the dishwasher and turn it on as usual. No bacteria is going to resist that hot water and detergent and no need to pre-wash.

I saw the price, and wondered, what could possibly be smart about 180 buckaroos for cutting boards and cheap knives?

I'm pretty sure that UV light is not disinfecting much in that box. I have worked with UV lights in a virology laboratory. The UV wavelenght cannot have anything obstructing the object that needs disinfecting. Having multiple items in such a small place, there is no way all will be disinfected. Plus, the best UV light should be a UVC light for best disinfecting. Those kind of lights are very expensive, $10000 up to $100000. The expensive ones I'm talking about are found virology labs and in hospitals. A person needs to be trained to use them properly, in the wrong hands it can be very damaging to eyes and skin. For this product the high price makes you think your getting a quality product, but sadly you are just being ripped off. Your better off just cleaning it with soap and water and letting it dry. If you get too many cuts in the boards over time, I would just throw them away. So save your money on this product!!!

Before I put my glasses on, I thought it was a game system 😮 lol

would be interesting to do a swab test to see if that uv actually did anything

I love a follow up video with some swabs of board that's been sanitized vs hand washed. Let it grow in some agar and see how clean it really gets things

Reviews like this would really benefit from some testing of the product's headline feature. Testing to see if the lights are UV-C or the much more common (but useless for sterilization) UV-A or UV-B would have been a big improvement to the review, and it only would have cost you a couple of dollars.

A gadget with a cord to take up counter space. Thanks for showing us.

Love all your content, so well done!

Scratch marks on the cutting board is what you want to see, because it means the board isn't destroying the knife's edge.

$180? That's called taking one for the team. It looks like a Fisher Price toy cutting board with the color coded cartoonish tabs.

How about testing the Nutriblade from Granite Stone, there is no way they take the abuse from the commercial and still last. They also claim they are the last blade you will ever buy, but charge 29.95 for 6.

You should do a video on reusable ice. Like a comparison of the stone, metal, plastic liquid filled, etc. see which ones cool the best, which last, and the pros and cons of each type…

This is one item I don't think we need lol love the video though

The amount of times you said “very sharp” 😂 love it

Thank you for another excellent review. I really like this idea. Is there a way to test if the UV did its job?

Regarding the UV light, UV is called "blacklight" because it is generally outside the visible range. So, the fact that it was dim is expected. I suggest testing it by inserting a "glow in the dark" object and seeing it the UV makes it glow.

I love feeling like a rebel every time using the fish board to cut bread :)

"its a very sharp knife" My brother in christ, its a newly bought knife

Would have been nice to see it during a "real world" test - area... Meaning, on a kitchen counter to see how it slides etc... Great video, but I like it when you test items in the proper setting, thanks James.

A couple cutting boards and my set of knives and I'm good. I put my stuff in the dishwasher anyway. Thank you for the great review!

❤❤❤another video🎉 thank you keep up the hard work !

James, this one is a return, what a rip. I would be upset at 60.00 Great review as always!❤

I feel it is way overpriced but a great review. Thanks.

Great review. Thank you for testing out the product.👍👍

Well, glass keeps winning that race. Best cutting board I've ever had.

As someone who cooks very often, I would not buy this and cannot recommend it. Those knives are not tall enough, so if you chop, your knuckles will hit the cutring board. Any cheap steel can be razor sharp when new. Longevity of edge retention is what matters. Plastic cutting boards can be okay, but wood is much better. The purposes that they give to the knives are just for selling, but impractical. If you wanna get a good start and don't want to spend much, heres what I recommend: A Mercer chef knife at about $20. A Mercer offset bread knife for about $13. You may want an offset knife for bread because it prevents your knuckles from hitting the board. Last, a Mercer paring knife for about $12. The steel on those is great for most and can be sharpened easily. One of those pull through handheld sharpeners is sufficient for most people and you can get them around $10. Check out Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and especially HomeGoods for a teak cutting board. Teak is inexpensive, but very pleasant to cut on. Unlike other wood cutting boards, it has a resin that keeps it from needing to be oiled. Also, it is naturally antibacterial. Make sure to get a cuttingboard that does not have a glossy or very smooth surface. Those can be dangerous and very unpleasant to use. Also, Acacia is what you will typically find, but I do not recommend. It is too hard of a surface even for good knives. It also seems like it has more tension so it grips the blade when you cut.

⁠If the boards were “scratch proof” that would mean the blades were taking damage instead of the board. The problem with wood cutting boards is that thy are porous. This means that bacteria can hide in them even when they are washed. And washing and sanitizing (getting the temperature high enough) destroys wood cutting boards. This is why they make disposable bamboo cutting boards. Given my options I’d use these… if… 1) bigger 2) change the paring knife to the Santuko knife used for bread/hot foods. Make the bread/hot foods knife serrated. 3) have UV lights (of the correct frequency) pointed at the surfaces of the cutting boards AND knives, not just the bottom of the boards. As the boards are too small, it needs different knives, and sanitizing the whole board needs to be a thing, I appreciate you demonstrating the shortcomings of this system. I’d spend $175 on a set of kitchen knives, and then buy disposable bamboo cutting boards. Then I never have to worry about bacteria in the cutting board and I always have the right knife for the job. In my system I can replace parts. I wonder how easy that is to do with this “system?”

For that price they better chop my food automatically 😂

Honestly, the design and colors makes it look more like a child's playset than an actual cooking set.

Thank you for your videos.

😄 my wife is way cheap than i am.. but $180.00 is alot to pay. We bought some good quality Germany made knives with block to store them in, and what they cost didn't even come close to what you reviewed on. The knives we have don't need to be sharpened until 2 years. But the company recommends that after they are washed they need to be dried very well. As you mentioned, I'm sure there's people who are willing to pay the $180.00 for the stylish look and features. Thank you for the review also 👍

I had to rewind cause I thought you said welcome back everything lol but no it read just you never said one lol it goes welcome back every today 😂 thanks for the great video 🎉❤

You Rock James.❤❤ Please put this product in your "Dumber than Dumb" file! 🤪🤔🙄

If the cutting boards are banged up from regular use can you buy just the boards as a replacement? Or do you need to rebuy the whole set?

The system by itself has a lot of pluses - storage, coding with pictures AND standard colors, mostly excellent knives (I question the veg one) and the "cooked food/bread" board to prevent contaminating food you're about to serve. The size of the boards are a minus, and I would not depend on either the drying or the sanitizing features - use disinfecting solution and air dry for safety, plus the storage takes up valuable counter real estate (I keep my cutting boards behind my faucets and my knives in a cutting block in a drawer.) I'm a professionally trained cook who keeps strictly kosher, so color coding is everything.

Not to make this compliment sound rude, but your knife skillz have definitely improved! Good stuff

For 180 i want the boards to at least be very durable to not getting cut

Our man has improved his cutting techniques. Good job, sir

Would love to see a swab test after the UV

Your video is better than the entire set of knives and boards. They missed the mark on that one, but people will definitely fall for it.

Making it my goal to re watch every video and like each one ! Doing good so far !

I'll stick to my bamboo cutting broad and Ulu knife.

i like how the "cooked" foods board has raised sections. That will help warm breads, etc, from going soggy on the bottom

Seems like a novel way to avoid cross-contamination of food, so that’s nice.

It doesn’t seem to do much. We sharpen our knives regularly. I can put everything in the dishwasher and have it be sanitized and dry. I don’t need a separate machine for that. I have 2 good cutting boards, that work for everything. It’s just a gimmick to me.

I got this for my mom for Mother's Day and she hats it

not even gonna watch the video bc i know i'll be disappointed but these look like vr game props LMAOO

Smart...cutting board. Putting this in the "more money than sense" barrel

Take a shot every time he references the knife being sharp

If anyone's complaining about scratches on a cutting board, there are two options: A. The board is softer than the knife, so it gets scratch marks. B. The board is at least as hard as the knife, so it damages the knife edge quickly. Yeah, I'd rather go with A.

I have 2 -3 knives and 1 cutting board that I got from Dollar General and use them for everything.

No way I believe I will ever need a $180 cutting board with matching knives!

Unless it's a gift, you know anybody spending $180 on cutting boards already has a decent knife set.

i think 180 for some fancy chopping boards is a little overkill honestly, you can get a decent set of knives and a few boards for less than half the price, im curious who the product is even for lol, great review as always

1. Ultraviolet light is not in the visible spectrum. Generally UV disinfecting products are a sham. However, you can't judge a UV light visually. 2. Your cutting board should get scratches. This means that the cutting board is softer than the knife. If you don't see scratches after using it, that means it's harder than your knife and is dulling your knife very quickly.

Send that UV thing to Big Clive so he can take it to bits and see if that's the right kind of UV for sanitization purposes. Great video!

It's weird how good he's reviewing...

thanks for the awesome review, what I'm wondering is : what do you do with all that paper after testing lol

Your Technique when cutting the Cucumber was excellent, good job curling your fingers in

An hour to dry for $180 or a quick swipe with a dish towel?😂

I run my cutting board through the dishwasher, i figure that's sanitized enough

Clicked the video thinking this was a while ago but 48 seconds ago o.o LETS GO! Love your content!

I recall on Hotel Hell, G-Ram (I call him that, what, you DON'T?) had a bacteria "detector" thingy tricorder unit he would pass over surfaces to gross out the audience. I'd LOVE to see how much nastiness gets left behind on those cutting boards after those UV lights, I bet those things couldn't cure a $3 Aliexpress gel nail manicure let alone kill that much bacteria ;)

In case you missed it, the knives are indeed very sharp

This seems like you're just buying the gimick of the UV sanitizer. Knives seem to be sharp enough out of the box, but I'd be surprised if they hold their edge with any regular usage. I do have to say though, the grater-esque but on the veggie cutting board does look like it'd be useful when making garlic or wasabi paste

Yeah... looks like a nice set and all, but as for UV claims... if you are going to do more of those James, perhaps it's worth getting an UV test card/sheet or something similar, with strength indicator to know if it's really strong enough for sterilization. The thing about UV is that it's faked in so many products people generally don't have a clue how it actually looks like. Most of these led based purple things that several products have are fake, they don't emit strong enough UV to do anything, sometimes it's not even UV at all. :P I don't personally know of any led based UV lights that have enough power to sterilize anything, but I'm not really up to date on this, so perhaps there are some that work. But guaranteed to have a sterilizing effect, it's usually CFL or fluorescent tube shaped. They glow a pale blue light which you should never look directly into... :P

Great concept but I don’t think it’s very necessary. It would be interesting to test the bacteria on it before then after to see how effective that dim light works lol

fish doesn't need its own board lol

Looks like a Fisher Price toy

They’re brand new knives they better be sharp! But how long do they maintain their edge?

Im surprised with all this it isnt "smart" with wifi lol

Swab them. I work in food processing as QA and we swab the work areas once a week for bacterias. I will buy a set and tell you if they actually do anything

That chicken was drier than my dm's 💀

multi taskers are the bane of a kitchen

It looks like a children’s kitchen set for playtime 🗿

A cutting board that scratches up isn't a bad thing. I'd rather the cutting board get scratched than the blade get dull.

Was the camera you used able to detect ultraviolet light? Anything you can see coming from one of those is light that ISN'T ultraviolet, so it could simply be a very efficient light.

"i can't see the uv light" says man who is clearly not an insect

Does it come with a free Easy Bake oven with purchase? Lol 😆 Happy Wednesday James 🎉

I was under the impression that they're were meant for different protein, but watching further it thats and plus more, good concept tho, but I definitely see room for improvement tho Great review 👍

If you leave the board and the knives out side the unit they will definitely be dry after 60 minutes 😂

Most gems that harm us only live on surfaces for about 2 hours. So another half hour and it's basically already sanitary, even without the light.

I'm pretty sure that if you left the cutting boards in a dish rack for 60-90 minutes, they'd be dry.

Eugh. Takes up so much space and looks like something from a child's play set. It's like - THE - perfect gift to give to someone you hate.

The Khardasian of Khutting Bhoards 🤣🤣