I have owned several slow cookers. I currently use the Hamilton Beach brand Stay & Go model as it has mtal handles spot-welded to the frame. I had a Rival Crock Pot and was set to take a crock-full of chicken noodle soup to a pot luck. I got to the joining space between my kitchen and living room when one of the plastic handles snapped off, spilling scalding-hot soup all over my carpet. Fortunately, no one was burned. But my soup was ruined, my slow cooker was shattered and my living room was a mess. I also have a G.E. slow cooker that has plastic handles. One of them cracked as well. Fortunately, I had just begun to lift it from the counter when the crack appeared. Needless to say, it still works, but doesn't go anywhere.
The Hamilton Beach version also has snap on holders to secure the lid, with a rubber membane on the lit edges to prevent spills while traveling. I know this sounds like a comercial, but it isn't, and I have no financial interest in Hamilton Beach. But his cooking vessel has worked very well for me, carrying a full-to-the-brim load of soups, chili's, and other assorted meals to various functions.
There's my two-cents worth of advice.
Seeeeeeya' Goodweed of the North