blendtec blenders


 
T

TroyRedington

TVWBB All-Star
I've been using a blendtec at work to make dessert smoothies and shakes for a year or two now and i absolutely LOVE it.

Lately though, i realized i can make healthy smoothies (without ice cream or frozen yogurt).
I've been eating healthier smoothies for breakfast and an afternoon snack. They're about 250 calories, but they keep me FULL for hours.

I'm contemplating buying one for at home, but the price tag is a tough sell with the wife.

Anyone own a blendtec or a vitamix blender?
If not, what do you have and how is it?
 
I love my blendtec. I think I use it 1-2 times every day of the week. I have had several blenders and (Breville, others) they always break down over time. I am brutal to blenders. I put in frozen fruit and juice and let it fly. It sounds like concrete is being recycled, but the end result is awesome.

So I would say get the blendtec. I bought mine at costco, and it came with a 7 year warranty. I registered it online the second I got home, because they way I abuse it, I dont know if its going to make it, and I plan on using that fantastic warranty.
 
My wife and I have a Vitamix 5000, same as the current 5200 model w/out rubber on the control knobs and a slightly different lid design. We received it free from a family member. Were we to buy it at retail price I would have probably balked at the price but knowing what we know now I would absolutely make it a priority to get.

We have used it literally every single day since we got it this spring. Every morning we make a fruit smoothie with a host of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. We often add fresh spinach which will make it turn green but it does not taste like spinach at all. The thing is incredible for soups (can boil it over time from just friction heat), sauces, ice-cream, etc.

Bottom line, both the Vitamix and Blendtec blenders are commercial-grade units with very powerful motors (11.5 amp and 13 amp respectively. I consider it as having a "boat motor.") Both have their fans and there are some advantages to each. The Vitamix has more manual control (flip dials and variable speed dial) and the Blendtec is pre-programmed push-buttom control. The Vitamix has a multi-part lid with a tamper to push the food around when it, like all blenders inevitably cavitates with an air pocket. The Blendtec has a more square jar with a different blade design that, as I understand it, pushes the food more up and out versus down in the whirlpool. While the Blendtec design may cavitate less and doesn't have or need a tamper as much, it can struggle maybe a little more with some applications which really can use the tamper. The Vitamix can be set and will run about forever at that speed unless you somehow overheat the motor and the Blendtec has settings which will shut down at the end of the cycle. The Vitamix is a taller unit/base and the Blendtec is shorter. The Vitamix jar is primarily designed for "wet" use while and the Blendtec jar can grind grains as well. I think that the Vitamix scores a little better on duability, but that's just from what I read but both are solid units.

If you are considering one I would check their respective websites to see when they have a show at a place like Costco. The best prices are at shows like Costco, Costco has a great return policy and you'll get free samples with the opportunity to ask any/all questions. Please feel free to ask me any questions about a Vitamix, how we use it, etc.
 
Good link & good price for a Vitamix. FYI, if you buy one at Costco during a show you can get it new for that same price, at least from what I've seen.

Edit/correction - the reconditioned model w/out the softgrip container is cheaper than Costco's prices.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TroyRedington:
i've never been to a costco - what's a 'show'? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good question. Besides the plethora of products & services that Costco normally carries they have various vendors who come in to pitch their wares for a limited time. In the case of this blender I have also seen it on their regular shelves at times but when a Vitamix demonstrator is there during a show the package is a little better for the same price with a larger blender jar (64 vs 48 oz), included cookbook, etc.

But Costco isn't the only place to see this thing in action. Whole Foods often demonstrates them (w/ a little higher prices than Costco) since these blenders appeal to organic/rawfood/healthnut crowd (perhaps a slightly different demographic than here) and they show up in various housewares shows. A list of places to see it can be found here: http://www.vitamix.com/household/shows/

Again, these things are pricey but they are great to use. Last night we added 1 cup half and half, 1 lb of frozen mango, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract...blend it up and mash around with the tamper = 4 cups ice cream in less than 30 seconds. (The frozen fruit freezes it all up)
 
i'm pretty much sold on the blendtec

i think the vitamix is great, but for what i'll be using it for i think the blendtec will serve me better

time to find a deal on one i guess!
 
I decided that the Vitamix and Blendtec were just to rich my blood just to make smoothies, so I ended up with a Ninja blender that does great and is only 60 bucks or so. I figure if it lasts a year or 2 I'm money ahead since it's main main purpose is mixing smoothies and cold drinks. I did not pay the price shown on the ninja site. Lowes has it for $60.

ninja
 
Troy,going with the unit you already know makes sense. Curious to hear what you start making with it.

The Ninja has good reviews on Amazon and seems good for the price. But stay away from that Montel Williams "healthmaster." Has horrible reviews and is really badly designed.
 
I compared for about 2 months and chose the vitamix. A friend had the vitamix and I went to several Blendtec showings.

My purchase happened at the State Fair of Texas. Got the 5300 deluxe package, a 32oz dry container (very similar to the Blendtec container), the flexible cutting boards and spatulas for less than the 5300 deluxe package on the Vitamix web site. My buddy ended up purchasing the "demo" unit after the fair for a further discount.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Don Hilliard:
I decided that the Vitamix and Blendtec were just to rich my blood just to make smoothies, so I ended up with a Ninja blender that does great and is only 60 bucks or so. I figure if it lasts a year or 2 I'm money ahead since it's main main purpose is mixing smoothies and cold drinks. I did not pay the price shown on the ninja site. Lowes has it for $60.

ninja </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. I have the Ninja NJ600 and love it. Have had it for right at a year and it gets used at least 3-4 times a week for smoothies and often times once or twice every day. Haven't found anything it won't blend and does a very good job of making thick smoothies which I am a big fan of. My old blender had to have so much liquid in order to blend that I just didn't enjoy the smoothies it would put out. I've never tried a blendtech, and I'm sure with the price difference it is better built than the ninja but for the amount of savings I can't imagine you would be disappointed with the ninja unless you wanted to blend golf balls and other stuff on a daily basis, lol. I've never seen these kinds of ratings for anything online before.
On google shopping the Ninja NJ600 has 52 reviews, Nearly all of them 5 stars, a few 4 stars and a single one star review. Hard to beat that.
 
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