Yeah, even $300 (or frankly, anything over $0, since we already have a blender) is outside of my blender price range. Since our blender primarily sits in the cupboard 99% of the time, and only comes out for margarita parties and soup batch cooking days.
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Iām a fan of my OmniBlender, which I have put side-to-side next to a friendās Vitamix and found identically capable in the green smoothie department. Owner Thomas answers the phone himself and has convincing arguments that his blender is the equal to the overpriced Vitamix. Plus, it has a 7-year warranty and is only $269.
[I have no financial or other connection to OmniBlend.]
Since moving to a stick blender for soup the regular one only gets involved for margarita partiesā¦
The WoodChipper of Blenders? Did you miss the WillItBlend Videos? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM94aorYVS4 I have never seen the Vitamix blend anything but normal, food items.
We have a stick blender as well, which we bought primarily for making baby food. We tried using it for soup a couple times, but found that it just wasnāt as efficient as our crappy regular one. Though, both kinda suck for it, which is why we donāt make soup very often, I donāt think we could consume enough soup to justify buying one of these crazy fancy ones. 
I know, right? It really is totally hilarious! Itās like sometimes a machine does some stuff but then someone else figures out a different way to do that stuff and and, like, some people totally prefer it and others, likeā¦ donāt. Hilarious.
Itās not magic eh. Stuff gets stuck in all sorts of things they shouldnāt. The difference here, as I see it, is that the Blendtec is designed not to get stuck (though as you brilliantly point out, it can.), while the Vitamix expects stuff to get stuck and gives you a stick (a safe canāt-reach-the-blades stick) to keep things moving. A totally acceptable solution but my preference is for designs that attempt to solve an existing problems while improving the overall performance. Blendtec does this and it seems to me like Vitamix is playing catch-up.
Consider too that the Blendtec has a more powerful motor, is smaller and quieter (a bit) and while they generally have similar pricing, the Blendtec gets a better warranty. Besides, I only ever found a great deal on the Blendtec. If they had had a great deal on Vitamix instead, Iād be talking about that one right now. Theyāre both great. Still, I have tried both (sister is a Vitamixer) and I prefer the Blentec.
A nice comparison: http://www.blenderbabes.com/blender-babes-101/blender-reviews/blendtec-vs-vitamix/
From what I can tell with relatively cursory website checks, every machine mentioned here has a plastic jar. BPA free copolymer they may be, but I think Iāll stick with my veteran Oster with its heavy, solid (and incontrovertibly food-safe) glass jar.
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Itās a gushing review for a product that wraps up with an affiliate link, thus creating a financial incentive for the reviewer. Sure looks like an advertorial from here.
I bought a 5000 from Costco many years ago and love it. I generally make smoothies in it with as little liquid as possible. 130 grams greek yogurt (that I made myself), 130 grams pomegranate juice, 30 grams hemp hearts, and 260 grams frozen fruits, generally strawberries and bananas. No extra ice. Granted hemp hearts are not a very tough seed, but Iāve never seen one survive intact. And in a disturbingly short amount of time it liquifies frozen solid strawberries.
And if you get the container with dry mix blades (which alone costs as much as most blenders) you can make things like flour. Say, almond flour. I made coconut butter once, epic fail with food processor and vitamix wet container, tremendous success with the dry container.
Costco sells the 5200 for $375 year round now it seems. Every few months they show up with the 6300 for $500, and more importantly for me, the dry container for $100 (it actually goes for $144 elsewhere)
The main difference for $125 is 3 pre-programmed settings, frozen desserts, hot soup, or smoothies. Now, I generally donāt run my smoothies as long as the 6300 does, but I did buy really wide straws to deal with that resulting thickness.
As the owner of a 5000, I really would love to have a pulse functionā¦but I get by.
And a link to the online costco 5200 bundle, $375 Viatamix + $100 dry container + $25 included shipping
No affiliate stuff on that link, or go to costco.com and search vitamix, itās only thing they sell online as of right now.
Thanks, do you know a good place to get a recon online?
We have a Blendtec (from Costco) and love it. We use it almost every day for green smoothies and fruit smoothies. It handles carrots, kale, ice, frozen fruit, etc. Weāve had KitchenAid and NutriBullet blenders before, but they never lasted long, or developed leaks. Donāt have to worry about the Blendtec! (I assume Vitamix is similar) Plus it came with an 8-year warranty and extra container.
I decided to try an experiment with making ginger ale with honey instead of sugar (Iāve made it with sugar before). Need to grate a lot of ginger, gave the grating blades on my food processor a chance, it grated some, but left a lot of stringy fiber behind. Threw all of it into the vitamix and gave it a whirl. It didnāt like the lack of liquid and eventually pushed the ginger to the corners. It was about 1/2lb of ginger, peeled. So I added about a cup of the honey and tried again. There was not a trace of anything fibrous left behind, it left a smooth mixture.
Iāve seen the stringy bits left behind by other blenders, try 1/2lb of ginger and a cup of honey in your blender and see what happens.
Whether you use a Vitamix or Blendtec, commercial grade blenders are worth the money as long as you use them. Some of the things I make on a regular basis: smoothies (with kale- processes so smooth), salsa (I can it in the summer when my garden is in), tomato sauce, applesauce, sorbet / ice cream, almond butter, coleslaw, salad dressing (using raspberries I grow), alfredo sauce, soup, and some mean margaritas.
I just donāt like eating food filled with preservatives. I bought one for my son and they make their own baby food : )
We just got sick of taking hot unblended soup and putting it in a blender in batches to then put it into another vessel. One $30 stick blender later and Iām doing to shedload fewer dishes.
Most people will have no need for a blender like the Vitamix (or Blendtec). But for others, it does things that no other blender will do, every day, and without burning out. For them, it is a worthwhile investment with a lifetime of payback (your machine paying you back, starting with day one). I bought my Vitamix after my old trusty blender burned out a year ago and I love it every time I use it.
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