Originally published at: Are expensive blenders better than cheaper ones? | Boing Boing
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The only real way to test, surely, is will one of those ‘will it blend?’ blenders can reduce their competition to dust
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I wanted to watch the video but I just woke up and I can’t handle the yelling.
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I get a bunch of use out of my Blendtec. Yes, it has been able to blend anything I tried. But I haven’t tried … The whole bass.
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No Blendtec?
Video is invalid.
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Yeah. That was bad. Guy needs a decent mic and apparently some ear protection for these tests. Very unpleasant.
I have a Vitamix, one of the lower tier. I make smoothies every day and love it. Easy to make what I need and very easy to clean without slicing myself. It doesn’t do great with ice alone, but very few blenders not dedicated to that do. Makes great margaritas tho.
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I use mine the same way. I was lucky enough to get a very good discount on it, though I’d have gladly paid the retail price for it. Longevity is also a factor. I remember AvE did a teardown of one and made some positive comments about the quality of the parts and the build in general.
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I get where you’re coming from on that. But he has one of the, if not the, best review channels out there. He really does put things to the test, many times to destruction. If I’m looking to buy something, I check his reviews.
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That longevity and the warrantee are what tipped me into the Vitamix. I was really pleased with the quality once I got it. I needed a serious work horse and being able to pretty much clean the inside by blending soapy water inside is a huge bonus. Sometimes the ground flax or peanut butter gets stuck to the sides, but a hour soak and it comes right off. The smoothies come out silky too, which a key factor in getting my kid to drink them.
Maybe a cheaper one would work as well? But I am fortunate enough I could splurge for an appliance I literally use every day. Tho I did get a discount
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It was a good breakdown, just irritating to listen to. Which is a pity, because he did do a good job
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came to post this exact post, and I’m a vitamix owner. Blendtec is serious business.
EDIT
Actually, now that I think about it (and watch the video), this is really a ~$100 blender shoot out, with the VitaMix as sort of a “control” example of what a Bad MoFo of a blender can do. So if re-shot, they’d sub the Blendtec for the Vita.
This isn’t going to sell you on a VitaMix; this is going to make you feel good about not dropping an additional $3-400 bucks.
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As a huge fan of my Vitamix, none of this is surprising. Nothing in that ~$100 price range will do as well, although some will get close on some tasks, and that might be good enough for how frequently you’ll use it and what you’re using it for. But if you want something that will reliably handle everything you throw at it and not die after a year, it can be worth the money. I do a lot of veggie purees for Indian cooking, and quite a few recipes have you strain the puree after blending to get out any chunks that the blender missed. After the first few times, I stopped bothering, because it’d chew up absolutely everything into a uniform paste within a minute, so I was just dirtying a strainer for no reason.
And their warranty makes buying a refurb model (which brings the price comparison down into $100ish vs $350) a pretty safe bet. I had a problem with the carafe leaking about six months in, and they sent me a new one (which would have cost almost half of what I paid for the whole thing) after just a couple questions.
Does that mean everyone who wants a blender should buy one? Hell no! But if you’re going to use it a lot, it’s absolutely fantastic at what it does, and it might be worth it, especially if you buy a refurb.
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Others have already reported the better components and more longevity you’d hope to expect from higher-end brands. I’m a long-term heavy-use Vitamix owner. The company has sent me a second carafe and motor base at their expense when I contacted them and reported problems, even after expiration of warranty. I don’t know if Nutribullet and Hamilton Beach provide the same level of post-purchase support, but I doubt it.
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Does any maker produce a blender in the USA other than Vitamix? It seemed like all the others were made in China.
Buying refurbished is a great tip–thanks!
wow, after the expiration?
My spindle top came off during warranty period, so they had me send the base and the blade-container. They shipped back a new blade container,as the old one had “seen some things”
yeah, half the time topline brands (Vitamix, Breville and Le Creuset in particular) don’t even ask when or where I bought it or if it was registered. It never hurts to ask them for help!
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