School me on Blenders
 

In the market for a counter top blender. I could go out and just buy a Vitamix or Blendtec, but not sure if I want to spend the $450 to $600 required for one of those machines.

Are there other, more affordable yet dependable options that you guys have experienced. In the $150 to $250 price range? Will probably be used 75% for making soups, 25% for smoothies, milkshakes, etc.

From initial research, seems like most internal components that attach the motor to the base are plastic, which ends up destroying the entire machine.

Been using a ninja one for awhile and love it. Mainly used to blend smoothies. I like that it has 3 sets of blades for a more even blend and not just one at the bottom like most blenders.
Only thing i with it had is a glass pitcher for blending ice. The thing with plastic pitchers is that over time spider cracking may occur from blending ice and frozen fruits etc.

Overall happy with it considering I paid like $100 crim CT.

We had a ninja and it worked great for a while but eventually broke as it was used often for smoothies, so frozen fruit and ice.

Inherited my inlaws 80's vitamix and the thing has worked like a champ for over 5 years since we've had it. If I ever had to buy a new blender I'd spend the extra $ and invest in another vitamix.

I use blendtec stealths at my place. I would suggest not getting blendtecs

Oh? Why is that?

I got a blendtec a year ago from costco and i love it. Had the ninja before and it didnt have the balls to make smoothies wihtout leaving globs of ice or frozen banana in it.
my only complaint with the blendtec is that it is a bit loud, but that baby grinds everything up. I didnt think I would use it as much as I have, but now I use it every other day. Great investment.

Had cheap blenders, they suck. Had a ninja, it was ok. I have a blendtec and its LEAGUES better than a ninja. I could never justify the extra $200 on top of a blendtec to get a vitamix.

Breville.

Have this for 3 years now. Does not disappoint. Blade chomp stuffs like butter. I use it to make smoothie and crushed ice. Occasionally puree sauce.

Hemisphere? Control BBL605XL Blender | Breville

I use my Vitamix everyday. Compared to an older Oster I've had it's night and day in terms of performance. Only issue is that you have to check for the "black speck" issue (I was a lucky one).

vitamix.ca has a sale on their reconditioned units. $320 is a killer deal I'd say. Plus since it's coming from Vitamix, you're almost guaranteed to be receiving their new jar that doesn't release teflon (black specks).

https://www.vitamix.ca/Shop/Certifie...itioned-Series

One thing to note though- these things are LOUD. In the interest of not going deaf from using it every day, I've made it a habit to wear earplugs while making smoothies/soup/sauces. I really suggest doing the same if you care about your hearing and plan on using a blender often.

I bought a refurbished Blendtec from their website 2 years ago and use it almost everyday. Still works like brand new

Refurbished Blenders | Blendtec

i like my blendtec but i'd prob buy a vitamix instead.
it's not a huge deal but sometimes certain items get stuck and unblended in the blendtec, such as frozen strawberries and bananas. again, it's pretty minor as 99% of them get blended, but theres a spot under the blades where these things get stuck a little.

also i'm not sure if the vitamix has the same problem but the blendtec doesnt work unless theres a decent amount of fluid in there. if you're trying to make a small amount of pesto or hollandaise, forget about it.

Yup the liquid has to be above the blades on the vitamix to blend/mix, and even then it feels like it just shoots everything up instead of blending. A hand blender or food processor is much better for smaller batches for sure. That said the new short 64oz jars for Vitamix are worse for smaller batches, so keep that in mind for shopping around.

If Vitamix and Blendtec are out, the Oster Versa 1400W gets a few nods online. I believe Superstore sells it, so if you have a ton of PC Points to blow you can go that route. But I believe MSRP is 299, so the Vitamix is more attractive at that price point imo.

BlendTec is a very reputable company

I spent 3 weeks researching and hunting for the best blender.

It came down to blendtec and vitamix.

We have purchased 3 vitamix. It is the BEST one. Gave 1 to sister and 1 to the gf.

Purchased from Costco for approx $500 each and come with 7 year warranty.

We use the vitamix every single day to make green juice or fruit juice.

I use it commercially so it gets more wear and tear but I do have a stealth which is made for commercial and costs $2000 a piece.

I have 6 of them in total. So far, each one has had to go into repairs for the same issue. From the little I know, the piece that connects the motor to the bottom of the blender isn't made very well and burns out. I then need to drive all the way to Port Coquitlam to get it fixed.

However, I hear that when this issue happens with vitamix "the quiet one" (has the quiet cover like the stealth), it's very easy and cheap to change the part yourself as in unscrew, take it off, screw back in

If you guys are just using for home, I doubt there will be any issues. Costco has the blendtec for $400, or wait for it to go on sale.

I think if you're looking to make soup (i.e. heating liquid in the blender itself, not just blending ingredients followed by cooking on the stove) you'd need at least a Vitamix or Blendtec, I'm not aware of other brands that do that. But I could be wrong.

Personally I think the vitamix soup is overrated, this coming from an owner. You have to run it for several minutes, it's really, really loud, and I prefer chunkier versus completely smooth. Others may not mind though.

Can check out waring too

I recently bought the Blendtech Classic 570 from Costco to replace a 7 year old Hamilton Beach ($100) where the Bushing separated from the plastic drive gear.
I didn't really do a whole lot of research beforehand, it was a case of needing a new blender and seeing them on sale one day while shopping at Costco and just grabbing one.

While the Blendtech is super stout, I don't know if I got $300 worth of extra performance, I don't use it for a whole lot other than smoothies a couple times a week, it's not like it makes them taste any different than the HB did.
Every blender will struggle if you don't put in enough liquid.
I guess, if I never have to buy another blender as long as I live, then I'll consider it worth it. It sure is fucking loud though, like ear damaging loud. Good way to wake the wife up in the morning.

I heard that Vitamix ripped off Blendtec's jar design, and just lost a huge lawsuit to Blendtec over it.

Bought this bad boy for about 20 bucks on sale at CT 4 years ago.
Use it daily. Sure it doesn't make soups and shit, but at that price I could afford to buy a new one yearly and still come out ahead of a Vita/Blendwhatever.

I prefer making my soups in a pot...but I'm old-fashioned like that:fuckyea:

Hamilton Beach Power Elite Multi-Function Ble | Canadian Tire

Thanks for all the comments guys. Don't really care about making soup hot in the blender... gonna do it old school and make it in a pot, and then blend it in the blender to the correct consistency.

I'll look into the Oster Versa. Seems like it is a step down from a Vitamix, but also a couple hundred dollars cheaper, while still delivering solid performance.

Refurbished Vitamix could also be an option. Nice that the warranty fully covers refurbished items. Good peace of mind compared to other brands where I'm sure the hassle isn't even worth it when something breaks.

Vitamix 6300 over here, used it everyday for about 3 years. Constant vegetables and ice cubes, frozen fruits, no probelms at all

my blend tec just burnt out.
probably partially my fault as i was making my smoothie thick and it kept spinning away without blending anything. i had to add liquid several times before it started to blend properly, but after i could smell the motor burning out. Also the sound was a bit off.

Tried it again later and right away i could tell something was wrong.
Fortunately it's only been about 2-3 years since i bought it and it still has 5 years left on the warranty.

Vitamix /thread

Update!

Ended up not having to purchase myself one. The family and my GF went in together and get me a Blendtec 575 for my birthday.

One week into it and really enjoying it. Smoothies are amazing. Did some soup on the weekend. It's loud, but not as loud as I expected it to be based off of peoples opinions.

Does anyone know if you have to register it for the warranty? Or just keep the proof of purchase?

as i said i had a problem with my blender a few weeks ago.
i thought it was the motor, so i filed a warranty claim. i don't think i registered anything when i bought it, but never hurts.
they just asked for the serial on my base unit, and the serial on the jar.

turned out it was an issue with the bearings on the jar, so they sent me a new one and didn't even ask for the old one back. it came in about 7 days and now everything works fine again.