Vita Mix blender or another brand
 

[B]does anyone know if there is another brand of mixer that would be the equivalent of a Vita Mix ?

Just trying to get the job done with a cheaper unit.[/B]

From my research recently along similar lines, the answer is no. Vitamix is the best, hands down.

I bought a Ninja. The full size, not the mini. It's AWESOME. $99, and almost as good. I base this opinion on my MIL's Vitamix, which she sent back in favor of a Ninja.

She said it was better, but not 5x better.

I find it makes great "snow" for margaritas. This is, truthfully, what I use it for most of the time. It's also nice for smoothies and cold soups.

I've heard that Blendtec is equal to, or possible a step above the Vitamix, but no break in the price. I bought/invested in a Vitamix 15 years ago, still working great.

Vitamix covers alot more on warranty than blendtec provides including shipping both ways at their cost. Blendtec does not provide near as much in warranty. I had a Ninja, but bought a Vitamix and the difference in smoothies is far better for me. There are no pieces of greens left and it is really smooth.

If you buy the Vitamix at Bed Bath and Beyond and use the 20% off coupon you will save $100 on it.

BBB also sells the Blendtec and a coupon could be use on it as well.

I think it depends on what you plan to do with it. If you make smoothies every day, it's worth the $- if something happened to mine and it couldn't be repaired I'd buy another one asap. Great tip on the BB&B coupon- I was able to get mine 6 years ago at cost through a friend who had a business at the time but that wouldn't be an option if I ever have to get another one. Many people have had theirs forever, though.

kath

Great info, Rockporter, I wasn't aware of the warranty issue.

You can also get a refurbished one directly from Vitamix for a lower price and I believe it comes fully warranted as well. I don't believe it has as long a warranty as a new one either and I think it is about $400 so buying a new one with a coupon is much better.
The new Culinary Institute one is a real nice one and it comes with two recipe books with fantastic recipes.
[URL="http://www.vitamix.com"]www.vitamix.com[/URL]

[URL]http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17007599[/URL] Vitamix CIA

[QUOTE=Rockporter;357282]Vitamix covers alot more on warranty than blendtec provides including shipping both ways at their cost. Blendtec does not provide near as much in warranty. I had a Ninja, but bought a Vitamix and the difference in smoothies is far better for me. There are no pieces of greens left and it is really smooth.

If you buy the Vitamix at Bed Bath and Beyond and use the 20% off coupon you will save $100 on it.[/QUOTE]

Blendtec recently changed their warranty to include freight and added a 7 year warranty to the jars that are bought with the blender. If you buy a jar separately it's only a 3 year warranty... The warranty is pretty much the same for each now.

Either one is great. I bought the Blendtec at Costco because it came with some extra stuff and was cheaper.

I think I should tell you how it went down for me at BBB. I went in knowing I was getting a Vitamix or a Blendtec. I knew a Vitamix and I had seen Blendtec at the Sams Club a few months ago.

The sales associate at BBB was very knowledgeable about each of the blenders on the shelf there. He told me about the Blendtec having presets and if you wanted your smoothie smoother you would need to set it one more time or pulse it. He then told me three restuarants in the neighborhood that used them.

He then told me about the Vitamix and how you had more control over what you did with your blender and also told me three restaurants that used them in town.

I then asked if he had a choice which one would he go for and why?

He told me that the smoothies from each were very comparable, but that for longevity he would go with a Vitamix and he also told me about the warranty.

If you do a search on reviews for the blendtec and the Vitamix, there are some comparisons out there it cleary states the Vitamix is far better for the warranty but if you wanted the machine to do it all for you the Blendtec would be the way to go. The warrantly would cover far less though on the Blendtec and they do not pay for shipping both ways like Vitamix does.

Vitamix is also made in the USA, so jobs for americans.
It looks like Blendtec is made in USA as well, more jobs for americans.

Here is one of the comparisons I was speaking of.
[URL]http://simplegreensmoothies.com/blendtec-vs-vitamix[/URL]

[QUOTE=floyd242;357293]Blendtec recently changed their warranty to include freight and added a 7 year warranty to the jars that are bought with the blender. If you buy a jar separately it's only a 3 year warranty... The warranty is pretty much the same for each now.

Either one is great. I bought the Blendtec at Costco because it came with some extra stuff and was cheaper.[/QUOTE]

Ahh, good to know this, what coverage do they provide on the full unit?

[QUOTE=Rockporter;357295]Ahh, good to know this, what coverage do they provide on the full unit?[/QUOTE]


[url]http://www.blendtec.com/blog/2013/03/27/blendtecs-7-year-warranty-what-you-need-to-know/[/url]

Also if you buy it at Costco the Blendtec has an 8 year warranty.

Extremely happy with my full size Ninja blender. I also use it for smoothies and margaritas.

We love our Ninja - got it at Costco at a great price.

We were really annoyed and offended at how Whole Foods pushed the Vita Mix at us for the Engine 2 challenge we attended there - it felt much more like an info-merial than an informative course.

My view (but I am very cynical/skeptical about ANYTHING that is highly advertised or pushed) - you are paying for the promotions more than anything else. Sure I is probably a fine machine, but worth such a premium over the Ninja? Nope.

and some of the claims they make for how it "releases this or that" with it's superior blades is, to this scientist, hogwash.

I got a Vitamix about a month ago and absolutely love it. I did get the one with the grain container at Costco.com because they had the best price and free shipping. I make a green smoothie every morning now, and I always include some frozen tomatoes (had too many in the freezer from last Summer)...