Kitchen

VitaMix 5200 Countertop Blender

The ultimate blender

At Costco, my wife and I happened upon one of those salesman wearing a headset a-la-Madonna. He was demoing a blender. As we stood and watched, I commented to my wife that all these people were just waiting to try a smoothie; and there was no way this guy would get one of these suckers to pay $350 for a blender. A BLENDER!

But guess who walked out with one? Because of Costco’s liberal return policy, we figured it was worth a shot. So for the next month, we used it…and used it…and used it. Every time, I thought to myself, $350 for a blender!? But man, this thing is an incredible MACHINE.

I once believed that a blender only needed two speeds: Off and High. I was wrong. With ten variable speeds, it makes short work of anything and everything we’ve ever put in it. We use it every single day, often multiple times. The 1380-watt motor surprisingly quiet on low, and a barracuda at high speeds. Clean-up is incredibly quick: Add water, a bit of soap, turn on high for ten seconds, and then rinse and dry.

The 64-ounce Lexan pitcher is amazingly tough. I always figured plastic was plastic, but this stuff is really tough. If you do happen to somehow break it, the company will replace it free of charge through its seven-year warranty. After that, you can simply purchase parts/replacements.

So we extended our 30-day trial to 90-days, since I still thought it was a lot of money for a blender. Ultimately — after using it EVERY day, usually multiple times a day — I realized it’s worth $350. I hesitated to send this review, because of the considerable expense. Anyone who uses a blender regularly will find this to be the best blender they ever own. My previous $45 blender, which I once thought was pretty good, now sits gathering dust. I’ve been spoiled.

-- Jeff Jewell 06/10/11

(Tip: Check Costco, if there's one near you. They tend to sell the blender at a discount. — editors)

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