Explorian Blender, Professional-Grade, 64 oz. Container

I bought this product and was amazed at the way it works. It’s still going strong. I like the fact that it’s not heavy like other blenders. The only issue I have is the position of the knob for changing the speed level. It’s a bit close to the lever for the pulse option and you have to be careful not to let your hand hit the lever when turning the speed all the way down.

This is only the second Vitamix blender we’ve purchased in over 40 years. The first one we purchased was an all stainless steel unit. We were sold on its build quality and versatility. We have used it for everything Vitamix claimed it would do, bread, hot soup, smoothies, etc. and we have never been disappointed. However, even though it still works like new, we really wanted something with the more conventional design of a clear container and sharp blades to get those especially smooth blends. This Explorian meets our needs perfectly while still exhibiting the same quality as our old unit. Even better… it is more powerful, quieter, makes the smoothest drinks and smoothies we’ve ever experienced and yet cost less than our old stainless steel model. We almost purchased this same unit for a higher price at Costco but, when Vitamix had a promotion for factory refurbished units at a big discount, we jumped on it and have never regretted it. We expect to get another 30-40 years of service out this blender and highly recommend it!

I’m very happy with its performance. My only concern is the hot smell it has when it’s running. I thought it would go away but it hasn’t. I just hope it doesn’t burn out.

My wife had talked about these for years … but seemed like a lot of money to us when we owned a blender already that works. But my wife likes her green smoothie in the morning… so got her this as a gift. Well … I have to say … the cheaper blender doesn’t handle ice as well as this … and the cheaper one leaves a grittier smoothie with seeds. This one … the smoothie comes out silky smooth with no grit and seeds. For me who just blends a protein shake … probably not worth it. For my wife who daily puts spinach and seeds and ice and whatever else that looks healthy into her smoothie … it’s worth spending a bit more for something you enjoy daily. These seem powerful and well built … and glad my wife seems really happy with it.

In all my life I never thought I would be writing a review for a blender. But after having this Vitamix for several weeks, using it about every day. I wanted to share my opinions for anyone in a similar situation.

First off, I will say that my wife and I make smoothies for our breakfast Monday through Friday. So our blenders get a workout. Our first blender was a standard Black and Decker, we quickly wore it out. We replaced it with an upgrade to the basic Ninja blender. And we were happy with it for 5 years, mostly. We knew about Vitamix, but figured it would be a case of diminishing returns. How much more blender could you get? $100 for the Ninja seems like enough money. But after wearing it out with 5 years of consistant use, it was literaly smoking when my wife made a smoothie one morning. We decided it might be worth it to spend a little more money.

And that’s where we are. I will be comparing this Vitamix to the base Ninja (I noticed a lot of people were in my situation when I was researching brands, so I thought this might help). Scroll to the bottom for a TL/DR.

First off, POWER!!!! UNLIMITED POWER!!! at least until 10. The controls on this Vitamix are simple enough. There is a pulse switch, and a switch On/Off. Then a speed dial that goes to 10 (I’m waiting for the Spinal Tap version that goes to 11). The manufacturers suggest flipping it on at 1 and dialing it up to the preferred speed. Kinda feels like operating a spaceship, going into hyperspace. I rarely need to go above 7, but it can easily handle ludicrous speed (also known as 10). And even at the fastest speeds the base doesn’t move and stays on the counter. The Ninja had a tendancy to dance off the counter if you didn’t hold on to it. As stated earlier, I make smoothies. And this thing performs in that, silky smooth smoothies from the first time I used it. Comparatively the Ninja had good days and bad, but could never puree frozen fruit as well (lots of little chunks). I will note that for the first week or so the Vitamix had an ozone type smell while being operated, it was a little alarming at first but faded after repeated use.

Second, cleaning. Now I work at home, where as my wife runs off to the rat races of a 9-5 day. So I clean the smoothie mess most days. And I really know about cleaning the Ninja, the blade comes right out and is sharp. I had it fall off the counter once and luckly betrayed my instinct to try to catch it. Plus even with the dish soap warm water and pulsing trick. I still had to scrub the fragments of fruit, and the grommet where the blade fit in the pitcher had to be cleaned with a tiny wire brush regularly or it got moldy. Needless to say, I hated cleaning the Ninja. But now I move to the Vitamix, and this machine was made to clean everyday. The blade is fixed, so nothing to clean there. You just fill it up halfway with warm water and put in a squirt of dish soap, run it on high for about 60 seconds and pour out and rinse. Only rarely do I have to scrub off bits of fruit, and then it’s typically only on the spout or drips on the outside. The fitting on the bottom has a little hole for water to run out if you dry it upside down, small thing but nice touch. Simply put, I don’t mind cleaning the Vitamix.

And finally the noise level. I heard people complain about this. Now the Ninja was like a jet engine starting up, I live on a busy street so I don’t mind noise. But the Ninja had such a high pitched whine that it irritated the tiny bones in my inner ear. But the Vitamix on the other hand, is relatively quiet. I wouldn’t record a band with it running in the background, unless it was an experimental album. But the Vitamix is not irritating in the least. Just a steady lower WHIRRRRR!!!! But as I stated earlier with the power, you don’t need to run it that long anyway. And I will state with my full confidence. It is the quietest blender I have ever used.

So for my TL/DR conclusion. This entry level Vitamix blend was worth every penny I spent on it. And I was very skeptical. I have heard the models higher than this are even better, if this one ever conks out on me (in a reasonable amount of time of course). I will likely check out the higher levels. But for now, I would give the Vitamix Explorian my top marks. And a noticable upgrade from your standard entry level blender (that’s a thing right?).

I had always wanted a Vitamix but never could justify the price. This thing is amazing. It makes short work out of my sauce blending. It also will heat the sauce up to a shelf safe temperature for fermented hot sauces eliminating the need to take an extra step in the bottling process.