Now I keep hearing that the VM and BT can pulverize the greens in a way no other lower-end blender can. Same with ice or frozen fruit. But here's the deal: I would use liquid either way. I am not really interested in a machine that doesn't require any added liquid--I can't think of a scenario where that would be necessary. So is it possible that a cheaper blender may do the same or very similar job as a VM or BT but maybe take a bit longer, need a bit of water? This made me sit up and think for a minute: [www.shopping.com]

I think to make a decent smoothie, any blender needs liquid including the Vitamix and the Blendtec -i.e. the greatest blender of them all, bar none!. That's what is wrong with the popular mechanics video comparison, only 1/4 cup of liquid.

Again, a budget blender will blend well but probably not as well or for as long.

It's a tradeoff.

Paul

I cannot say what the $100+ blenders will do, as other than my blendtec ive only had cheap blenders, but im fairly certain with green smoothies, in any blender, it calls for liquid... (I like using juice) but I can say with greens it is definitely a whole nother world of smooth compared to the cheap blenders ive used, cheap blenders do make a smoothie that I can still enjoy considerably, as long as one keeps the blades sharp, and does not use ice, it blends well enough, little bit of chewing needed, but thats supposed to be good... with my blendtec the greens are so smooth its hard to remember to "chew"...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Sounds like you've made up your mind to not go for the most expensive blenders. If that is so give it a shot and let us know how you like it. Seems rational going for the next step down from supposedly the best blenders on the market for consumers.

I think a number of Vitamix/Blendtec owners wonder if the cost of their blender was really justified even if they do well with harder to blend ingredients. I know I do.

Make sure you report back about your experience here once you've had your blender (whichever brand/model you end up getting) for a couple weeks, I am sure plenty of us would be happy to go for a more reasonable price to value if we were made aware of such an option.

Worst case scenario you can try to return your blender or sell it via craigslist or what have you to recoup what you can towards a different blender.

Adam, I am looking for someone who has a BT or VM and says it's not all that. Maybe I will look forever for that person. Because I have heard that the high-powered ones will crush the cellular walls of greens and you cannot get the same from a lower-end blender. My last one was a Hamilton Beach. The motor did not die; I didn't put the ringer/washer thingie on after washing and something burned off the base. Who knows? Maybe it was easily replaceable. But I have made green smoothies in that thing and perhaps it wasn't totally smooth, but the power was probably only 350 watts! I have seen an Oster that is 600 watts, as well as a Kitchen Aid around 700 watts. Both under $100. I am not so pressed for time that I cannot wait an extra 30-60 seconds for my smoothies. My main concern is getting a smooth texture; crushing ice and frozen fruit. I don't need a blender that will do the job without added liquid. I don't need to pulverize cell phones.

I hear you on the pulverizing cell phones hah. It's just amusing advertising. Both Vitamix/Blendtec will result in smooth green smoothies. I think the higher mid range will too but the question is for how long and how much of a hassle is it to do it, will it over-blend the ingredients? The Vitamix Blendtec blenders design don't rely on sharp blades apparently since ice will take away from that so quickly. So you DO kinda want brute force if you want to be adding ice to your smoothies on a regular basis.

The jury is out on the net results of crushing cellular walls vs killing the nutrition via heat/oxidization. It's hard to say if slower/ longer duration is different and if it was different how it is different from faster/ shorter.

If you think about it, entry to medium level blenders have an average life of about 3 years, high end blenders about 7 years or more supposedly (I don't have real world experience so this is definitely not "fact". You pay about the same amount in the long run.

It sounds like I'm pushing you to buy the more expensive model and I suppose I kinda am. I know of 3 cheaper blenders sitting in my parents garage, they seem like a waste, and it makes me a little bit mad thinking about the hassle they were to work with. They were all decommissioned with similar events as you describe, one the carafe cracked, another I don't remember. I got back home recently after four years of being away in college, tried using their blenders, they couldn't blend the ingredients I put in them.

I have not worked with a blender in the $100-$300 range so I really can't comment on them.

I do feel a little bit like Vitamix & Blendtec are charging more than their blenders are really worth and raking in dough via people's use of warranty (kinda like how insurance make profits) and I think most people will want a better and newer blender after a couple of years. Even so the experience is much better compared to the cheap ones.

If you don't mind waiting up to half a year (did I hear that correctly - 6 months?), you might want to consider the new blender coming out from Omega. WheatgrassYogi linked to a youtube video with John Kohler at an expo with a preview of the new 3HP Omega blender coming out. I doubt any new blender is going to blow the current offerings of blenders off the map in terms of value to cost or even top notch quality.

I definitely think considering the costs of production and all, the profit margin has to be pretty high on these blenders, to me I think they would be more fair around the $300 range, and I bet they would easily sell at least twice as many of them at that price point if their performance stays the same of course... heck, I know at least 5 people right now that would buy a blendtec that had a 7 year warranty for $300 right now if they could.

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

That new Omega is gonna be in the price range of a BT or VM. I think it's already on the market and is around $450!