Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Great blender. I had a Vitamix 5200 blender for about a year (roommate's), so I can compare this to one of the best blenders, as well as review it on its own merits. I think this is an excellent alternative for a better price. First, the shape of the pitcher and blade seem pretty effective at thoroughly mixing/blending the contents of the pitcher. I don't have air pockets forming nearly as much as I've seen with other blenders. The blender does a good job at making frozen drinks, smoothies, and hummus. There are ridges in the sides of the jar that seem to really promote a big vortex when mixing up a frozen drink. The jar is made from desirable Eastman Tritan copolymer, this is much stronger and resistant to scratching than the ABS or polycarbonate plastics used in almost every other non-glass blender jar. The lid seals tight, and has a grip ring to help remove it, a nice touch. There is a small cover you can remove from the lid to add ingredients mid-cycle, however it doesn't stay in well at all. Just the vibration of using the blender twists it to the unlock position, which makes it constantly fall on the floor when I take the full lid off. The controls are pretty straightforward: a few buttons for various speeds, and dedicated buttons for smoothies and ice crushing. A backlight illuminates the button indicating which speed is active, a very nice touch. Overall, the control panel looks really cool when it's all lit up. The buttons are all on a single membrane pad, meaning they can be easily cleaned with a quick wipe of a sponge, and no crevices for junk to hide. There is a little digital count-up timer, which I guess could be useful once you get used to it and know that the smoothie you like best takes exactly 32 seconds to blend; I couldn't see any use for it, though. The motor is comparatively quiet for a blender. Compared to others, it's a lower-pitched hum, there's much less of the high-pitch whine that is so common to cheap motors. This one's digitally regulated too, so the speed of the blade seems to be consistent, no matter how thick or chunky the ingredients it's blending up. Rated at 750 watts (about 1HP), but who cares, it has plenty of torque/HP to blend whatever. I think the blade/jar design is far more important than how much electricity it chews up. One negative - the motor cuts off automatically after 60 seconds, a safety feature to prevent overheating, buts also means you can't do things like heat up soup in the jar, a feature that Vitamix touts. I just hope it holds up, Breville cheaped out on the warranty, it's just 1 year... so I'm afraid there's some dopey consumer-grade seal or other plastic part that will break a few months after the warranty ends. But I'm hoping not, because I really like this blender. Things that standout for me vs. Vitamix blenders: + Much quieter + Nicer design (appearance, finish and quality of the electronic controls) + Overall height & footprint is smaller, making it fit on the countertop better + Better ergonomics - nice little touches like pour spout, grab ring for the lid + Cord storage in base o Uses same Eastman Tritan copolymer material for the jar - it's the best plastic available, but still eventually gets cloudy - Can't run continuously (like for making soups) - timer stops operation after 60 seconds - Much shorter warranty (just 1 year)