Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I must give you a little bit of history before reviewing the Blendtec . . . Our local Costco was having a Vita-Mix road show and i bought it knowing that I really liked everything I had ever read about a Blendtec. A couple of my friends raved about the Vita-Mix, so I felt I needed to pay a little attention. A large purchase like this deserved a little research so that I wouldn't have any regrets. I watched the demo, was impressed and took home the Vita-Mix that day. I was anxious to make a smoothie with it because I had been using the Magic Bullet for five months. I made my first smoothie with it, and it turned out great but the "honeymon" didn't last very long. I did not like the sheer size of the Vita-Mix! It sat VERY high on my counter, wouldn't fit under the cabinet and it looked like it belonged in a commercial-sized kitchen, not mine. I absolutely disliked everything about the lid, except the ability to drizzle liquids in from the opening. The lid was not easy to put on nor remove. And the tamper!!! A good machine should not require a tamper to push the food around. The blender canister has these decorative grooves on the sides and oh what difficulty to "get every last bit out" with a a rubber scraper. I felt like I was wasting food! Then, I made a vegetable pate and the 4-pronged blade made it extremely difficult to get the food hiding below the blade. By this time, I had had enough and was only too happy to take it back to Costco. That same night, I ordered my Blendtec. It arrived promptly and have LOVED everything about it since Day One! It is so-o-o-o easy to "get every last bit out" because the sides of the blender doesn't have the unnecessary decorative grooves on the side. It makes a big difference if you're the type that doesn't like to waste. I feel that the Vita-Mix and Blendtec are equally noisy, but it does its job so quickly and efficiently that it really isn't on for very long. It is so efficient and powerful that it doesn't need a silly tamper to get everything blended well. It fits under my cabinet where I like to keep it and it is just perfect in every way. I make whole fruit and/or leafy green smoothies, sometimes twice a day, and it's always smooth and perfectly blended. As long as you add the proper amount of liquid, that "vortex" forms and everything gets pulled downwards. Everything i make just comes out absolutely perfect. I just can't say enough good things about this machine.