Review by Rick Glackin:

So, after 30 years, we needed a new blender. Hmmm. My wife and I hadn’t a clue where to start nor what was out there. On my first two internet searches all I found were the two extremes: small fractional Hp motors or the ridiculously priced 0 to 0 unit.

And yes, of course we want to crush ice – who doesn’t? I have enough engineering background to know that a 0.2 to 0.5 Hp motor is NOT going to crush ice. Finally, we found the KitchenAid models! Some were 0.9 Hp, which is more like it. The pitcher (I call it) was a larger diameter and a little squat – perfect design for better blending, not to mention storage.

We decided that two speeds just wasn’t enough, 3 speeds would be borderline and we certainly didn’t want anything ridiculous like 10 or 15 speeds. (That’s what they do when the motor is underpowered to do the job.) We settled on the KitchenAid KSB465Wh 4-speed with 48 ounce jar and 0.9 Hp motor. The weight wasn’t given but the appearance gave you the idea that the base was good and heavy – a prerequisite.

We’ve used it several times starting about a month ago – it’s perfect. It’s even better than the one that lasted 30 yrs. The pitcher is dishwasher safe, it has something they call “intelli-speed” which adjusts the horsepower as needed to deliver constant speed. This is something where most blenders fall short, you put something heavy in it and the motors just slows down. The base is good and heavy – hurray, no more tipping over. The ad doesn’t mention this but you do NOT dissasemble the pitcher for cleaning! Another big plus.

By the way those to blenders don’t work and don’t last. This one is priced around and you get what you pay for. A very solid unit with a decent motor and good features. And yes, it does a marvelous job grinding ice – a whole tray at a time. And, if you let it go for about 10 seconds you have ice “powder” – it’s better than our ice shaver for snow cones.

Blending is far superior to our old blender. It digests even the tough stuff easily. We haven’t yet really needed to use it but it has pulsed speeds for those really tough materials. I’d recommend THIS blender to anyone who doesn’t need to grind nails.

Review by B. D. Earthcare:

After doing more blender research than I care to admit to myself, I narrowed my search to three blenders. I selected this model after speaking to a most informed and helpful Kitchenaid customer service rep who answered my remainding questions one Saturday afternoon. Since, they staffed their customer serviced department on the weekends, I was already impressed. This blender replaced a just out-of-warranty Cuisinart blender which I loved, until it died a premature death, I can say without hestiattion this model is far better. Since I use our blender daily to make breakfast smoothies, some with ice, I thought my blender needs were simple. Quite to the contrary, I discovered. There is no middle ground when it comes to chopping ice and this blender does a superb and lighin’ quick job. I add very frozen berries to the morning mix and this blender handles them beautifully. The performance, design, ease of operation and cleaning each have exceeded my expectations.

Review by Bryan Carey:

Hamilton Beach Model 54245 Wave Action 14- Speed Blender is an excellent blending device and it ranks among the best small appliances I have ever purchased for several reasons. First among them is the size. When I went blender hunting on the internet, I insisted on finding a blender with a larger jar. My old blender held only 36 oz. and I discovered through experience that this size is much too small. I wanted something larger and this blender, with its 48 oz. glass jar, was exactly the size I was looking for. I also wanted more power and that is exactly what I got: A blender with 700 watts of force at its peak.

Next, I really like the stylish appearance of this blender. All of my new kitchen appliances are black in color and this appliance is no exception (it is also offered in white, for those who prefer it). Not only does the color make it look slick and attractive, it is also more slender in shape than the blenders of old. The base does spread out a little at the bottom but the overall shape tends toward the vertical, making it easier to fit into a small countertop space and also easier on the eyes.

Now for the most important factor: The blending ability. One of the reasons I selected this Hamilton beach model was because of its patented “Wave Action” technology. For those who are unfamiliar with this, it is a system that helps to blend drinks and other foods more thoroughly and efficiently via the design of the blades. Most blenders contain four blades that are more or less parallel to the countertop. But with Hamilton Beach Wave Action, two of the four blades are bent upward. This design helps to push ice and liquids down toward the blades for better blending.

I was skeptical about the claims made by Hamilton Beach at first but one use made an instant believer out of me. I started by mixing up a frozen drink- something that requires the ice to be crushed into tiny bits. This blender crushed the ice down to tiny particles in a matter of seconds. There was no need to stir the mixture by hand and try again, like with other blenders. The drink was completely mixed, smooth, and delicious. I could not detect even a single piece of ice that was too large. Every last bit of ice was crushed to perfection!

Overall, I am very happy with my Hamilton Beach Ensemble Model 54245 Wave Action Blender and I have no regrets about spending the extra money to obtain it. It not only looks good, it performs its main task with ease and perfection. Drinks come out silky smooth in a matter of seconds thanks to the Wave Action technology, making this Hamilton Beach Blender an appliance that I will continue to use and enjoy for a good long time.

Review by HEA:

I own the Hamilton Beach 54245 Black Deluxe Ensemble 14-Speed Power Plus Blender and I am very pleased with its performance. This blender has a blade-and-jar design (called wave action) that sucks the ingredients in for incredibly thorough blending, resulting in smooth, uniform consistency. It has a powerful (700-watt peak) motor that, combined with the wave action, yields excellent results. The motor carries a 3-year warranty. I use it mostly for ice shakes (usually the most demanding feature) and it crushes ice easily with no lumps left whatsoever. Its 48-oz glass jar secures easily on its sturdy base and is dishwasher friendly. Easy to clean and with no parts to assemble, this is my best blender to date. I highly recommend it.

Review by F. Orion Pozo:

Bought this blender on the Cooks Illustrated recommendation and it is a good blender with a solid glass jar. The rubber gasket between the jar and the blade is almost clear and I lost mine. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the .99 gasket would cost over to replace! The Kalorik website only handles minimum of orders so 6 gaskets are the minimum purchase. I decided on an additional blade (.99) and 2 gaskets. Shipping for that is .85. So it is costing me .82 for the .99 gasket.

Moral of the story – HOLD ONTO YOUR GASKET!

Maybe I should buy the 6 and sell the other 5 through Amazon. Hmmm.

Review by E. Rhee:

While the product is a strong performer the company is not. The blender is distributed in the US by “Team Marketing”, a 6 person operation in Miami. They do not answer their phones, their employee directory is non-existant and their website is non functional for ordering parts. This is the context in which I experienced them: I broke the glass jar and could not find a replacement anywhere. As of 6/25/09 their website was unavailable to order. I paid .00 for the blender on Amazon in 1/09, a replacement glass jar costs plus shipping. I would recommend you find a product where replacement parts are readily available or purchase a stainless jar. But when you need to replace the blades… you get the idea. Beware!

Review by C. Cox:

I internet shopped for a week, reading consumer reports and customer reviews of just about every blender made. I decided on this one based on my research and I am glad I did. I make my husband fruit and juice smoothies almost every day after work and with this machine it is a fast, easy job. Ice and frozen fruit are blended into the drink very quickly.

It is a little loud but it is worth the noise to have 500 watts of power. I also like the fact the base is heavy cast metal, the pitcher is thick, solid glass with a tight fitting lid and the blade is stainless. I like the easy to use control knob and the fact it has 2, yes just 2 speeds. I find most machines with 12 to 20 little buttons are fairly useless and all those speeds rarely used, they also take up more counter space because the bases have to be bigger for all the buttons.

The fact that the Hamilton Beach comes in 6 colors is just icing on the cake and the Moroccan Red is gorgeous.

Review by Practical Gourmet:

This powerful and sylish blender replaced an old 12 speed Oster which had me grumbling with every use. Two of the primary selection factors were the fact it was NOT an Oster and the wide-based glass pitcher.

I’ve used this blnder to date to whirr together protein breakfast smoothies, make soup, and mix seasoning rub. It worked well, evenly distributing the contents quickly, and pureeing squash soup to silky smoothness. I like the pulse feature on this model, and feel two speeds is all I need. I have not used this blender to chop ice, and I use fresh or partially thawed fruit for my smoothies, so I cannot speak to that feature.

I especially like the glass pitcher, which is wider near the blades, easing cleaning. This also seems to help distribute protein powder better than the old Oster, although that is sort of like saying a gasoline lawn mower is more effective than pruning shears to mow the lawn.

The plastic cover seems less wimpy than the Oster, and has yet to warp out of shape in the dishwasher. I also find the pitcher is MUCH easier to take apart and reassemble for cleaning. I like the pitcher’s stability, and it is attractive enough to serve from. It is heavy, but that is the trade-off with glass. So far, I am very happy and only wish I had not waited so long.

Review by Santrelle:

I have had my Vitamix 5000 for 5 and 1/2 years and could not be happier with it. Not only does it blend full frozen bananas (see other review), the powerful motor can do a lot more.

We use our Vitamix primarily for smoothies and milkshakes, and have learned that as long as there is some liquid in the container with the ice cubes and frozen bananas it will blend all into a smooth drink with ease.

The machine is loud for sure, not something you can hold conversation over, but we’ve noted that it blends so quickly, that the moments it takes to liquify are over before we’ve forgotten what we would have said anyway.

Clean up is also amazing with the Vitamix. As the Vitamix reps demonstrate, all we’ve done to clean it up after is wipe down any smoothie residue on the outside of the spout, fill container 1/3-ish of the way up with warm/hot water and a drip of soap, then blend on high for 30-ish seconds. Every month or so I DO wash a bit more thouroughly with maybe a drip of bleach and a scrub brush. One thing to consider though, is the longer you leave your container dirty the harder it will be to clean after. If you just rinse right away, you’re golden.

I cannot rave more highly about this machine. I’m sure that the multiple hundred dollar price tag is a turn off to most if not all, but consider the time saved as well as more options for healthy beverage alternatives! We’ve loved our Vitamix and you will too!

Review by Always Interested:

After serious comparison between this and the Healthmaster, I stuck with Vita-Mix 5200. Since the price of these “blenders” is quite hefty I didn’t want to be left with a dud. I chose the Vita-Mix 5200 because it is sturdy and does not have the digit lights to worry about breaking down. It has more heft and power than the Healthmaster. The Vita-Mix 5200 (now selling) is very sturdy and quiet, giving one a sense of security knowing its not going to wobble all over and the motor will last. The bowl is very easy to clean and after several weeks of filling it to the top with ice cubes it still looks like new. It is fast. I have to be on the run sometimes, and always have my vegetables and fruits washed in advance so I can just pluck in whatever and in a nano second have a meal and be out the door. My shakes come out silky smooth, and soups hot. I find this to be a very basic machine without a bunch of extra buttons to contend with so less to breakdown and worry about.

I will add my Aunt who is well into her 90′s and always advocated good health, has had one of these for as long as I can remember. She points out that she is the last one alive from her high school class and swears its because she always took vitamins and bought her Vita-Mix. I can remember her making my cousins and me what they now call “smoothies”, back then they were just drinks. I am glad I picked this machine, it is very efficient and I feel, worth the money since it has a proven history. Buy the way, its made in the USA!!!

Review by Shopperholic:

This is an awesome blender. It blends stuff like you’ve never seen before and I am really pleased with it. But holy cow is it LOUD!! The cat hates me. I got a pair of earmuffs from the shooting supply place to wear while using it. Maybe overkill, but I think that using it twice a day without them would result in hearing damage eventually. I wish they sold an enclosure for this one like they do for the commercial ones….I’d definitely buy one.

I bought this because I had a juicer and liked it. But I felt that tossing all that pulp and fiber had to be making me miss out on a lot of health benefits. And just trying to spoon some of it back into the juice doesn’t work, it’s gross. This blender blends whole fruits and vegetables wonderfully, I can still get the fiber and in a drinkable form.

After I bought this, I read a webpage where they talked about blending an avocado WITH the pit, and I tried it. It works, I ended up with an amazingly smooth mousse-like creamy pudding. Not something I’d do every day, but it was very interesting. I have been making kale banana blueberry smoothies for breakfast and it blends everything into one homogenous shake. No bits of leaves, chunks of stuff, etc. I’m enjoying it. I just wish it wasn’t so loud.

Review by P. Estrada:

I have owned this blender for about a month. So far it has worked great. It is a great tool to have if you expect to blend stuff on a daily basis. The larger blades and powerful motor makes my Oyster beehive blender feel like a toy. It will blend things that conventional blenders would not even begin to blend. Baby food can be puree very well. Much better than with the food processor. This machine can basically replace a food processor, a juicer, and a grinder.

Things I like:

1. It blends just about anything do to the large blades and powerful 1500 watt motor. And it does it much faster than a conventional blender.

2. It’s built in the USA and the parts seem to be good quality.

3. One push button operation allows you to blend w/o having to time it or supervise it.

4. lifetime warranty on coupling and blade.

5. It fits under standard counters.

Things I do not like:

1. The base has a cheap feel to it because of the plastic. For the price, I think it should have been metal.

2. Has lesser warranty than its competitor (Vita-Mix).

3. I expect an expensive tool like this to have better dampening to absorb noise and vibration.

4. The plastic container (polycarbonate) scratches easily when mixing grains, seeds, etc.

Review by C. G. King:

Why, you say, should I spend this insane amount of money for a blender? My answer: Because it’s worth it. There is simply no comparison to other blenders. The Vitamix is the best. It really does crush ice effectively, make ice cream in seconds from frozen fruit and cream, and produces drinks and sauces that are utterly smooth, plus soups to die for. I make my own hummus and used it for baby food regularly, guests love it for silky frozen drinks, and it lasts–with zero problems. It’s a quality device. Advertising is geared to health food because you can make drinks or soups from fresh produce and take advantage of the natural fiber that juicers take out, and they’re right, but that’s not why I bought it. I bought it because I hate the odd chunky bits of fruit in my smoothies, I hate taking blenders apart for cleaning and I wanted something I could depend on to do what I wanted each and every time. I’ve not been disappointed.

Update 3/18/10

I’ve had my Vita-Mix for many years and treasure it. My daughter has eyed it longingly so I finally bought her family one for Christmas, most especially so the little kids would get their veggies via tasty smoothies. I mean how else would you ever get a kid to eat raw kale (or me either, for that matter . I found the current cookbook that came with her unit had so many terrific new recipes, I bought one for myself and am enjoying many new types of smoothies. The Autumn Harvest smoothie has sweet potato in it and is sensational. The Basil Lemonade is really delicious and the green smoothies are so packed with nutrition (plus taste good!) that we all feel energized. I can add flax seeds, sunflower kernels or other nuts to smoothies for an extra boost and know they’ll always be completely smooth. I make some of my own whole-wheat flour now (although prefer my food processor to make the dough) so my bread is much healthier too. Yesterday when I had the little kids after school and we made a grocery store run, I was amazed and delighted to see them pick various types of fresh produce for smoothies right along with the expected pizza and cookies. We have a new generation of Vita-Mix fans in the family.

Review by T. Moore:

I have had my platinum Vita-Mix 1363 CIA (Culinary Institute of America) model blender for just over a month. So far, I am loving it! I have definitely increased my consumption of fruits and vegetables since getting it. I start most mornings off with a smoothie now. I throw in whatever fruit is in season (I love berries, but I’ve used peaches, nectarines, plums, grapes, apples, bananas and various frozen fruits), a scoop or two of protein powder, milk or water, a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, a couple handfuls of ice and sweetener if needed. Surprisingly, the spinach doesn’t noticeably change the flavor, but it does boost the nutritional content of the smoothie. In less than 10 minutes I can have my smoothie made, poured into a “to go” cup and have the machine all clean (just add warm water and a couple drops of dish soap- turn it on for 30 seconds, then empty and rinse the container). The smoothies always turn out 100% smooth- berry seeds, apple seeds, ice and other hard bits are totally pulverized and drinkable. I’ve made great low-cal salad dressings using fresh herbs, garlic, low fat cottage cheese, a splash of milk and salt (if you prefer, you could use Ranch dressing mix with cottage cheese and milk). I made a very satisfying tomato soup with home grown tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, onion and salt. I’ve made great blended piña coladas, too! I’m having a lot of fun experimenting with different recipes. Because the Vita-Mix processes foods quickly, I’m actually finding that I’m making healthier eating choices. It’s faster for me to put together a salad with pre-washed greens, veggies and homemade dressing than it is to go to the nearest fast food restaurant… and in the end, it’s more satisfying and a LOT healthier. Yes, this is an expensive machine, but I think it will pay for itself within the first two years by reducing my spending on going out to eat.

This is a heavy-duty machine. It is loud when it’s in use, but generally you won’t need to run the machine for more than a couple minutes at a time. This is definitely a professional quality machine and will yield professional quality results. A regular home blender cannot compare!

The Vita-Mix 1363 CIA model and the Vita-Mix 5200 model are essentially the same machine. The CIA model has some different color choices and comes with a HUGE recipe book called “Create”, a smaller “recipes and techniques” booklet and an hour long cooking class DVD. The 5200 model includes a different booklet and DVD. Both have the same 7-year warranty. If the color of the machine and the recipe book don’t matter to you, save yourself some $$$ and go for the 5200 model instead.

Review by Isabelle Green:

There are plenty of other good options out there for blenders at this price point. The only reason I bought this one was because it was recommended by Cook’s Illustrated some time ago. But from the beginning, it was a really loud blender, and didn’t cut through chunks of frozen fruit and ice smoothly like they said it would. We still endured it, until last week I tried to grind some rice for my infant son’s cereal. Now, you might say, “Well. Of course it’s not supposed to grind rice” but actually most blenders do this task just fine. Our previous blender, a flimsy little Oster w/a plastic jar, had no problem with the two minute grind. But the Kalorik started to smell within a minute or so, and when I looked at the rice, it had flecks of grease in it – the grease had pushed up from beneath the motor through the blade attachment and was all over the base of the blade. Gross, and even though it still runs, I am afraid to use it anymore for any of our drinks or blending task. Bummer. It really does look nice, but that’s about all it is, plus a wasted .

Review by Laurel S. Johansen:

America’s Test Kitchen recommended this blender in one of it’s publications. Great value for the price and such a sassy color. Great way to make smoothies and to grind ice. Love it.

Review by J. Miller:

However, please be aware that unit cannot handle heavy loads that thicken quickly. Be sure there is plenty of liquid if used on high speed. Unit twice in two weeks shut down on me, once for 8 hours because the ingredients thickened quickly (potato-leek soup). I had to finish recipe in my food processor. Because of this sensitivity, if I had to do it over again, I would put my investment elsewhere.

Review by Steven Friedman:

The Vita Mix 1709 is what a blender should be, period.

It’s not cheap, but holds with the maxim: “You Get What You Pay For”. I watched hot soup being made

right there in the Vita Mix on youtube. It’s true ! It will do that, and quickly.

The unit is very well made and I anticipate years of continuous use ( I’m using it every day and swear by it ).

As a juicer, it’s great as well. There is no filtering-out the pulp as with a single-purpose, dedicated juicer.

But that’s good from a health standpoint – you literally get the whole fruit or vegetable and thus retain vitamins

and minerals that you would be discarding if you used a true juicer. If you don’t like “pulp”, it’s simple to

strain the juice …

With one good knife, the Vita Mix and a Cuisinart processor I can accomplish more in my kitchen than I ever

dreamed possible.

Review by Melissa:

I’ve burned through 3 other brands of blenders — each time the plastic “spinner” in the motor base (which mates to a plastic spinner in the pitcher’s base that turns the blade) broke. Finally we decided to try out the Oster “Classic” because it uses a metal shaft that fits directly into the pitcher’s base to turn the blades rather than the plastic disks that all the newer blender designs seem to use. That does the trick. I make a lot of fruit smoothies using frozen fruit — which can be pretty hard on blenders — but so far the Oster Classic has been up to the task. I highly recommend it!

Review by Shinda:

We bought this blender after a horrid experience with some Cuisianart mulit-speed blender that turned out to be a piece of … Originally I was attracted to all the bells and whistles, but after all that leaked on the first pouring, I realized we had a problem, Houston.After cruising the ratings here, we bought the basic, two-speed (read: go and pulse) GORGEOUS chrome beehive blender. Somehow we got the one that had the mini-jar for dressings, the food processor, and milkshake blade with chrome cannister, all for less than the Cuisinart Multi-Function Mistake. This thing kicks. I’ve made dressings in it, and it was done with ease and they were blended well. Most importantly, I’ve made several batches of adult drinks involving ice, and as long as you add the ice a few cubes at a time, it turns out perfectly smooth (no ice chips hitting your teeth as you tip the glass).I LOVE OUR OSTERIZER BEEHIVE BLENDER!!!! Simple is really all you need in a blender. If it’s something that needs a bit of mixing, hit the pulse button as needed. If it’s serious mixing, turn it on. In my opinion, speed 3, 6, and 9 are not required. This does it all, and looks MIGHTY fine while doing it. If only we had the counter space to leave it out…….it’s SO pretty!!!!Happy blending, anything!
Shinda