Hi, I've decided I just *have* to have a Vitamix LOL and need some advice about which of the two models to buy.  I know the more expensive one has variable speed instead of 2 speeds, so... is that much of an advantage?  And does that one have any other features that the cheaper one doesn't and if so, do I need them?

My feelings are that if I'm going to spend that amount of money, then an extra $80 for the variable speed model isn't that much extra to pay, I guess I'd just like to know if it would be worth it...

All advice/info from Vitamix owners will be gratefully received!  :D

thanks
Teresa

Hi there! Interesting question... I hadn't thought about that before (which level of Vitamix, and the pluses of the variable speed).

We have the variable speed Vitamix - I really enjoy it. I rarely need to go to full power. Instead I start slow, and just move the speed up until it's where it needs to be. Sometimes if things are sticking on the side of the container moving the speed dial up and down works to loosen things up. I also find the high speed a little loud... it's good for short bursts, but I wouldn't want to have to depend on it regularly for my blending.

I bought my Vitamix 10 years ago, at the Vegetarian Food Festival in Toronto Canada (where I was living at the time). It was my reward for graduating school and getting myself a job! At the time I had to pay part cash and part credit for it, since my credit card limit wasn't big enough to pay for the Vitamix! I'd always looked at the ad for Vitamix's in magazines and wondered about the magic machine that could heat and also make icecream!

What do we use our Vitamix for? Smoothies, salad dressings, brazil nut butter, banana ice cream (it works just as good as a high quality juicer at making frozen ice creams), lemon ice slushies, whole juices, pasta sauces, coconut milk, nut milks and more!  I think we actually use it abut 2x as often as our juicer. Someone recently introduced us to smoothies made from whole fruit - you just toss in the apples, banana, pineapple and a couple of almonds and blend! It makes an amazingly delicious thick smoothie with an amazing flavour. Much better than the smoothies you buy in stores that are often 80% fillers (milk, flavouring, water etc).

As you can tell I'm a passionate Vitamix fan! If you have any more questions feel free to ask!

Take care,
Sheryl

We're bringing in a new blender at the moment, which we've heard has the capabilites of the Vitamix at half the price - I'll let you know how our evaluation of it goes!! It might help you with your credit card! As you saw from my post above that was a challenge for me at the time too!

It's funny we (actually ME if I'm going to be completely honest) tried to save money when we bought our dehydrator last year and bought a smaller model. We ended up upgrading to the large size within 5 months because it was WAY TOO SMALL. I'm hesitant to recommend this new blender until I've tried it personally to see if it compares. When it comes in we'll do a side by side compare and post the results here.

Take care,
Sheryl

Hi,

I'd love to hear about the comparison too. I'd love to get a Vitamix but can't anytime soon due to the cost so it would be great if there was an alternative.

Love Abby

Our sample RPM blender is here... so the comparison will be posted within the next week or so!

YAHHHH!!!

So far the quality and design of the unit looks great.

Sheryl