A couple of things to note about this comparison. First, I should have left out the ice crushing part. When doing that, you would nomally start the blender out slow and increase the speed. I didn't do that, since the Ninja didn't have a problem with it. That's due to the fact that the Ninja has that blade tower and has a lot more cutting suface on the ice. In any case, it's not a super realistic test since you don't typically blend ice alone with no liquid. Second, keep in mind that the Vitamix blender was probably dealing with some sort of defect out of the box. Unfortunately, I had to deal with what I had there, so you need to keep that part in mind. Just an FYI, I've never had issues with other Vitamix models, so this isn't really indicitive of the company as a whole, but more this one model or possibly this one unit if the problems were due to a Q.C. problem over a design problem of that model.
It has a lot to do with the type of pitcher you used with the vitamix. The tall 64 oz pitcher out performs every competitor. And also the low profile wet 48 oz pitcher. It is because they have a narrower base. The wider base of the new low profile pitchers is dysfunctional.
This is an old video, but vitamix specifically tells you how to blend ice with their machine. Add ice, fill with water till the ice barely starts to float, then blend. Takes 2-3 seconds for an entire pitcher of crushed ice. Then drain the water and you're ready to go!
Loved seeing this comparison! I've had a similar Vitamix (E310) for a few years, but recently purchased the Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System which includes the food processing discs, two-part food pusher/chute, etc. It's also a 1600 watt system. It has now become my day-to-day machine with a permanent spot on my counter. My Vitamix is stored away in the pantry, but I definitely plan to hang on it for time when I want to make hot things like soup or nut butters. For me, I find the Vitamix does a better job with nut butters thanks to the tamper. For those complaining about the danger of cleaning the Ninja blender due to the multi-blade tower configuration, I do the same as you. I just fill the blender container about two-thirds full with water, add a drop of dish soap, then let it run for a minute or so. Cleans up perfectly every time! Ironically, that's a tip I learned from having a Vitamix as that's their recommended cleaning method for their blender as well.
Heya, Melissa. I agree. I feel like the higher end Vitamix blenders are way better than the explorain though. Maybe too much cutting of corners to get the price down (which was still pretty high). I really wanted to love that thing, but the Ninja hung in there well, and has a lot more utility. Will it last? No idea... but I could buy 4 of them with the same money, so it wouldn't bother me too much if it did eventually die.. but so far, it's still chuggin' away. No complaints here. Those Vitamix machine are the masters of sauces and soups though. They come out almost as smooth as an immersion blender.
@@JoesPhenomenal Yep, the more expensive Vitamix blenders definitely stand the test of time. My mom bought one of the old school stainless steel blender container back in the mid-70s to make nut butters. Nearly 50 years later, it's still going strong! I highly doubt my Explorian will be around for that long, but it does what I need it to do for now (soups, sauces, etc.). Prior to upgrading to the Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System recently, I used a Nutri Ninja AutoIQ personal blender. I've had it for almost 15 years and it's still going strong. I only replaced it because I like all the different options (dough, food processor, etc.) available with the Ultimate System vs. just having a personal blender. Thankfully, my containers from my old Nutri Ninja actually fit on the Ultimate System even though everything I read said they wouldn't.
For years I’ve heard how good a Vitamix is. My Ninja is starting to make a high pitched sound so I think it’s on its way out (8yrs old). I saw Vitamix on sale and swept it up! Got home and made a smoothie. I too thought the design of the single serving set up was so crazy! I just kept thinking, now I have two things to clean and couldn’t figure how I would effectively clean the blades! Then I tried blending-just like in your demo I had frozen fruit stay on top. I shook it, and shook it, added liquid and after four blends (and four rinses of blade adapter), I still had a frozen strawberry at the end of my drink. I was certain I did something wrong. That’s when I found your videos confirming my whole experience. So glad I can so easily return to Costco and pick up the Ninja. For my single serving daily morning smoothie, it’s the best fit for me. Thanks so much for your excellent review!!
You're welcome, Wendy. Vitamix blenders really are good as far as what I've seen.... Just that model is really weird... Maybe too much cost cutting to get to the Costco price? I dunno... My Blender appeared to have a few issues out of the box, too... So there's that. I hate that single serve cup though.
My Ninja jus started the squeeling noise a couple days ago. Its about 12 Yrs old. (Thats why I’m here 😢). I figured if something happens, Ive definitely gotten my $ worth 😬. No issues w/ consistency of smoothies etc after all these years ☺️
12 years is good value.... We haven't actually had any of our ninja equipment die on us at all just yet. That being said, we don't really have problems with that with anything here in the kitchen. Our original nenja blender had a pitcher eventually crack, but that was after about 6 years of abuse and trips into the dishwasher (which I don't recommend on any plastics anymore)
I just returned my vitamix explorian because i was not impressed with it at all and after some research I purchased a ninja foodi. I'm even happier with my purchase after seeing this video. I thought I was going crazy since everyone loves vitamix so much. Thanks for the great review of the two.
You're welcome! Yeah, I was shocked when I did the comparison. I didn't rehearse for it, so I wasn't expecting that stuff to happen. Glad you got yourself something you like better!
Thanks, this comment has helped me get over the desire to upgrade to vitamax. I'll just keep my ninja. I'm not planning on making my blender a family heirloom
It has a lot to do with the type of pitcher you used with the vitamix. The tall 64 oz pitcher out performs every competitor. And also the low profile wet 48 oz pitcher. It is because they have a narrower base. The wider base of the new low profile pitchers is dysfunctional.
Thanks for this comparison! Great shootout. I’ve always heard of vitamin being the king but always loved my more affordable Ninja. I’ve been reading the comments and all I see from the vitamin fans is that the ‘ninjas don’t last’, which is interesting because the only blender I ever bought was the Ninja Ultima from 2014, and it still works to this day. I bought the ultimate system this weekend (which has the food processor and slicer wheels, that I love) simply because I wanted the grating and slicing options. I used it almost daily for roughly 8 years, figured it was time to get the new shiny one. Anyway, thanks again! Love your vids
Are you still liking the Ultimate? I am on the fence about getting one today. I would mostly use it for making protein fluff and blending things for anabolic recipes.
Yep... Still use it just about every day. The single serve cups, the processor discs, and the main pitcher... No real complaints here... It's a little noisy, but most high powered stuff is.
Everyone has a different reason for using certain brands. Personally, I have owned a ninja and loved it. Based on other blenders that I've used and the recommendation from the chrones and colitis foundation, the vitamix is supposed to be the best for digestion when in a flare. Everyone is allowed to like or dislike their preferred brands, but we don't have to be ugly to one another. If the vitamix doesn't work as it's supposed to, it will go back to the store.
Thank you Joe!! I’m very happy with my Ninja, BUT, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had a second-class version of the Vitamix, just because of all of the hype (and the price) of the Vitamix. Well now I’m smiling and so is my bank account. It’s also nice to know that the Vitamix is LOUD too! 😌😅 Another Biblical lesson on being content with what you have, and to stop coveting other people’s stuff!!
Glad you like it! The ice test I did actually wasn't very fair seeing as how it's not really a real world test since blenders aren't really used that way, but the smoothie test was still kinda janky. I'm sure that isn't a problem with higher end vitamix blenders, but even so... It's still a premium price anyways... I'm a fan of their company so I hope they sort that out. I don't have any complaints about the ninja yet either...
Vitamix is not garbage; although, I liked your video, and will buy a Ninja for the Holidays. 18 years I have owned 2 Vitamix Blenders and recently an immersion blender. They are quality built. Never had a problem with the drive mechanism or motor. That is 9 years per blender pounding up ice-fruit smoothies. I agree with your assessment regarding the variable speed dial. It quit working- no other problems in almost 20 years. Also agree, it is LOUD! The only thing I own as loud is my metal angle grinder. Not mentioned, it is nice having 2.2 HP. Here is why. I needed Rice Flour and Powdered Sugar for a recipe. I put 1 cup rice then hit the high speed for 5 seconds: wa-lah, rice flour. I did the same with sugar to make powdered sugar. So it is not junk and I will buy a Ninja ; all the while, I will keep the Vitamix for operations just mentioned. PS: did not like the shroud.
I agree with ya.... Have always loved Vitamix products... They've always been really great. It was that one model that surprised me. Maybe they cut a few corners to get the price down... Not sure what was going on there.
I currently have a 5200. So far haven’t had any problems with it, creates that smooth, velvety smoothie texture I was looking for without any tamper, I use the main standard container and all frozen ingredients.
Heya Arande.... Yeah... we have a 5200 over here also. Night and Day difference on that one. I don't know what the deal was with the E320. Never had any of those issues with a Vitamix before.
The food processor from Vitamix only works with the Ascent and Venturist series blenders. It does not work with Explorian, C or G or standard older Vitamix machines.
I have both a Ninja and a Vitamix, the Vitamix is always the big winner for me. Joe does point out a few of the actual cons of the Vitamix in this video (I'm not impressed with the Vitamix smoothie adapter and cups either) but's also very clear that he has a very strong bias against the Vitamix (which is keeping these tests from being fair). The Vitamix can handle many other tasks that Joe barely touched on or didn't even mention. One little thing that's really important...those Ninja blades are down right dangerous to clean. I've had food stuck to the blades and shaft of the Ninja and, if you're not really careful, you can easily get cut. The Vitamix is always easy and very safe to clean. It is also important to know how to use the equipment you purchase (as one example, the Vitamix will easily turn an entire container of ice to a much finer snow than the Ninja). The Ninja is not a terrible machine, I liked mine for a number years, but the Vitamix is SO much better. One thing to keep in mind concerning the Vitamix machines, as with anything else, the build quality of the lower cost models isn't as good as the build quailty of the higher cost models. Do your own, unbiased research before buying anything. If you're planning a blender purchase I would suggest looking at other reviews and knowing the real differences between the two machines before making your decision. My personal, real world experience is the Vitamix is a much better machine.
Hey! Thanks for the comments! I agree with you on the Ninja blades.. In fact, I just clean them by shooting a little detergent into the pitcher with warm water and blending the whole thing to avoid having to get my fingers too close in there. I think that you're right about the negative bias on that Vitamix, also, which was a bit of a mistake on my part. Part of the problem was that the tests were all done live for the video, and I was coming into it expecting the Vitamix to do what I tested a lot better and wasn't prepared for some of the results. I'm actually a really big Vitamix Fan and have used them quite a bit in the past. Coming in, I expected it to perform just like the last Vitamix I used (which was their most expensive consumer model at the time), so it was a bit of a shock. Since I did this video, I was able to check out some of their other models, and they didn't exhibit the behavior I saw with the Explorian, so it looks like whatever was going on there was with just that model. I think I mentioned that in the video, too. Vitamix is a great company, though, and I love their products.. Just think they cut a couple of corners on this model that I wasn't expecting.
How long was the food sitting in the blender for? If you let it get crusty sure anything can be hard to clean. You're supposed to rinse all blenders immediately after use
I wanted to love my Vitamix. But the machine was a total let down in usability and having to resort to using the stupid plunger all the time. Blendtec was much better (and fit under countertop) however it had a seal failure early in its life and was a pain to deal with. I realized that ninja truly has made a lot of advancements with their appliances. We now have a simple mid level ninja and will upgrade if if ever fails.
Thanks, Luke! Yeah... I kinda felt the same way as you. Initally, I thought that maybe a was just expecting too much out of it because of their reputation and the high price, but our Ninjas work well, are cheap, and we havn't had realiabilty issues with them (yet). I really would like it much better if they were made in the USA, though. Bummer to hear that about Blendtec.
My dad is a huge Vitamix fan and I'm a huge Ninja fan. My latest blender was purchased back in 2016 Ninja Intellesense. I think I spent less than $200. It included a 72 oz pitcher, a food processor bowl, veggie spiralizer and food grater. It also came with a coffee grinder and a couple of different size cups. It still works till this day, (except the coffee grinder that recently broke I tried grinding dry ginger) but I am traveling and I want to get a new one, I can't justify the cost of a Vitamix when a ninja can last just as long and be 1/4 of the price. Even if I have to purchase another one to get the same time frame, it's still a win in my opinion.
The cost has always been the hangup for me also... I haven't had any issues really with ninja products breaking.. Yet. And they have a lot of enticing features. Definitely you get peace of mind with vitamix though with their crazy warranty.
I switched to vitamix because in 5 years i've had 3 ninja's break on me. But I use them daily, sometimes 2-3 times a day. Making things like nut butter and lots of smoothies and crushing. Ninja did well, but for some consistencies, vitamix did them better.
For someone like you, you can really take advantage of those vitamix bomb proof motors. Those things shine in a really high use environment like yours, for sure!
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When you actually compared blended items you will SEE the huge difference between the Vitamix and Ninja. Also Joe you forgot the Vitamix has a pulse mode you use to chop ice, bigger question is when in the world besides your video will you be blending ice?? I had a Ninja and sold it cheaper than what I paid for it. Got me a Vitamix and LOVE it! Vitamix wins every time!
I don't doubt ya, Aciano. I've had vitamix blenders in the past and they have all been fantastic. Well worth the money. That particular model was weird though... They cut a few corners trying to get the price down, and at the time that came out, it looks like that had some QC issues. The ice test should have been left out though.. It's not real-world. My last Vitamix was the 5200 series, and that thing was amazing.... really pulverized stuff well.
It would be fun the see a comparison with a more modern Vitamix. Sadly the money you save on the Ninja will probably be spent on new blades every six months, so that the engine will last a little longer.🤨
Heya, Knight. We've been pretty lucky with Ninjas over here. Have never had to replace a blade tree or anything, and they get pretty regular use. When we did this comparison, we didn't really have a choice and had to find the cheapest vitamix possible which still raises eyebrows at about $400. That Ninja was only like $120 or something like that, so we were trying to narrow that price gap as much as possible. Even so, I assumed the Vitamix was going to do a lot better. No doubt the newer and more modern Vitamix blenders will probably totally detroy that Ninja no problem, but IMO they better... haha. Anyway, I think it might even be better to compare a modern VItamix to something like a top end Blendtec... That might be a sight to see..... Vitamix would still take everyone's lunch money on warranty coverage though.... It's just about unbeatable.
You know... I've heard of people having issues with that but this is the 3rd one we have had in house, and we haven't had any issues. We never put any of the Blender parts in the dishwasher though.... Maybe that can be an issue?
Great comparison! The fact that the Vitamix couldn't even deal with ice and struggled with smoothies (the easiest thing to do with blenders) is an absolute embarrassment. Then the price difference!! Wowzers!!
I had that very same Ninja and it broke after a year and 6 months. And I only used it once a week the most! I called the company and, after trying to trouble shoot it over the phone without luck, they tried to sell me the base for $100!!! On the other hand, Vitamix has a 7 year warranty, which is a big deal. Important feature to mention right there, especially knowing that those things may malfunction and break. Oh, cleaning…another point to Vitamix!! I have cut myself so many times after trying to clean my Ninja especially after making nut butter. The smoothie cups on the Ninja got stuck to the base several times and I almost couldn’t get it off. Something about their blade attachments need to be improved.
Hi! Thanks for great insight! Much appreciated. Definitely that warranty is a great selling point. We haven't had those issues with the Nina's, but that's not saying they aren't an issue.. Just that we've been fortunate with that sort of thing. Ninja's blade design is definitely a concern though... I've never had an accident with them, but the possibility is there for sure... For cleaning I just tend to leave em in the Blender and run a couple of cycles with warn water and detergent to clean em.... Still have to remove them to dry, but it limits the amount I have to deal with it. Don't think they'll be changing that design any time soon. They've had that tree shape on those forever. Sorry to hear about your bad luck with them... Sucks to hear that.
Over the decades, I have used a number of different blenders. All I want is for a blender to mix my ice cream, sherbet, gelato, and sorbet ingredients. Either of the blenders in this video will do what I want. Thanks for the video.
My Vitamix probably 15 years old. I love it! The person who did this video seems biased. I do,however, want a smaller amount to blend. It is harder to do it with the Vitamix. You are using your tamper incorrectly.
Heya, Darsey. You're right.. I may have come off a little biased sounding, but that was because I was expecting so much from the Vitamix. Call it very high expectations for their products. It's not super fair, but when you're the best, you always gotta bring the "A" game, if you know what mean. Like you, I had an older Vitamix before as well, and ironically I got it around the same time you got yours. It was FANTASTIC. The problem with the e320 is that they tried to make it more budget friendly to appeal to a wider audience, and something went wrong it appears.. not to mention, our review unit definitely had some sort of QC issue going on as well. We edited that video pretty heavily and when I got around to finally trying to unstick the ice in the blender, I had already been messing with it for several minutes and had gotten a little frustrated and was kinda just mashing the tamper in there... so that's definitely on me. All in all, it's still a great blender, IMO... but for $500 that model needs tweaking... It's on sale right now over at Costco I think for $299 right now, and at that price, it's awesome. If that's what it retailed at, it could be a game changer. Thanks for your input though! Will strive to be better next time!!
I know this video is a bit old but I have to say: I LOVE my Vitamix!! I bought my Vitamix 3600 in January of 1995: same month my son was born. The intent was to make babyfood and whatnot. I still have that Vitamix! It still works PERFECT! I hate the "new" Vitamix models, that is: ANY model made after the full stainless steel 3600 model. You can buy them used off of Ebay and stuff. That 2.5HP motor is practically unkillable! It does every single thing you did in that video and more. Best $400 I have ever spent. I just don't like all the plastic crap VM reduced it too. Also, when crushing ice: it helps to put a bit of water in the bottom to create a vacuum that pulls the cubes down towards the blade. Never, ever have a problem crushing ice in mine. Good video tho!
@@donhoe100 I've used vitamix blenders in the past and they've always been great. The Costco version of the explorian wasn't. I don't know it it was quality control or cutting too many corners for cost, but it doesn't live up to their reputation. If we were sponsored or supported by Ninja, I would have to tell you so, and even at that, I wouldn't do reviews or comparisons if there was a conflict of interest there.
That was the Ninja Foodi Power Blender and Processor System. The upgrade to that is the Foodi Ultimate system which includes a better processing lid with a pusher, and processing discs.
I have my Vitamix from Costco being delivered today. I’ve had the higher end one in the past. I don’t expect this one to be as great but it is at a good sale price right now $299.00 and I like to make soup with it also. For those people that like to make soup but don’t want to spend the high price of a Vitamix, try the blender made by Instant Pot. I have their very 1st model and it works great. They have updated it since then. The newer model should be even better. I wanted the Vitamix because it will fit on my counter better than my 1st model IP blender.
It has a lot to do with the type of pitcher you used with the vitamix. The tall 64 oz pitcher out performs every competitor. And also the low profile wet 48 oz pitcher. It is because they have a narrower base. The wider base of the new low profile pitchers is dysfunctional.
So far so good... Haven't had to sharpen them or anything and hey're still doing a nice job. No problems to report yet on the blender base either... I'd still recommend hand washing everything though. Dishwashers are too hard on plastics.
Not really a great blender "comparison" considering the only things you actually used the blenders for was ice and a personal smoothy. Put the two full size pitchers and start blending things, and you'll see why the Vitamix costs what it does.
You're right... I should have had at least 2 of those in there. Like maybe a half full and full pitcher as well. Did a lot of that off camera, and it was pretty uneventful and got left out of the video. That was back when we just started doing videos and thought it was going to make the video too long... Should have been in there in retrospect. In those comparisons, both blenders did fine, though. The Explorain ended up doing those with more noise than other Vitamix blenders we've used in the past though. That was to be expected though, since the last one we tested was an $700 model. The Ninja did about the same. The Vitamix had the additional advantage of being able to heat the blender contents however.
Really good Comparison Video. This helps with my purchasing decision easier. Lower Price & better performance & functionality, Ninja is what I'm going with. However, all other Comparisons with the Smothie Test were made with the Main Pitcher. In which cawe the Vitamix came out on top.
Thanks! I messed up a couple of things in that comparison a little though... Didn't really use the tamper correctly, but at the end of the day, I still didn't think there was enough to justify the price difference.... Then again I suppose it depends what you're using it for.
I had a Vitamix that broke after 2 years and was a pain in the ass to use. My parents have one, but it smells like burning metal if it is on for more than 30 seconds. Vitamix is crap. Thank you for your honest review.
I saw you previous video on the VitamixE320 and was on the fence but with this new video am totally convinced that the Ninja is a better choice. Thank you - You saved me a couple of hundred dollars or in other words a tank of gas.
OMG 😱 I’m glad to find your video to see the review, I’m going to return the Vitamix that I bought at Costco and buy the ninja, thank you so much I’m going to save $200.00 God Bless you.
I could have done that ice crushing test a little differently, so I'll agree with you on that. However, all the other problems with this Vitamix model shouldn't exist on a Blender with that kind of price tag on it, and those problems don't seem to really seem to exist on their higher end models.. Just this particular one. That's probably why it seems infomercially... That's not due to the performance of the Ninja as much as the Letdown from the Vitamix, though... Was just trying to be as objective as I could.
I originally bought a ninja blender years ago because it could make shaved ice! I live in Arizona and well you could make and eat snow cones year round ( well I can) and have been on the fence about upgrading to a vitamix, I make smoothies often and it works very well for that . But I know now I’m sticking to my ninja for sure, I may upgrade to another more modern ninja blender. Mine has to be at least 8 to 10 years old and still strong.
I kinda want to try out their a2500 or a3500 vitamix kitchen systems... Those looks pretty awesome. I've been looking at that Ninja power bundle too... Seems like an upgrade to the ultimate system possibly.
Yeah.. They both did that pretty easily. Both on the coffee bean grinding and on the nuts. Great nut butters too. Also, on the Ninja, we recently did some rice flour using just raw rice without soaking it, and it powered though that as well. I didn't test that on the vitamix, but I know it does that really well also.. Actually would prefer something like that on the vitamix since it requires a little stirring with a spoon once or twice, and the ninja tower blades get in thr way on that sort of thing.
Just looked that one up. Pretty awesome looking piece of equipment. Looks like it's not availble here for whatever reason. I can only find it on Spain's Amazon site.
@@JoesPhenomenal Ι think this Cecotec would be my next buying item. Right now I have Cecotec 1800W 2.1lt but I had to use 4 legs to lift it a little higher because from the 3rd degree of intensity and above, it started to smell burnt. Now with the feet it works perfectly with no smell at all. Those guys at the factories need to take care about this isue because with short legs the hot air is not removed adequately and it's lifespan will be reduced.
I would agree with ya on the professional kitchen for sure. Ninja's aren't designed for that kind of abuse, especially with all the plastic parts, for sure.. However, that particular Vitamix blender wouldn't be in a professional kitchen either. Definitely you'd have one of the higher end models. That being said, I think you're right about the durability, and Vitamix has that 7 year warranty to back it up, if not.
I can see a ninja being used more for personal projects and recipes, as far as Vitamix on the other hand, they've been in the game much longer, and they've had a lot of uses in a lot of restaurants I've seen where you can see them make smoothies and all. But it usually boils down to what kind of materials and other design techniques that both use, the Ninja is more leaning towards its multi high blades, Vitamix in all actuality could've won the Ice crushing challenge since the last E320 I've seen came with a special kind of Square pitcher that works much better for these things, especially with the damper. One thing I like about that pitcher more is how unique the damper works with the square pitcher blades, if his Vitamix had one of those, the tables would've turned fast I tell you. But whatever works for your needs, they're both nice 👍
@@WDZG Oh, I totally agree with you. I like Ninja's products, but I'd never try to use them in a commercial environment. There's a reason you see vitamix blenders all over the place in all the smoothie shops and restaurants. They can run forever and they're pretty bulletproof! Have an awesome Thanksgiving!
Who cares… I’d rather replace a Ninja every year than have to deal with some of the Vitamix crap demonstrated in this video daily for seven years. Not worth the frustration.
I have a Vitamix and use it daily for smoothies. I got a Ninja for my cottage and hate it by comparison! You really needed to blend with the blender container to compare fairly. Why? Because if you put in nuts or seed (even small ones like chia seeds) the smoothie with the Ninja stays chunky in texture, but the Vitamix can blend anything into a completely smooth, liquid texture! Hate to have chunky, gritty smoothies. Also, every time anyone in the family tries to clean the Ninja's blades they end up getting cut! It's terribly unsafe.
I always tell people to just clean the ninjas by shooting a bit of detergent and warm water into the pitcher and blending it for a while to clean it... The blades are definitely something you gotta be super careful with otherwise. I've been able to blend pretty smooth on it though... Not quite up to what vitamix blenders typically produce, but still petty nice... I'd they could just fix that single serve cup...
Vitamix has that great warranty for sure... This model is 7 yrs, but they covcer shipping too. Definitely shorter warranty with Ninja products, but I can't really comment on replacement on those since we haven't had one fail... had the one in the review for quite a while too, but gave it to a neighbor that needed one... still working fine as far as I know. The problem with warranties is that even though they guarantee replacement for longer, it doesn't guarantee whether or not you need to use it... I know all about that with my extended warranties on my cars.. lol. Also, with the higher prices, I would think I would demand a longer warranty as well to cover myself a little better. Excellent point though! It really is something to think about!
I don't have an ss101, but If I see one one sale, I can grab it and do that. Basically, the 401 got it's roots from the 101. Similar base and the same cup with the tamper... so it should perform the same as the 101, except with a bunch of extra functionality. If I remember right, the base has more power to it, also.
Thanks for the link to this, Joe! Apparently, they were having a sale on the Vitamix Explorian.....and I have to admit I was trying to figure out how much I would have to pay monthly to get it - simply because everyone was saying that Vitamix is hands down the BEST "investment". I'm really glad I didn't do an "impulse" buy!!!! You've been really helpful. I can't thank you enough. I don't suppose you did any reviews of other Ninja models, did you? Well, I check out your other videos to see. Once again, thanks!
I think the Vitamix problem is mostly with that one model that I reviewed... it's the one that commonly goes on sale... still too pricey to me though. If you check out our playlists, we have all the reviews and unboxings in there... As far as Ninja goes, There are reviews for the Foodi Power Blender and the Professional Food Processor. Some more on the way though.
I am glad I watched this video. Thank you. Now I know that I do not want a Vitamix, although I live 5 minutes from the factory and could buy one right from them. Nope, I keep my Ninja.
Great video. I understand that the Vitamix is a better blender and more durable. However, how many people will really use it for it true potential to justify the $170 price difference ? ( Costco has the vitamix for 300 and the ninja for 130 ). The true is that both blenders are targeting different audience. I can assure for that for people who wants a excelente blender for smoothie and ocasional use will have enough with the Ninja. If I were a cooker and knew how I would use my blender; I would invest the 170$ extra for the vitamix but it’s not the case. Also, the ninja was on Costco in sale a few weeks ago for 80$… you can not beat that 😅
I hear ya... I use the Ninja stuff, myself, and I haven't had any issues with reliability yet... We will see how well they hold up over a longer period of time though.
I like to point out you didnt do the right setting for ice crushing on the Vitamix. That button on the left you push that down, the little box hump design is the ice setting
I have that ninja blender and just use it for the cup smoothies these days... the smoothie setting makes a better smoothie than using it in manual imo. I tried it in manual and stuff was getting stuck for me. I think it just shows the ninja is easier to use for normal people. I just start my smoothie, get dressed, grab my smoothie and run out the door because I am late to work but that's my fault 😂
I purchased the vitamix at Costco just this passed weekend because it was on sale. First vitamix purchase and I was so excited to finally own one. It was a major disappointment, I retuned it after using it for a couple of days and purchased the ninja foodie blender instead. I have to say I love my new ninja. Smoothie bowls are so thick and creamy. Waffle batter turned out so nice. My blentec that I had for a couple of years is another one that disappointed me, goes to show that high end is not the best in the end at all. Thank you for this video this helped me to purchase the ninja. I have a smaller ninja blender that has been so dependable for years and an air fryer that is still going strong, so for me ninja is good enough.
Hey thanks, sassy! Glad I could help! I suspect that the vitamix problems are with their lower end blenders like the explorian series.... I haven't seen too many complaints on the higher end ones.
@@JoesPhenomenal It was on the one you did the comparison on. Definitely not the high end, I refuse to pay that much money on any kitchen gadget. I am sure the ninja won’t last as long as the high end vitamix but I do not expect it to. I think the comparison you did was right on target and vitamix lost. They should stick on only making high end models at least that way people will get what they paid for. 😬
@@sassysyl1284 There is an issue with this particular unit. This isn't normal and he should send it in under warranty. All vitamix models are essentially the same from the highest to lowest priced, some have higher hp motors, some have bluetooth and/or automatic modes but they all should perform equally.
I will agree with other comments, the videos I watched you have done with vitamix you seem biased from the beginning. If you want a machine that will last a lifetime I’d choose the vitamix every time
Hey... Thanks for your thoughts! I wasn't trying to be biased on that review, but I can understand how it could look that way. I agree with you that Vitamix makes the best blenders on the market. They're pretty legendary, actually. The problem with the explorian e320 is that it looks like they decided that wanted to reach into the more budget markets, and as a result with that model, they might have cut a little too far trying to get the price down and ended up with some weird quality issues as a result, while still not getting price down enough. When we did that comparison, we did it without doing any sort of pre-testing at all and were sure it was just going to be fantastic, so I ended up really disappointed with it due to how unfavorably it compared to the rest of the Vitamix line, and I probably showed it a little too much in the video. Still love the company though...just not that model.
Thanks a lot Joe for sharing this informative video. I saw these two blenders at Costco. I was confused. I saw a few reviews on youtube. But I must say this video cleared my confusion and I ended up buying Ninja foodi blender! Thanks a lot! Keep it up!!
@@JoesPhenomenal I bought Ninja foodi for making dosa batter(batter of soaked rice and black gram split; needs wet grinding) and chutneys. It’s working great, far better than what I expected. I love its IQ feature. Thanks again, really appreciate your help!!
No problem! Super happy that it's working for ya! I just picked up Ninjas new foodi kitchen system, also... Will be reviewing that coming up later this week... Might be kinda wild.
Heya Chrisophist. At the time I did that it was the current versions being sold over at Costco, so I had to work with what was available back then. The Vitamix was 499 back then VS. The Ninja power blender that I think was on sale around 129 or something like that. So if it wasn't fair, I would think it would have been in favor of Vitamix due to the price difference. In any case, it turned iu that that Vitamix model had a few quality control issues and Costco eventually had it replaced with the 5200 series which was a much better blender, IMO. I think it came in at a lower cost, too, so that was even better, especially with that great warranty that Vitamix offers.
I am gonna be completely honest here as a Costco employee I can tell you that I see way more ninja blenders being returned vs the vitamix. The ninja doesn’t seem like it lasts long with everyday use.
Hi! Thanks for the insight! Much appreciated. I assumed that the Vitamix blenders should last longer, if for anything just the cost of the motor assemblies. I wasn't really able to comment on the reliability aspect too much though, because I haven't had one fail on me......yet. Was thiking about doing a follow up on the Ninja stuff after a year of use or something like that. But really, I don't think I've really had had any blender fail on me at all other than an old Oster from years ago. I baby all of our equipment though... might have something to do with it.
Well, that is very interesting. I have the Vitamix Heritage Pro 750 (it has a metal body, whereas the "750" is plastic), and I love it. Thank goodness I had points on my card to spend, because the price was $750, but I had about $300 in points. Still, it was an expensive purchase, but I am really happy with it. I had heard that the Explorians were not as good, so I didn't take a chance there. I had also heard that Ninjas don't last too long, but this one seems to be quite sturdy. Thanks for such a good review! P.S. I wonder if any of those "company" people ever take recommendations seriously. In other words, will someone from Vitamix see this and propose adjustments to the model?
Thanks for the great comment! Yes.. I hope Vitamix sees this and addresses it for sure. I've always been a big supporter of American companies and been willing to pay a little more to get their products, but they have to deliver the goods too! Our Ninja Foodi Blender is pretty new, so we will see how it holds up and will be sure to make content around it if it doesn't!
@@JoesPhenomenal Yes, you are right about supporting our own companies and workers' jobs. I see some baking blogs where people are promoting European mixers, and complaining about KitchenAid. I would rather support a North American company, and we see KitchenAids more than any other brand in cooking videos. So, they still must have a good reputation. And, what about service? Can you imagine having to ship a heavy mixer away for service? It's much easier to get a KitchenAid fixed closer to home than it is to ship a comparable mixer across the country.
@@JoesPhenomenal Yes, but I think the complaint with the mixers deals mainly with making bread dough. It could also be that people are exceeding the limit (weight) of ingredients, making it harder on the mixer. We see KA mixers in all of the popular cooking videos, and they get very good reviews on Amazon, so I don't believe the quality has suffered as some would say.
It would be better to do ice starting on a low speed then increasing slowly. Starting on high like that, you're just immediately chopping everything around the blade into fine shavings that then form a cavity that doesn't allow the rest of the ice to come in contact with the blade. On low, it would make bigger chunks first that would knock each other around and allow for more even contact with everything else.
I hear ya... We did that test a while back... In retrospect, we should have just left that out all together since it really isn't a real world test anyways.
Yep... Sure does... With room to spare, unless you have really low cabinets. The lid on the Vitamix sticks up a little more. We didn't have a problem with it fitting under ours either, but it was pretty darn close in our kitchen.
You seem slightly biased in this review, but I'll chalk it up to a possibly defective unit. The vitamix, with about a cup of water on the tall 64oz pitcher (and 2 cups on the low profile), will blend basically anything. In actual use, crushing ice is about the only thing the Ninja with "total crushing blade" does better with no help. Green smoothies come out with flakes/small grit remaining, on the Ninja while vitamix is velvety smooth. Ninja has also been shown to froth up anything mostly liquid. I guess it depends what consistency you prefer. Vitamix will also crush dry ice but there is a procedure of ramping up the speed involved. Vitamix uses a permanently dull blade meant to use blender horsepower, rather than sharpness to do its' work, so the process is a bit different. If you had read the included vitamix cookbook before doing this review, your results may have turned out better. I'll give you the quality control critiques. I didn't expect a unit that expensive to have so much play in the various controls. I don't have a higher end model to compare, however. Pitchers are also prohibitively expensive. $150 for the 32 or 48oz, and more for the classic 64oz "tall" is insane. In contrast, Ninja had a fairly widespread issue for a while, with cracks and leaking pitchers. Full disclosure. I do own a Ninja Air Fryer which I love. Also, I have never owned the foodi, but I returned one of the lower end Ninja's with the same blade system.
Heya Sum. Thanks for the insights.. They are much appreciated! I did have a little bias in this review, but it stemmed mostly from over-expectation and having a weird unit didn't help much. We have used higher end Vitamix blenders over here before and never had any of those issues, so a lot of that was more surprise than anything else... Especially given the price tag on it. So right from the start, the Vitamix has to live up to a lot of hype, per-se. That wasn't very fair, but when you're the best, you gotta give up a big reputation... Couple that with the bizarre QC issues we had with that particular one, and a comparison to a much cheaper brand that outperforms its price-point, and a dumb guy like me that gets annoyed way too easy, and you got a recipe for disaster. Costco did mention to me at the time that they had a rash of returns on that model, so probably just a bad batch or something.
@@JoesPhenomenal after further review, I'd say the explorian models follow your findings. I've had mine, which I bought factory renewed, for about a week. Makes a mean smoothie but it has a few quirks. It basically has all the faults yours does, as well as "hunting" when increasing the variable speed. It also smells strongly of burnt plastic or grease and gets stronger whenever the motor is fast enough for the internal fan to be blowing air. IMO, the e310/320 are much lower quality than the higher end models like the 5200 or ascent series. They were designed for Costco to meet a price point, rather than a quality standard. I may end up returning it as the smell is almost noxious. The foodi does look like a great option, but I don't really like the total crushing blade setup. I'd prefer dull bottom blades like the blendec and Vitamix use, as I believe they are better for a smooth texture and don't sling contents to the outside walls. What do you think about the older ninja chef or the twisti models, which both use a traditional blade? Blendtec?
What I would wonder is how something that still costs $400 ends up being that noticeably bad... You'd think they could still do something pretty wild at that price point. Their labor costs must be pretty high. As for the recommendation, is probably be looking at the Blendtec. They're a lot like Vitamix, but I kinda feel like their product line is more innovative.
@@JoesPhenomenal $400 should not be a barrier to building a quality blender. They could have dumbed down the motor or included a cheaper container, and maintained their quality otherwise. Instead, what should have been a positive entry-level experience for new owners, has left a bad taste in their mouth. Maybe as you said, "made in USA" comes with unrealistic manufacturing costs. But you actually read my mind. The Breville Fresh and Furious was also on my list, but the Blendtec seems to be the only other thing on the market that can compete with the Vitamix. Similar power, a blade that will never dull (it already is), and you get newer technology, digital display, pre-programmed modes, etc... of the $600 vitamix models for what....$379? Their wildside container ($129) has an extra (5th) straight side which is supposed to circulate ingredients similarly to the vitamix, in a vortex. I wouldn't expect to get the same velvety results, though.
Totally agree with ya. I prefer to buy stuff made here and will pay extra for it (to an extent), but I better get something really special, too... All Clad is a nice example to me.... Very expensive pans, but they are amazing, too. Hard to swallow that price, but they are pretty bomb proof and look amazing too.
I love your review & comparism. However, because I' m biased to Ninja as I have used that before & the vitamix as well from costco the Ninja does it all for me. However since that single bad experience with vitamix I can never buy it or recommend it to anyone, most especially with regards to the price being ridiculously expensive for what it offers in my opinion.
I've owned both.. Vitamix is normally really great, but I think it might be something just with this model... I feel like I was hard on them a little because of the price and the reputation of the company though, when I look back at it.
I owned a ninja for over 5 years and it totally sucks. It's super loud and terrible at making smoothies. Always did I have chunks of stuff in there. You would think that the 3 vertical blades would be better but trust me, they make things a lot more complicated.
You must own stock in the Ninja company! I owned the Ninja multi-blade blender and it was useless junk! So after I booted that out of the house, I bought a refurbished Vitamix and haven't had a problem with it at all! It does everything it is meant to do with no problems! Not so with the Ninja multi-blade! I even got a good gash on my hand from one of their upper blades!
Heya Leonard. Naw.. if I owned stock in them or got a kickback of some soft, I wouldn't do reviews... just feels weird. I agree with you about the Ninja blades. They really are pretty dangerous. When I do cleanings, I typically just leave them in there and shoot in warm water and detergent and just blend to avoid touching them. Also, since they're so sharp they tend to slice through stuff instread of pulverize it... So they results are different from most other blenders. I've been ok with it, but it doesn't work great for a lot of things, especially nut butters. That Vitamix was the only one that I've ever had issues like that with, and Costco quit carrying that model a while after I did that review, so I'm thinking there might have been something with the design of that particular model. That one was also producing a weird kinda of burning smell after it ran about 10 seconds also, so definitely something was going on there. Had a Vitamix 5200 before, and that thing was a beast.
You're right. The ice test isn't a real world test since nobody does that. It was meant to be in there more as a power test than anything else, but If I did it again, would probably just leave that one out. Actually did that after the smoothie test as kind of a curiosity thing because the vitamix didn't handle the smoothie all that well and moved it in editing. We actually did a lot more tests but most of them were kind of boring because neither blender had any kind of issues with anything else. I Love that the Vitamix is made in the USA. I actually really like that company and have had great blenders in the past from them, but it looks like there were just a few weird problems with this model, and it looks like there were quite a few people that have had less than stellar performance from it. Even asked the people over at Costco what they thought and they did mention that it's a heavily returned item, so I dunno. Still like Vitamix quite a bit and their warranties are outstanding, but seems like this particular model is a little weird. I'm sure they'll figure it out.
With vitamix start slow then ramp up. It needs to get things moving first. Same for ice. Also it seems like your speed dial is broken. Imo the extra dough blade isn't a benefit for the ninja because the vitamix will do dough without switching blades. Its a good thing you can get 3 ninjas for the price of the vitamix too because you'll need too with chinese nonservicable goods.
Heya! Thanks for the input, David. I gotcha on the ice crush... If I were to redo this comparison, I'd probably just leave it out anyways. Everyone seems to wanna do it, but it's not really a real world test, since nobody really does that. The thing with the speed dial was making the speed changes pretty sluggish too... so there's that. I don't doubt the that vitamix build quality and power are better. Used several of them in the past and they have always been really solid. Just figured they might have cut a few corners on that particular model. As far as the Ninja's longevity goes, I can't really have much of an opinion on it, since I haven't had one fail yet. I don't doubt that a Vitamix would outlast one, just haven't seen it yet in my own experience. However, Made in the USA is always nice to have for sure.
I knew about that... I just didn't think it was going to have a problem with it when I did that video. In restrospect, I should have left that one out.
Okay, so you’re not supposed to blend at high speed at the beginning. You start at one than you ramp up the speed. second there is something wrong with that vitamix. You don’t need to use a tamper for the ice. I really don’t think that vitamix is working properly, I had a ninja, my smoothies were HORRID. They were chunky, kale wasn’t processed completely. I returned it and bought a vitamix. To be frank, I don’t see this as fair. I see this as very biased just for the fact you’re using a broken product to compare to the ninja. You should read on how to use a vitamix before making an unfair comparison.
Yeah.. You right. I messed that ice blending up... Honestly, in retrospect, I should have left that test out all together since it's not really based on real world stuff. The Blender being broken is kind of a rough topic. I have to do the review based on what I have there, if it's like that out of the box, it's unfortunate. Costco has had quite a few returns on that, so it could just be a problem with that model in general. I Don't know.. I've used vitamix before and they never had issues like this one.
So according to you, he got a lemon and you feel it was an unfair review. You returned your ninja (possible lemon 🤔) because the smoothie didn’t turn out. Plus you want to spend more time slow mixing the ice rather than getting it over with quickly with using the Ninja. I’d say his review was fair and I’m really enjoying my Ninja smooth smoothies. I’m glad you’re enjoying your expensive Vitamix though 👏🏽
@@azmgbbb admitting to using an appliance incorrectly doesn’t & than calling that appliance a dud isn’t something right. Instructions are their for a reason. Your ninja could make a smoothie but it’s performance would never outclass a vitamix. I have my vitamix still have no issues. Not a possible lemon it would just trash. The blades splattered whatever I was mixing and didn’t create a vortex to suck everything down to the blades like a “high end” blender should. You get what you pay for.
I dunno....Like I mentioned in the pinned comment, there was something really wrong going on with the blender, but that's what came, so that's how it goes I guess. Vitamix says that they test every single machine that comes off the line for quality, but I'm not so sure about that... They sell tons of blenders. That would be really hard to do, and evidently this one got though along with some other people in the comments. They did change owners about 10 years ago, but that was another family member taking over the operation, so I wouldn't think it would change the company all that much, but who knows?
@@JoesPhenomenal well money, inflation and the magic 15% increase in stock price every quarter has to come from somewhere, and i would imagine the switches and gears took a hit at some point😄 🤣 😂.
Fabulous review. Exactly the information we were looking for! We bought a Foodi Ninja from Costco two months ago and last week the base snapped off. (I always lifted the blender via the suction cups --- had to get a finger under one and even then it was hard --- but my daughter pulled on the groove part and it broke all four of them off, so heads up about that....) ANYWAY. I did a blog post about it, asking readers if a Vitamix was worth it, and the responses were all over the place. And now this review. So what to do? I'm considering just returning the Foodi Ninja and getting a replacement... (Unless you have an even better blender to recommend??)
Thanks, Jennifer! If it were for me, I'd stick to your Ninja if you have liked it other than that mishap. Especially since you can just walk into Costco and get it replaced for nothing. I love Vitamix, but I've always felt that even though they make a great product, Their pricing is too high for the features they give you... and I'm not a fan of the version they have over in Costco. Just my personal opinion on that, though.
@@JoesPhenomenal Yeah, that's what I think we're going to do. (P.S. My husband and I BOTH watched your video and laughed out loud a couple times. That silly cup guard shroud thing!)
These two really aren’t comparable. The Ninja has sharp blades that will dull and are dangerous to handle and clean. The blender is not built for daily use for a long period of time with its construction. It will do better at making ice, but that’s about it. The vitamix is superior at basically anything except ice. The little blender cup attachment is not the best and takes some getting used to in order to make sure the ingredients are packed in the right order. The normal container does an amazing job with anything except ice because ice doesn’t move around. The dangerous column of blades are an advantage there. Every model above this base Explorian is much quieter, this is the loudest in the lineup because it’s a barebones version for Costco meant to provide the normal power of the higher end blenders but without the features and sound proofing.
Heya, cujobob! Thanks for the great insight. Those ninja blades can definitely get ya if you're not careful for sure. I can't really comment too much on Ninja's durabilty though. I agree with you that Vitamix is built more to last, but I haven't ever had a Ninja base break or blades dull down noticeably during daily use. Not saying it doesn't happen, just that I haven't experienced it....yet. The ice test isn't something we do anymore.... in retrospect it's not a great test since it's not really real world. Can't really remember a time where I wanted to blend ice by itself, anyway. When we did that video, that was kind of a trending thing and was even being advertised by some of the blender manufacturers. Should have left that out, so that's our mistake. Overall, however, the Explorian really is pretty bare bones, like you said. It worked fine for the most of what we tested, but just felt like Vitamix really needed to try to get that price point down further for it's feature set. I still think Vitamix's higher end blenders are best in class, however... with some pretty heated competition from Blendtec lately.
What are you blending ? I've had my ninja for 7 years now and haven't had a single issue. How are you grabbing or cleaning the blades that there is a danger, it's possible that your issues are all operator error
@@Beeautifullifefarm I use my blender every single day for smoothies and more. A ninja wouldn’t survive the abuse I put my Vitamix under, most likely, and the blades which start out sharp - will dull. For someone who uses a blender less often, the story changes. As for the danger… you have to clean the blender and remove those blades on the Ninja and that increases the risk of being cut.
3-6 smoothies a day plus regular blending every day in my house, using an 8 year old ninja. But whatever makes you feel better. Just replaced the blade for 16 bucks last year. Hell of a lot cheaper than spending a few hundred extra dollars in my opinion.
my mom and i abuse the living heck of our blenders. we have 3 blenders vitamin a3500 & blendtec designer series and a ninja foodi. i can tell the blendtec and vitamix have no problem turning anything into a smooth smoothie or a purée of a chille. ninja failed us they say they have a lot of power just by making it loud but i still had to chew my food and see it being gritty, straining chille for birria i and to strain a lot of it with the ninja. it felt very cheap with quality wise the other two felt heavy and way much better build quality this is just my opinion other may differ
Heya Joshua. That tree design that Ninja uses makes it really nice for certain things, but seems to be pretty average for other stuff. I suppose it depends what you normally tend you make in your blender. That being said, The vitamix (that 3500 is wat better than the explorian models) and the blendtec machines are really in a different class. Those big powerful motors are a bit pricey, so when push comes to shove on pure power, the Ninjas tend to be outspent on components.... Might be interesting to see if they ever decide to put out an ultra powerful and expesive model to compete with those guys on that front. I doubt that though. Blendtec and Vitamix machines are geared more towards commercial environments while Ninja products are designed solidly for more budget oriented kitchens.
@@JoesPhenomenal never knew that! i remember ninja tried to make a vitamix model that says it’s better i think it’s called ninja ultima blender+ they don’t make it anymore but i know it’s out there it has a variable speed control and a tamper like the vitamix
Estoy viendo videos de la vitamix y hablan maravillas tanto que me estaba decepcionando de mi ninja 😢,pero al ver este video me puse contenta 😅. Pero lo que busco es una que muela semillas y los chiles que los pulverice bien,gracias por el video.
De nada. Usted puede ser capaz de hacer eso con su ninja si tiene las tazas de servicio único. Esas tazas más pequeñas hacen un mejor trabajo en ese tipo de cosas que la jarra grande hace.
That foodi blender doesn't do hot stuff like soups, but it makes a a nice, smooth nut butter though. Have done it with almond, peanut, and cashew, and they all came out nice. Ninja does make a hot and cold blender, though. I'm not sure how well it does does the soup though since I haven't messed with it. I am going to take a wild guess though, and say that the Vitamix would beat it in soup making pretty easily. Vitamix blender are really powerful, and I know you can make soup in those in around 5 minutes or so.
You have to first learn how to use a profuct, and then make a review and confuse people. There a puls button!!! And have to load products correctly.!!!!!!!
Hi! Thanks for the input! I assume you are talking about the ice crush test. If that were supposed to be a tutorial on how to blend frozen drinks or something, I would agree with you. In that case, you wouldn't blend ice alone, and would probably give it a few pulses to get it starting before going into a full blend. That test isn't for that though. It is a test that is supposed to be hard on the Blender and is used to expose potential problems. That test showed that there is a problem with that particular models pitcher design where it's too narrow at the bottom. You can see that even though the vitamix is extremely powerful, that was a problem. The ninja, probably because of the wider base and the tall blade assembly didn't have as. Much of an issue with it. Even if you don't agree with doing that test {which I agree with you probably could have been left out) the explorian still had problems with the single cup attachment design, the narrow single serve cups, the erratic motor, and the funky variable speed dial. Like I said in the comparison video, these are all issues that I have never seen on a vitamix Blender... Just this model, so I had to assume I either had a bad unit for review or that particular model was designed with some shortcuts to bring the price down. I don't really see how that is confusing or misleading, but if it is for people, I apologize for the confusion and will try to be more careful next time. Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and wish you a happy holiday season!
Ninja is not good for anything else except ice crushing. I have one and if you use the big jug it doesn't make good smoothies and it leaves chuncks on the wall of the jug if you do humus or nut butter. Unless you use only the small jug is not a good blender at all. Next time make a fair comparison because you are misleading people. Also don't understand the hype around Ninja. Is not nearly as good as people claim it to be. Not to mention that i've cut myself several times while washing the blender. Not a good design whatsoever. It's not hate ,it's genuinely bad experience.
Heya Filip. I dunno... I've had a pretty good experience with them... We've even done it butters and a whol who's rid other things on the channel here and they've always come out nice for us... I suppose that all depends on what ingredients are being used, and a few other variables. I agree with you about the blade tree though... It's definitely tough to work with from a cleaning perspective. That double blade design can be dangerous if you're not careful. Usually, I don't even remove it. I just clean the system by putting in warm water and detergent and running a couple of cycles. Cleans up really nice without having to mess with it. In our experience Vitamix blenders have always been really great but the problem revolves around this particular model. It was bad enough to where I thought there must just be something wrong with our review unit, but quite a few people have complained about the same things, so I had to assume that Vitamix cut too many corners trying to get the price down. As far as being a fair comparison, it more of a let down with the performance of the Explorian than it is with anything that's overly amazing with the Ninja for us. We were comparing a $500 Blender to one that costed us about $120 when we did that video back then... Obviously, you had a different experience though, and I respect that, completely. Hope you have a great holiday season, and thanks for your insight!
That day I did... Pretty sure there was some sort of QC problem at Vitamix at the time. Shortly after that model got pulled from Costco and replaced with a different one. I've heard from some other people that have that Explorian 320, and the more recent ones don't seem to have a lot of those issues anymore. So that's a good thing.
I had a ninja, complete junk and blades are right out of a horror movie. Bought a Vitamix and never looked back! You show the Vitamix container wobble, it doesn’t wobble when in use, it sits stable on the rubber. The rubber lid comes on and off much easier than the ninja lid. If you take apart the ninja, which I did when mine broke you will see it’s complete junk inside, all plastic cheap parts inside. Take apart a Vitamix, no comparison! A Vitamix will outlive a ninja! My ninja lasted less than a year. My Vitamix is still going strong after 5! The Vitamix is also a dream to clean, the ninja was awful with those horror movie blades! My ninja blender pitcher cracked and busted up after a month of daily use. The second pitcher did the same within a couple more months. I’ve never had that with my Vitamix. The plastic blade assembly broke in the ninja then the final straw was the motor burnt up within the first year of use, trash! You can show a one time use demo all you want but will it last? The answer is NO! Ninja won’t make nut butter the way Vitamix will either you didn’t show that either!
Hi Nate! Thanks for your comments! You make several really good points. With the ninja blades, I assume that you're talking about how you can maybe cut yourself trying to clean them? That's a valid concern, and it's one that got overlooked. We ended up using a brush with a handle on it to clean that thing at first, due to being a little freaked out trying to get in between the blades for cleaning. We didn't experience any wobbling with the Vitamix in use and never said it was dangerous... Just that a locking mechanism is a better idea in case it gets hit with an elbow or something. Will that happen? Probably not, but the point is that it would be nice it they implemented something like that. Their commercial blenders do. We did mention that the drive system in the Vitamix is all metal, and that it was superior to Ninja's (or anyone else that uses plastic gears) and that it would last longer, and even mentioned how great having not only a 7 year warranty is, but also one that they cover shipping both ways. That's amazing, actually. We did have a problem in the past with a cracked pitcher on a Ninja Food processor attachment. It cracked where the metal screws connect the blade base assembly to pitcher on the bottom. That ended being caused by repeated washes in the dishwasher with the Heated drying turned on. I don't know if maybe that could be what happened with yours possibly? That was several years ago, and since then, we decided that nothing plastic is really a good idea to clean in there even if they say they're dishwasher safe.... Much better just to hand wash that kind of stuff. Better yet, I always tell people, the best way to clean a blender in general is just to drop a little detergent into the pitcher with warm water, and run the thing for a bit... Comes out nice and clean unless you let it sit around and stuff gets caked onto it. Since doing that, we never had any issues. In fact, we picked up that Foodi Power Blender just because it was on sale, and our old Ninja was getting cruddy looking and old.. We gave it to a friend that needed one and it's still working well. It sucks that yours lasted such a sort time though. That's a bummer. We didn't do a nut butter comparison, but I assume the Vitamix would do that well... Our Foodi did a nice job it.. We have a video posted on the channel for that.. Turned out nice. As far as durability goes, I would actually be shocked if any Vitamix didn't outlast a Ninja... But I would expect that, especially at the price they go for. But if it didn't you'd still have that sweet sweet warranty, and it would get taken care of, I bet. Based on your comments, I thought it would be a good idea to maybe to a follow-up video on the Ninja Foodi when it get's a year old, just so people can see what kind of problems there were, if any, and if it's still running, etc. You're right about reviews, they don't tell you about how long things last... just how they work right now. However, there is something that we have to keep in mind... Not all Ninja models are the same. The same goes for Vitamix. The name on the box does not guarantee the quality of what you get when you open it. The comparison is between the Explorian and the Foodi Power Blender, and just those... It's doesn't mean that anything else in either line will produce the same results. Chevy makes the Spark and Corvette, but we can't compare those at all... Not saying that you can compare a blender to a 'Vette or anything, just that the name on the badge doesn't automatically mean anything. We owned a High End Vitamix 10 years ago, and it was awesome! Loved it.. But there was an accident and we lost it, and when it came time to get a replacement, we couldn't afford the get another. That's where the old Ninja comes in that we mentioned above and gave away. It worked really well for us too, and were actually surprised, because we were not expecting it to work very great given the price, but were pleasantly surprised. When we did the comparison, we were expecting the Vitamix beat the Ninja, but for the Ninja to put up a respectable fight. What happened was a little depressing actually. We figured even Vitamix's Low End Explorian should still kick some butt. In fact, we even got some email from people mentioning the same kind of things happening, Blender bases smelling like something burning, and some other stuff with their Explorian E320s. I even reached out to Costco's customer service and they mentioned that they get a lot of returns on that model. You had a Ninja that was just horrible it seems, and then got yourself a sweet Vitamix that you're happy with. That's awesome! I love it when people are happy with what they spend their hard earned cash on. But remember, everyone's experience can be a lot different based on picking up a model that just happens to have some issues, or maybe even just getting unlucky and getting one that's just defective. Either way, it paints a horrible picture. Anyway, I'm super glad that you have something that you like! At the end of the day, that's what matters!
I actually found the Ninja removable blade better than Vitamix’s. My biggest complaint about Vitamix is cleaning after usage as the blade is deep down and difficult to reach. Just bought a Ninja Foodi (on sale at Costco) and will give it a try. I especially like the part that it can make dough.
@@bhuan9987 Yeah.. I like the blade assembly also... The fact that it has all the extra blades on the blade shaft, helps with that a bunch. For cleaning, and this is for either Blender, I just put a few drops of detergent into the pitcher and fill half way with warm water, and run the Blender. It gets everything nice and clean without having to try to reach in there. I would do that pretty soon after use though, so nothing sticks in there really good. This is especially good with the ninja, because that blade assembly can cut you pretty good if you aren't careful.
@@jimmysyar889 That's what she said. 😉. Anyway, yes.. It worked out better doing that... Or pulsing a few times at the beginning. It still wasn't super fantastic though. In any case, the ice crush test isn't really a great real world test since you're likely going to have some liquid in there, too.
I don't do ninja and that their company is all just for marketing and that they cut corners like one is the power cord is a cord you see on fans and that's not a cord for high wattage and blendtec vitamix and waring extreme has a thick three prong cord on them and that ninja blades are to sharp that vitamix blendtec and waring extreme has blunt blades that are safe to touch and works better then ninja and with ninjas warranty they charge you for the shipping and its not long but vitamix blendtec and waring it's almost 10 years they are made in the usa and ninja is made in china
Heya! Thanks for your thoughts! I agree with you about the "Made in the USA" comment. I always try to buy American if I can, and we do have a lot of great companies that make great products. Vitamix is definitely one of those. Unfortunately, the Explorian version of their blenders isn't one of their best efforts. Just being an American company doesn't give them a pass when they put out a bad product, and that gets amplified when that company has the kind of reputation for quality and value that Vitamix has. In fact, that can work against them, because it will cause them to be judged a lot more harshly due to expectations. The Ninja comparison is a good example. If the Ninja compares favorably, it makes Ninja look more impressive, but if it compares poorly, people will have already expected that due to the price. It's not always super fair, but price and reputation and definitely key things that people focus on. Vitamix definitely uses hefty power cords, but they also use higher amperage motors. A thicker power cable seems really nice (I like that also), but it's isn't a necessity if the power requirement isn't there. You can tell if a cord is too thin if it warms up a lot during use, and we never experienced any issues with that on the Ninja Blender. The Ninja blades are definitely a little dangerous since they have that stacked design. I'm not super excited about that design for that reason, however as far as performance it is a very effective design. It does require a heck of a lot of care to deal with if you pull it out of the blender for sure, though. Will have to disagree with you on the blade performance, though. In all of our testing, that has always been a strong feature for Ninja, which is why they're so popular. As far as warranties go, Vitamix's warranty is one of the best i've ever seen. That can't be mentioned enough. It's fantastic. You definitely get peace of mind when you spend what you have to spend to buy one. However, Ninja's isn't terrible... it's just your basic 1-yr that you get from most companies, and given the price of their small appliances, you can't really expect more than that. They would have to push prices up in order to offer something like that. The real question with warranties though is whether or not you end up having to use them and how much. We have had appliances from Vitamix, Blendtec, Ninja, Cuisinart, and KitchenAid in our kitchen, and we have never had to use the warranty service on any of them... Don't get me wrong, great warranties are awesome and they are definitely good selling points, giving you a lot of peace of mind, but if the product doesn't fail on you, then it doesn't come into play... and when you ask for the cash investment that Vitamix, Blendtec, and All-Clad ask for then that warranty starts to shift towards being a neccessity instead of a perk, otherwise it discourges a lot of people from making those purchases. That's why we have a hard time leaning too heavily into warranty coverage for reviews. Especially since we can't knock a product for a shorter warranty if it doesn't end up failing on us.
@@JoesPhenomenal Like with the longer warranty they stand behind their product much longer like if something was defected but that defected part last for quite a while like shipping sometimes handles the packages rough and ninja should include a tool to handle the sharp blades
I couldn’t wait the get my vitamix after having a ninja for years. I even accepted a different color to receive it faster when they were out of stock on my primary color of choice. I almost gave away my ninja but decided instead to live with both for a while. To this day I grab for my ninja for chopping needs and I have used my vitamix about 6 times in 10 years mostly for smoothies and it does work very well for smoothies but so does the ninja. My husband hates the ninja. blade because of safety concerns. Recently, I began shopping for a new blender/food processor as my ninja is looking a bit worn yet still going strong. I found this review very true to my experience and I think I may be leaning toward the ninja again.
Thanks for the great insight! I agree about that blade tower... Scary stuff! I found that just leaving the blades in, dropping in some warm water at a little soap, and blending it for a minute or so will get it nice and clean without having to take it out of there.
just oredered this on costco. havent got it yet. just saw this video. wont even open the box, will return to local costco. i sent a email to vitamix about this video and me returning it. my previous blender was a BLentec... was absolutly amazing. will stick to blendtec or if feeling cheaper the ninja
Hey! Glad I could help you out. There's always the possibility that I had a bad unit though... However, Costco didn't seem too impressed with them either. Blendtec is a really great company too. Need to get one of those in here to check out sooner than later.
@@JoesPhenomenal had a blendtec for 7 years started to smoke. Costco took it back full refund. I believe it was a 8yr Warranty. It would turn ice to snow. Ordered the ninja tonight. It's $30off making it currently $100. Will test that out. If it fails to my expectations, will go back to a blendtec. Would love to see a blendtec review. It was a absolute beast when I had it.
@@BrandonRyanPresents OK... I'll see about getting one here and doing that for ya. Costco is AMAZING with returns. Their service is great. They treat their employees really well, also.
I had a Vitamix for 10 years, best blender ever. The new one from Costco between $300-$400 absolutely sucks! I returned 2 of them tired of that damn plunger and chunks in my protein shakes. It was half the blender my old Vitamix was. The Ninja for $129 shockingly crushes the Vitamix! It’s not even a comparison with the tiered blade and smoothie mode.
Yeah... That explorian they made for Costco might just be weird... I've had vitamix blenders in the past and never had bizarre issues with them before.
Kinda seemed that when I look back at it. The problem is that in a comparison like this, the Vitamix is going to be at a big disadvantage. If it does better than a much cheaper Blender, then of course it did because it costs way more... But if the performance is anywhere even close, then it loses for similar reasons. There is also the reputation of Vitamix at play here too... In this case they released and extremely scaled down and bare bones blender for a lower price point. IMO, that's a mistake. It's going to draw direct comparison to its higher end models, and going to be judged accordingly. I expected so much more out of that Blender, and it didn't help that it got through quality control with some kind of mechanical problem. I love vitamix, and have used several of them in the past, but none of them had the weirdness that the explorian did, and for what you get with that package, the price needed to come down a little bit more that. It really should have steamrolled that Ninja. Will it last longer than the Ninja? I would expect it to for several reasons, especially with that awesome warranty it has on it, but really I can't just say that either. We've never had a Ninja Blender break on us other than a cracked pitcher, that was getting cleaned in a dishwasher (which I don't recommend at all). So definitely there is bias there.... But it's hard to avoid. With brands like Vitamix there is an expectation that goes along with it, unfortunately.
@@JoesPhenomenal I've had my vitamix for three weeks now. I'm glad you made it know in your review the jerking motion as well as the lack of speed increase when you go from 1 ---> 2 that frustrated me and still does. The fact that it doesn't lock into place it rather annoying too. I agree its over priced the overall deciding factor for me was the 5 year warranty and the ability to purchase an additional warranty. I checked ninjas website and a majority had only one
The ninja is a pos. Even w the blade tower I’ve had it not properly blend or break down ingredients. Your ice crushing comparison was laughable - jeez!
Heya, John.. We've had pretty good luck with ours... The only thing we have had trouble with over here was smaller batches using the large pitcher. Those blades then to slice through stuff instead of pulverizing, so it can miss stuff that sticks to the side... Small things like but butters end up working a lot better with the smaller cups. It's not perfect, but I still think it's great for the price, IMO. You right about the ice crushing. If I did it again, I'd leave that out. It wasn't really meant to be a real test since people don't typically blend ice like that, but more of a lets-see-what-happens kind of thing... However, that Explorian model and a lot of other weird things going on with it. Never had those issues with other Vitamix models...just the one, and Costco has since replaced it with a different model. Maybe too many sacrifices to get the price down. Who knows? In any case, Thanks for you insight! Much appreciated.
@@JoesPhenomenal My ninja died after the warranty period and I was left w a blender sized boat anchor. You mention that the vitamix had issues, but it has a 7 year warranty. Not so with the ninja’s 1 year warranty. That’s a major advantage which you neglected to take into account.
Yeah.. I can understand how frustrating that is, John. I didn mention the 7 yr warranty on the Vitamix though. I even said that the fact that they even include the shipping in that is pretty fantastic. For something at that price point, I would expect that sort of servicex but as far as I've seen, they're one of the few that actually going out of their way on that... All Clad does pretty well with that too.
@@JoesPhenomenal not based on your review 😁, I bought an E320 for $299. It didn’t have the QC Issues yours had, and I’m impressed with the performance - it makes juices that are smoother than the ninja ever did. I owned a ninja. It worked great at first, but broke after a year. I brought up the warranty bc you should get your E320 fixed/replaced and retest.
A couple of things to note about this comparison. First, I should have left out the ice crushing part. When doing that, you would nomally start the blender out slow and increase the speed. I didn't do that, since the Ninja didn't have a problem with it. That's due to the fact that the Ninja has that blade tower and has a lot more cutting suface on the ice. In any case, it's not a super realistic test since you don't typically blend ice alone with no liquid. Second, keep in mind that the Vitamix blender was probably dealing with some sort of defect out of the box. Unfortunately, I had to deal with what I had there, so you need to keep that part in mind. Just an FYI, I've never had issues with other Vitamix models, so this isn't really indicitive of the company as a whole, but more this one model or possibly this one unit if the problems were due to a Q.C. problem over a design problem of that model.
It has a lot to do with the type of pitcher you used with the vitamix. The tall 64 oz pitcher out performs every competitor. And also the low profile wet 48 oz pitcher. It is because they have a narrower base. The wider base of the new low profile pitchers is dysfunctional.
This is an old video, but vitamix specifically tells you how to blend ice with their machine. Add ice, fill with water till the ice barely starts to float, then blend. Takes 2-3 seconds for an entire pitcher of crushed ice. Then drain the water and you're ready to go!
Loved seeing this comparison! I've had a similar Vitamix (E310) for a few years, but recently purchased the Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System which includes the food processing discs, two-part food pusher/chute, etc. It's also a 1600 watt system. It has now become my day-to-day machine with a permanent spot on my counter. My Vitamix is stored away in the pantry, but I definitely plan to hang on it for time when I want to make hot things like soup or nut butters. For me, I find the Vitamix does a better job with nut butters thanks to the tamper. For those complaining about the danger of cleaning the Ninja blender due to the multi-blade tower configuration, I do the same as you. I just fill the blender container about two-thirds full with water, add a drop of dish soap, then let it run for a minute or so. Cleans up perfectly every time! Ironically, that's a tip I learned from having a Vitamix as that's their recommended cleaning method for their blender as well.
Heya, Melissa. I agree. I feel like the higher end Vitamix blenders are way better than the explorain though. Maybe too much cutting of corners to get the price down (which was still pretty high). I really wanted to love that thing, but the Ninja hung in there well, and has a lot more utility. Will it last? No idea... but I could buy 4 of them with the same money, so it wouldn't bother me too much if it did eventually die.. but so far, it's still chuggin' away. No complaints here. Those Vitamix machine are the masters of sauces and soups though. They come out almost as smooth as an immersion blender.
@@JoesPhenomenal Yep, the more expensive Vitamix blenders definitely stand the test of time. My mom bought one of the old school stainless steel blender container back in the mid-70s to make nut butters. Nearly 50 years later, it's still going strong! I highly doubt my Explorian will be around for that long, but it does what I need it to do for now (soups, sauces, etc.). Prior to upgrading to the Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System recently, I used a Nutri Ninja AutoIQ personal blender. I've had it for almost 15 years and it's still going strong. I only replaced it because I like all the different options (dough, food processor, etc.) available with the Ultimate System vs. just having a personal blender. Thankfully, my containers from my old Nutri Ninja actually fit on the Ultimate System even though everything I read said they wouldn't.
For years I’ve heard how good a Vitamix is. My Ninja is starting to make a high pitched sound so I think it’s on its way out (8yrs old). I saw Vitamix on sale and swept it up! Got home and made a smoothie. I too thought the design of the single serving set up was so crazy! I just kept thinking, now I have two things to clean and couldn’t figure how I would effectively clean the blades! Then I tried blending-just like in your demo I had frozen fruit stay on top. I shook it, and shook it, added liquid and after four blends (and four rinses of blade adapter), I still had a frozen strawberry at the end of my drink. I was certain I did something wrong. That’s when I found your videos confirming my whole experience. So glad I can so easily return to Costco and pick up the Ninja. For my single serving daily morning smoothie, it’s the best fit for me. Thanks so much for your excellent review!!
You're welcome, Wendy. Vitamix blenders really are good as far as what I've seen.... Just that model is really weird... Maybe too much cost cutting to get to the Costco price? I dunno... My Blender appeared to have a few issues out of the box, too... So there's that. I hate that single serve cup though.
My Ninja jus started the squeeling noise a couple days ago. Its about 12
Yrs old. (Thats why I’m here 😢). I figured if something happens, Ive definitely gotten my $ worth 😬. No issues w/ consistency of smoothies etc after all these years ☺️
12 years is good value.... We haven't actually had any of our ninja equipment die on us at all just yet. That being said, we don't really have problems with that with anything here in the kitchen. Our original nenja blender had a pitcher eventually crack, but that was after about 6 years of abuse and trips into the dishwasher (which I don't recommend on any plastics anymore)
I just returned my vitamix explorian because i was not impressed with it at all and after some research I purchased a ninja foodi. I'm even happier with my purchase after seeing this video. I thought I was going crazy since everyone loves vitamix so much. Thanks for the great review of the two.
You're welcome! Yeah, I was shocked when I did the comparison. I didn't rehearse for it, so I wasn't expecting that stuff to happen. Glad you got yourself something you like better!
Thanks, this comment has helped me get over the desire to upgrade to vitamax. I'll just keep my ninja. I'm not planning on making my blender a family heirloom
@@longebane Ha!
It has a lot to do with the type of pitcher you used with the vitamix. The tall 64 oz pitcher out performs every competitor. And also the low profile wet 48 oz pitcher. It is because they have a narrower base. The wider base of the new low profile pitchers is dysfunctional.
Thanks for this comparison! Great shootout. I’ve always heard of vitamin being the king but always loved my more affordable Ninja. I’ve been reading the comments and all I see from the vitamin fans is that the ‘ninjas don’t last’, which is interesting because the only blender I ever bought was the Ninja Ultima from 2014, and it still works to this day. I bought the ultimate system this weekend (which has the food processor and slicer wheels, that I love) simply because I wanted the grating and slicing options.
I used it almost daily for roughly 8 years, figured it was time to get the new shiny one.
Anyway, thanks again! Love your vids
Thanks! Appreciate ya. We have a review on here for that ultimate system, too... It's a nice setup.. Great price too.
Are you still liking the Ultimate? I am on the fence about getting one today. I would mostly use it for making protein fluff and blending things for anabolic recipes.
Yep... Still use it just about every day. The single serve cups, the processor discs, and the main pitcher... No real complaints here... It's a little noisy, but most high powered stuff is.
Everyone has a different reason for using certain brands. Personally, I have owned a ninja and loved it. Based on other blenders that I've used and the recommendation from the chrones and colitis foundation, the vitamix is supposed to be the best for digestion when in a flare. Everyone is allowed to like or dislike their preferred brands, but we don't have to be ugly to one another. If the vitamix doesn't work as it's supposed to, it will go back to the store.
Well spoken, Scarlet.
Thank you Joe!! I’m very happy with my Ninja, BUT, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had a second-class version of the Vitamix, just because of all of the hype (and the price) of the Vitamix. Well now I’m smiling and so is my bank account. It’s also nice to know that the Vitamix is LOUD too! 😌😅 Another Biblical lesson on being content with what you have, and to stop coveting other people’s stuff!!
Glad you like it! The ice test I did actually wasn't very fair seeing as how it's not really a real world test since blenders aren't really used that way, but the smoothie test was still kinda janky. I'm sure that isn't a problem with higher end vitamix blenders, but even so... It's still a premium price anyways... I'm a fan of their company so I hope they sort that out. I don't have any complaints about the ninja yet either...
I totally love the way you equated this to the bible and I totally agree with you, contentment is really everything.
@@rukydeez1030 God is good! 🙏🏽
The ninja blenders are loud to be honest. Any kind of blender over 1k watts will be loud. It’s a motor
Vitamix is not garbage; although, I liked your video, and will buy a Ninja for the Holidays. 18 years I have owned 2 Vitamix Blenders and recently an immersion blender. They are quality built. Never had a problem with the drive mechanism or motor. That is 9 years per blender pounding up ice-fruit smoothies. I agree with your assessment regarding the variable speed dial. It quit working- no other problems in almost 20 years. Also agree, it is LOUD! The only thing I own as loud is my metal angle grinder. Not mentioned, it is nice having 2.2 HP. Here is why. I needed Rice Flour and Powdered Sugar for a recipe. I put 1 cup rice then hit the high speed for 5 seconds: wa-lah, rice flour. I did the same with sugar to make powdered sugar. So it is not junk and I will buy a Ninja ; all the while, I will keep the Vitamix for operations just mentioned. PS: did not like the shroud.
I agree with ya.... Have always loved Vitamix products... They've always been really great. It was that one model that surprised me. Maybe they cut a few corners to get the price down... Not sure what was going on there.
I currently have a 5200. So far haven’t had any problems with it, creates that smooth, velvety smoothie texture I was looking for without any tamper, I use the main standard container and all frozen ingredients.
Heya Arande.... Yeah... we have a 5200 over here also. Night and Day difference on that one. I don't know what the deal was with the E320. Never had any of those issues with a Vitamix before.
The food processor from Vitamix only works with the Ascent and Venturist series blenders. It does not work with Explorian, C or G or standard older Vitamix machines.
Thanks for the info!
I have both a Ninja and a Vitamix, the Vitamix is always the big winner for me. Joe does point out a few of the actual cons of the Vitamix in this video (I'm not impressed with the Vitamix smoothie adapter and cups either) but's also very clear that he has a very strong bias against the Vitamix (which is keeping these tests from being fair). The Vitamix can handle many other tasks that Joe barely touched on or didn't even mention.
One little thing that's really important...those Ninja blades are down right dangerous to clean. I've had food stuck to the blades and shaft of the Ninja and, if you're not really careful, you can easily get cut. The Vitamix is always easy and very safe to clean.
It is also important to know how to use the equipment you purchase (as one example, the Vitamix will easily turn an entire container of ice to a much finer snow than the Ninja).
The Ninja is not a terrible machine, I liked mine for a number years, but the Vitamix is SO much better. One thing to keep in mind concerning the Vitamix machines, as with anything else, the build quality of the lower cost models isn't as good as the build quailty of the higher cost models. Do your own, unbiased research before buying anything.
If you're planning a blender purchase I would suggest looking at other reviews and knowing the real differences between the two machines before making your decision. My personal, real world experience is the Vitamix is a much better machine.
Hey! Thanks for the comments! I agree with you on the Ninja blades.. In fact, I just clean them by shooting a little detergent into the pitcher with warm water and blending the whole thing to avoid having to get my fingers too close in there. I think that you're right about the negative bias on that Vitamix, also, which was a bit of a mistake on my part. Part of the problem was that the tests were all done live for the video, and I was coming into it expecting the Vitamix to do what I tested a lot better and wasn't prepared for some of the results. I'm actually a really big Vitamix Fan and have used them quite a bit in the past. Coming in, I expected it to perform just like the last Vitamix I used (which was their most expensive consumer model at the time), so it was a bit of a shock. Since I did this video, I was able to check out some of their other models, and they didn't exhibit the behavior I saw with the Explorian, so it looks like whatever was going on there was with just that model. I think I mentioned that in the video, too. Vitamix is a great company, though, and I love their products.. Just think they cut a couple of corners on this model that I wasn't expecting.
How long was the food sitting in the blender for? If you let it get crusty sure anything can be hard to clean. You're supposed to rinse all blenders immediately after use
This was incredibly well put together. Thank you so much!
Glad you enjoyed it! When I recored it, I thought the Ninja was going to get smoked.. Vitamix's higher end stuff is a lot better than this one though.
Today I learned that people have fierce loyalties to their preferred blender brands and will get pretty aggressive about it.
Yeah.. I think that goes for everything, though... Trying to be objective gets everyone yelling at ya from both sides.. Ha ha.
I wanted to love my Vitamix. But the machine was a total let down in usability and having to resort to using the stupid plunger all the time. Blendtec was much better (and fit under countertop) however it had a seal failure early in its life and was a pain to deal with. I realized that ninja truly has made a lot of advancements with their appliances. We now have a simple mid level ninja and will upgrade if if ever fails.
Thanks, Luke! Yeah... I kinda felt the same way as you. Initally, I thought that maybe a was just expecting too much out of it because of their reputation and the high price, but our Ninjas work well, are cheap, and we havn't had realiabilty issues with them (yet). I really would like it much better if they were made in the USA, though. Bummer to hear that about Blendtec.
My dad is a huge Vitamix fan and I'm a huge Ninja fan. My latest blender was purchased back in 2016 Ninja Intellesense. I think I spent less than $200. It included a 72 oz pitcher, a food processor bowl, veggie spiralizer and food grater. It also came with a coffee grinder and a couple of different size cups. It still works till this day, (except the coffee grinder that recently broke I tried grinding dry ginger) but I am traveling and I want to get a new one, I can't justify the cost of a Vitamix when a ninja can last just as long and be 1/4 of the price. Even if I have to purchase another one to get the same time frame, it's still a win in my opinion.
The cost has always been the hangup for me also... I haven't had any issues really with ninja products breaking.. Yet. And they have a lot of enticing features. Definitely you get peace of mind with vitamix though with their crazy warranty.
I switched to vitamix because in 5 years i've had 3 ninja's break on me. But I use them daily, sometimes 2-3 times a day. Making things like nut butter and lots of smoothies and crushing. Ninja did well, but for some consistencies, vitamix did them better.
For someone like you, you can really take advantage of those vitamix bomb proof motors. Those things shine in a really high use environment like yours, for sure!
@@trevnti I prefer using my Nutramilk for nuts milks and but butters. But I understand where you're coming from. Wish you the best.
I have the Vita-Mix 5200 and it died. So i bought the Vita-mix E320 at Costco and it crushes the ice perfectly!
And my smoothie tastes good!
OK good... So my test unit might have just been faulty after all. Good to know! Thanks, Felixo
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You too dude, take it easy 🌟
When you actually compared blended items you will SEE the huge difference between the Vitamix and Ninja. Also Joe you forgot the Vitamix has a pulse mode you use to chop ice, bigger question is when in the world besides your video will you be blending ice?? I had a Ninja and sold it cheaper than what I paid for it. Got me a Vitamix and LOVE it! Vitamix wins every time!
I don't doubt ya, Aciano. I've had vitamix blenders in the past and they have all been fantastic. Well worth the money. That particular model was weird though... They cut a few corners trying to get the price down, and at the time that came out, it looks like that had some QC issues. The ice test should have been left out though.. It's not real-world. My last Vitamix was the 5200 series, and that thing was amazing.... really pulverized stuff well.
It would be fun the see a comparison with a more modern Vitamix.
Sadly the money you save on the Ninja will probably be spent on new blades every six months, so that the engine will last a little longer.🤨
Heya, Knight. We've been pretty lucky with Ninjas over here. Have never had to replace a blade tree or anything, and they get pretty regular use. When we did this comparison, we didn't really have a choice and had to find the cheapest vitamix possible which still raises eyebrows at about $400. That Ninja was only like $120 or something like that, so we were trying to narrow that price gap as much as possible. Even so, I assumed the Vitamix was going to do a lot better. No doubt the newer and more modern Vitamix blenders will probably totally detroy that Ninja no problem, but IMO they better... haha. Anyway, I think it might even be better to compare a modern VItamix to something like a top end Blendtec... That might be a sight to see..... Vitamix would still take everyone's lunch money on warranty coverage though.... It's just about unbeatable.
Have you had the problem of getting water/condensation stuck inside of the ninja handle?
You know... I've heard of people having issues with that but this is the 3rd one we have had in house, and we haven't had any issues. We never put any of the Blender parts in the dishwasher though.... Maybe that can be an issue?
Great comparison! The fact that the Vitamix couldn't even deal with ice and struggled with smoothies (the easiest thing to do with blenders) is an absolute embarrassment. Then the price difference!! Wowzers!!
Yeah.... that was pretty surprising, for sure... that's why the video is so long. Didn't wanna cut any of that weirdness. Ha ha!
There's something wrong here. Vitamix is used in most all coffee and smoothie franchises, restaurants, bars,etc.
@@boognish593 Not this model though, nothing wrong models for retail customers are a joke
I had that very same Ninja and it broke after a year and 6 months. And I only used it once a week the most! I called the company and, after trying to trouble shoot it over the phone without luck, they tried to sell me the base for $100!!!
On the other hand, Vitamix has a 7 year warranty, which is a big deal. Important feature to mention right there, especially knowing that those things may malfunction and break.
Oh, cleaning…another point to Vitamix!! I have cut myself so many times after trying to clean my Ninja especially after making nut butter.
The smoothie cups on the Ninja got stuck to the base several times and I almost couldn’t get it off. Something about their blade attachments need to be improved.
Hi! Thanks for great insight! Much appreciated. Definitely that warranty is a great selling point. We haven't had those issues with the Nina's, but that's not saying they aren't an issue.. Just that we've been fortunate with that sort of thing. Ninja's blade design is definitely a concern though... I've never had an accident with them, but the possibility is there for sure... For cleaning I just tend to leave em in the Blender and run a couple of cycles with warn water and detergent to clean em.... Still have to remove them to dry, but it limits the amount I have to deal with it. Don't think they'll be changing that design any time soon. They've had that tree shape on those forever. Sorry to hear about your bad luck with them... Sucks to hear that.
so far, my vitamix e310 does well. it liquifies, but this is with the 48-oz pitcher. i haven't tried the single serve cups yet. it depends on usage.
I chose the costco ninja set today based on seeing your research. Thanks for spending the time to do this.
Hey Thanks, Marvin! Hope it works well for you!
Over the decades, I have used a number of different blenders.
All I want is for a blender to mix my ice cream, sherbet, gelato, and sorbet ingredients.
Either of the blenders in this video will do what I want.
Thanks for the video.
You're welcome! I think you're like 99% of people. If you can do it and save some money, I'm all for that.
My Vitamix probably 15 years old. I love it! The person who did this video seems biased. I do,however, want a smaller amount to blend. It is harder to do it with the Vitamix. You are using your tamper incorrectly.
Heya, Darsey. You're right.. I may have come off a little biased sounding, but that was because I was expecting so much from the Vitamix. Call it very high expectations for their products. It's not super fair, but when you're the best, you always gotta bring the "A" game, if you know what mean. Like you, I had an older Vitamix before as well, and ironically I got it around the same time you got yours. It was FANTASTIC. The problem with the e320 is that they tried to make it more budget friendly to appeal to a wider audience, and something went wrong it appears.. not to mention, our review unit definitely had some sort of QC issue going on as well. We edited that video pretty heavily and when I got around to finally trying to unstick the ice in the blender, I had already been messing with it for several minutes and had gotten a little frustrated and was kinda just mashing the tamper in there... so that's definitely on me. All in all, it's still a great blender, IMO... but for $500 that model needs tweaking... It's on sale right now over at Costco I think for $299 right now, and at that price, it's awesome. If that's what it retailed at, it could be a game changer. Thanks for your input though! Will strive to be better next time!!
I know this video is a bit old but I have to say: I LOVE my Vitamix!! I bought my Vitamix 3600 in January of 1995: same month my son was born. The intent was to make babyfood and whatnot. I still have that Vitamix! It still works PERFECT! I hate the "new" Vitamix models, that is: ANY model made after the full stainless steel 3600 model. You can buy them used off of Ebay and stuff. That 2.5HP motor is practically unkillable! It does every single thing you did in that video and more. Best $400 I have ever spent. I just don't like all the plastic crap VM reduced it too. Also, when crushing ice: it helps to put a bit of water in the bottom to create a vacuum that pulls the cubes down towards the blade. Never, ever have a problem crushing ice in mine. Good video tho!
Heya Ralph... I had a 3600 as well before and loved it.... Looks like these issues are only present on the e320. Could have been a bad unit, also.
@@JoesPhenomenal HaHa! Could be...I'm not gonna upgrade until this one hits the wall! Hopefully never have too!
@@ralphnewman2479 might be waiting a while. Those are bomb proof.
Thats exactly what I was thinking, a little water or liquid is a must! I'm thinking this video was sponsored by Ninja?
@@donhoe100 I've used vitamix blenders in the past and they've always been great. The Costco version of the explorian wasn't. I don't know it it was quality control or cutting too many corners for cost, but it doesn't live up to their reputation. If we were sponsored or supported by Ninja, I would have to tell you so, and even at that, I wouldn't do reviews or comparisons if there was a conflict of interest there.
What ninja foodi is this because the one I got has food processor attachments
That was the Ninja Foodi Power Blender and Processor System. The upgrade to that is the Foodi Ultimate system which includes a better processing lid with a pusher, and processing discs.
i think the dial on yours vitamix is defective. mine is not wobbly and also hits the numbers properly ... great video thank you
OK good.... Thanks for the info! I thought that was awfully weird.
I have my Vitamix from Costco being delivered today. I’ve had the higher end one in the past. I don’t expect this one to be as great but it is at a good sale price right now $299.00 and I like to make soup with it also. For those people that like to make soup but don’t want to spend the high price of a Vitamix, try the blender made by Instant Pot. I have their very 1st model and it works great. They have updated it since then. The newer model should be even better. I wanted the Vitamix because it will fit on my counter better than my 1st model IP blender.
At $299, that value is waaaay better. Nice to have that 7 yr warranty too.
It has a lot to do with the type of pitcher you used with the vitamix. The tall 64 oz pitcher out performs every competitor. And also the low profile wet 48 oz pitcher. It is because they have a narrower base. The wider base of the new low profile pitchers is dysfunctional.
I noticed that! Never had these kind of issues with my older one.
Wondering how the blades on the Ninja will hold up after a year.
So far so good... Haven't had to sharpen them or anything and hey're still doing a nice job. No problems to report yet on the blender base either... I'd still recommend hand washing everything though. Dishwashers are too hard on plastics.
Not really a great blender "comparison" considering the only things you actually used the blenders for was ice and a personal smoothy. Put the two full size pitchers and start blending things, and you'll see why the Vitamix costs what it does.
You're right... I should have had at least 2 of those in there. Like maybe a half full and full pitcher as well. Did a lot of that off camera, and it was pretty uneventful and got left out of the video. That was back when we just started doing videos and thought it was going to make the video too long... Should have been in there in retrospect. In those comparisons, both blenders did fine, though. The Explorain ended up doing those with more noise than other Vitamix blenders we've used in the past though. That was to be expected though, since the last one we tested was an $700 model. The Ninja did about the same. The Vitamix had the additional advantage of being able to heat the blender contents however.
Really good Comparison Video. This helps with my purchasing decision easier. Lower Price & better performance & functionality, Ninja is what I'm going with. However, all other Comparisons with the Smothie Test were made with the Main Pitcher. In which cawe the Vitamix came out on top.
Thanks! I messed up a couple of things in that comparison a little though... Didn't really use the tamper correctly, but at the end of the day, I still didn't think there was enough to justify the price difference.... Then again I suppose it depends what you're using it for.
I had a Vitamix that broke after 2 years and was a pain in the ass to use. My parents have one, but it smells like burning metal if it is on for more than 30 seconds. Vitamix is crap. Thank you for your honest review.
You're welcome. I noticed that smell too, during this comparison.
I had the same issue
I saw you previous video on the VitamixE320 and was on the fence but with this new video am totally convinced that the Ninja is a better choice. Thank you - You saved me a couple of hundred dollars or in other words a tank of gas.
No problem. I got killed in the comments over that, but I really didn't see what I was getting for all the extra cost.
OMG 😱 I’m glad to find your video to see the review, I’m going to return the Vitamix that I bought at Costco and buy the ninja, thank you so much I’m going to save $200.00 God Bless you.
You're welcome.. Whne you get it, try it out and let me know what you think. It would be interesting to hear your opinion!
Look like an infomercial for ninja. On Vitamix ice crunching, start with low speed and use pulse button.
I could have done that ice crushing test a little differently, so I'll agree with you on that. However, all the other problems with this Vitamix model shouldn't exist on a Blender with that kind of price tag on it, and those problems don't seem to really seem to exist on their higher end models.. Just this particular one. That's probably why it seems infomercially... That's not due to the performance of the Ninja as much as the Letdown from the Vitamix, though... Was just trying to be as objective as I could.
I originally bought a ninja blender years ago because it could make shaved ice! I live in Arizona and well you could make and eat snow cones year round ( well I can) and have been on the fence about upgrading to a vitamix, I make smoothies often and it works very well for that . But I know now I’m sticking to my ninja for sure, I may upgrade to another more modern ninja blender. Mine has to be at least 8 to 10 years old and still strong.
I'm glad I could help ya out! That's a looong time for a Ninja... Lol
@@JoesPhenomenal , yes it is! I got it when it first came out 😀
Wow! Early adopter!
Spring for the vitamix, I like the older 5200 series (narrow container). This one has an issue. There's a reason the pros rely on vitamixes.
Great video. I'd love to see this on the ones available at costco today...the Ninja Foodi Power Bundle Ultimate System and the Vitamix E520
I kinda want to try out their a2500 or a3500 vitamix kitchen systems... Those looks pretty awesome. I've been looking at that Ninja power bundle too... Seems like an upgrade to the ultimate system possibly.
Did you mention they can be used to grind coffee beans? Have you tried? Also, what about nuts?
Yeah.. They both did that pretty easily. Both on the coffee bean grinding and on the nuts. Great nut butters too. Also, on the Ninja, we recently did some rice flour using just raw rice without soaking it, and it powered though that as well. I didn't test that on the vitamix, but I know it does that really well also.. Actually would prefer something like that on the vitamix since it requires a little stirring with a spoon once or twice, and the ninja tower blades get in thr way on that sort of thing.
What about Cecotec Grand Katana 2700W? Can you make a comparison with this blender?
Just looked that one up. Pretty awesome looking piece of equipment. Looks like it's not availble here for whatever reason. I can only find it on Spain's Amazon site.
@@JoesPhenomenal Ι think this Cecotec would be my next buying item. Right now I have Cecotec 1800W 2.1lt but I had to use 4 legs to lift it a little higher because from the 3rd degree of intensity and above, it started to smell burnt. Now with the feet it works perfectly with no smell at all. Those guys at the factories need to take care about this isue because with short legs the hot air is not removed adequately and it's lifespan will be reduced.
@@DRMORSEgreekwellville I think vitamix has the same issue. That burning smell is pretty common on some of their models.
@@JoesPhenomenal thanx for sharing this information.
Helps to know how to use your tool. Vitimix is a workhorse. That Ninja would not last six monthes in a professional kitchen.
I would agree with ya on the professional kitchen for sure. Ninja's aren't designed for that kind of abuse, especially with all the plastic parts, for sure.. However, that particular Vitamix blender wouldn't be in a professional kitchen either. Definitely you'd have one of the higher end models. That being said, I think you're right about the durability, and Vitamix has that 7 year warranty to back it up, if not.
I can see a ninja being used more for personal projects and recipes, as far as Vitamix on the other hand, they've been in the game much longer, and they've had a lot of uses in a lot of restaurants I've seen where you can see them make smoothies and all.
But it usually boils down to what kind of materials and other design techniques that both use, the Ninja is more leaning towards its multi high blades, Vitamix in all actuality could've won the Ice crushing challenge since the last E320 I've seen came with a special kind of Square pitcher that works much better for these things, especially with the damper. One thing I like about that pitcher more is how unique the damper works with the square pitcher blades, if his Vitamix had one of those, the tables would've turned fast I tell you.
But whatever works for your needs, they're both nice 👍
@@WDZG Oh, I totally agree with you. I like Ninja's products, but I'd never try to use them in a commercial environment. There's a reason you see vitamix blenders all over the place in all the smoothie shops and restaurants. They can run forever and they're pretty bulletproof! Have an awesome Thanksgiving!
You're an idiot for even making that comment. Neither of these are built for that setting or stress
Who cares… I’d rather replace a Ninja every year than have to deal with some of the Vitamix crap demonstrated in this video daily for seven years. Not worth the frustration.
I have a Vitamix and use it daily for smoothies. I got a Ninja for my cottage and hate it by comparison! You really needed to blend with the blender container to compare fairly. Why? Because if you put in nuts or seed (even small ones like chia seeds) the smoothie with the Ninja stays chunky in texture, but the Vitamix can blend anything into a completely smooth, liquid texture! Hate to have chunky, gritty smoothies. Also, every time anyone in the family tries to clean the Ninja's blades they end up getting cut! It's terribly unsafe.
I always tell people to just clean the ninjas by shooting a bit of detergent and warm water into the pitcher and blending it for a while to clean it... The blades are definitely something you gotta be super careful with otherwise. I've been able to blend pretty smooth on it though... Not quite up to what vitamix blenders typically produce, but still petty nice... I'd they could just fix that single serve cup...
Every time anyone in your family tries to clean ninja blades they end up getting cut… sounds like a stupid family.
but what about vitamix 20 year warranty vs replacing ninja every year or two?
Vitamix has that great warranty for sure... This model is 7 yrs, but they covcer shipping too. Definitely shorter warranty with Ninja products, but I can't really comment on replacement on those since we haven't had one fail... had the one in the review for quite a while too, but gave it to a neighbor that needed one... still working fine as far as I know. The problem with warranties is that even though they guarantee replacement for longer, it doesn't guarantee whether or not you need to use it... I know all about that with my extended warranties on my cars.. lol. Also, with the higher prices, I would think I would demand a longer warranty as well to cover myself a little better. Excellent point though! It really is something to think about!
Ninja currently $99 at Costco, I think it'll do what I want ( smoothies mainly) . Thanks for the review.
Ooo.. Good price on that!
Thanks for this! It really helped me to make my decision to go with the Ninja and not the Vitamix.
Glad I could help ya out. Hope the Ninja handles everything you need it to!
Can you please do a review of Magimix latest blender and its comparitive price, power, and attachments we get for that price?
Can you do a ss401 vs ss101 comparison?
I don't have an ss101, but If I see one one sale, I can grab it and do that. Basically, the 401 got it's roots from the 101. Similar base and the same cup with the tamper... so it should perform the same as the 101, except with a bunch of extra functionality. If I remember right, the base has more power to it, also.
Thanks for the link to this, Joe! Apparently, they were having a sale on the Vitamix Explorian.....and I have to admit I was trying to figure out how much I would have to pay monthly to get it - simply because everyone was saying that Vitamix is hands down the BEST "investment". I'm really glad I didn't do an "impulse" buy!!!! You've been really helpful. I can't thank you enough. I don't suppose you did any reviews of other Ninja models, did you? Well, I check out your other videos to see. Once again, thanks!
I think the Vitamix problem is mostly with that one model that I reviewed... it's the one that commonly goes on sale... still too pricey to me though. If you check out our playlists, we have all the reviews and unboxings in there... As far as Ninja goes, There are reviews for the Foodi Power Blender and the Professional Food Processor. Some more on the way though.
I am glad I watched this video. Thank you. Now I know that I do not want a Vitamix, although I live 5 minutes from the factory and could buy one right from them. Nope, I keep my Ninja.
Their higher end machines are really great but their lower priced stuff seems weird... I never had any complaints about their older ones.
Your comments were pretty hilarious 😂 and very true and insightful. Nice job 👍🏾
LOL Thanks!
Thanks for sharing I just got my Ninja Foodi which I prefer than Vitamix .. save a lot of $$ also ..
Those vitamix blenders are definitely hard to swallow, cost-wise.
Great video. I understand that the Vitamix is a better blender and more durable. However, how many people will really use it for it true potential to justify the $170 price difference ? ( Costco has the vitamix for 300 and the ninja for 130 ). The true is that both blenders are targeting different audience. I can assure for that for people who wants a excelente blender for smoothie and ocasional use will have enough with the Ninja. If I were a cooker and knew how I would use my blender; I would invest the 170$ extra for the vitamix but it’s not the case. Also, the ninja was on Costco in sale a few weeks ago for 80$… you can not beat that 😅
I hear ya... I use the Ninja stuff, myself, and I haven't had any issues with reliability yet... We will see how well they hold up over a longer period of time though.
I like to point out you didnt do the right setting for ice crushing on the Vitamix. That button on the left you push that down, the little box hump design is the ice setting
Yeah... I made a few mistakes in that one.. Great addition, Michael! Thanks for the insight!
I have that ninja blender and just use it for the cup smoothies these days... the smoothie setting makes a better smoothie than using it in manual imo. I tried it in manual and stuff was getting stuck for me.
I think it just shows the ninja is easier to use for normal people. I just start my smoothie, get dressed, grab my smoothie and run out the door because I am late to work but that's my fault 😂
Yeah... lol... it's great for that. I can't rememeber the last time I had a smoothie end up needing a shake and stir on that machine. Nice time saver.
I purchased the vitamix at Costco just this passed weekend because it was on sale. First vitamix purchase and I was so excited to finally own one. It was a major disappointment, I retuned it after using it for a couple of days and purchased the ninja foodie blender instead.
I have to say I love my new ninja. Smoothie bowls are so thick and creamy. Waffle batter turned out so nice.
My blentec that I had for a couple of years is another one that disappointed me, goes to show that high end is not the best in the end at all. Thank you for this video this helped me to purchase the ninja.
I have a smaller ninja blender that has been so dependable for years and an air fryer that is still going strong, so for me ninja is good enough.
Hey thanks, sassy! Glad I could help! I suspect that the vitamix problems are with their lower end blenders like the explorian series.... I haven't seen too many complaints on the higher end ones.
@@JoesPhenomenal
It was on the one you did the comparison on. Definitely not the high end, I refuse to pay that much money on any kitchen gadget. I am sure the ninja won’t last as long as the high end vitamix but I do not expect it to.
I think the comparison you did was right on target and vitamix lost.
They should stick on only making high end models at least that way people will get what they paid for. 😬
Right there with ya! Thanks!
@@sassysyl1284 There is an issue with this particular unit. This isn't normal and he should send it in under warranty. All vitamix models are essentially the same from the highest to lowest priced, some have higher hp motors, some have bluetooth and/or automatic modes but they all should perform equally.
I will agree with other comments, the videos I watched you have done with vitamix you seem biased from the beginning. If you want a machine that will last a lifetime I’d choose the vitamix every time
Hey... Thanks for your thoughts! I wasn't trying to be biased on that review, but I can understand how it could look that way. I agree with you that Vitamix makes the best blenders on the market. They're pretty legendary, actually. The problem with the explorian e320 is that it looks like they decided that wanted to reach into the more budget markets, and as a result with that model, they might have cut a little too far trying to get the price down and ended up with some weird quality issues as a result, while still not getting price down enough. When we did that comparison, we did it without doing any sort of pre-testing at all and were sure it was just going to be fantastic, so I ended up really disappointed with it due to how unfavorably it compared to the rest of the Vitamix line, and I probably showed it a little too much in the video. Still love the company though...just not that model.
Thanks a lot Joe for sharing this informative video. I saw these two blenders at Costco. I was confused. I saw a few reviews on youtube. But I must say this video cleared my confusion and I ended up buying Ninja foodi blender! Thanks a lot! Keep it up!!
You're welcome! Glad I could help you out. Let me know how it goes with your Ninja.
@@JoesPhenomenal I bought Ninja foodi for making dosa batter(batter of soaked rice and black gram split; needs wet grinding) and chutneys. It’s working great, far better than what I expected. I love its IQ feature. Thanks again, really appreciate your help!!
No problem! Super happy that it's working for ya! I just picked up Ninjas new foodi kitchen system, also... Will be reviewing that coming up later this week... Might be kinda wild.
Interesting how you compared the latest Ninja blender to an old Vitamix and called it a fair review!
Heya Chrisophist. At the time I did that it was the current versions being sold over at Costco, so I had to work with what was available back then. The Vitamix was 499 back then VS. The Ninja power blender that I think was on sale around 129 or something like that. So if it wasn't fair, I would think it would have been in favor of Vitamix due to the price difference. In any case, it turned iu that that Vitamix model had a few quality control issues and Costco eventually had it replaced with the 5200 series which was a much better blender, IMO. I think it came in at a lower cost, too, so that was even better, especially with that great warranty that Vitamix offers.
I am gonna be completely honest here as a Costco employee I can tell you that I see way more ninja blenders being returned vs the vitamix. The ninja doesn’t seem like it lasts long with everyday use.
Hi! Thanks for the insight! Much appreciated. I assumed that the Vitamix blenders should last longer, if for anything just the cost of the motor assemblies. I wasn't really able to comment on the reliability aspect too much though, because I haven't had one fail on me......yet. Was thiking about doing a follow up on the Ninja stuff after a year of use or something like that. But really, I don't think I've really had had any blender fail on me at all other than an old Oster from years ago. I baby all of our equipment though... might have something to do with it.
What is the sales ratio? I am sure they sell way more Ninjas than Vitamix so more Ninja returns is expected.
That's a good observation... I didn't even think about that.
You must be great a math .....
@@Beeautifullifefarm I actually am so 🤷🏼♀️
Well, that is very interesting. I have the Vitamix Heritage Pro 750 (it has a metal body, whereas the "750" is plastic), and I love it. Thank goodness I had points on my card to spend, because the price was $750, but I had about $300 in points. Still, it was an expensive purchase, but I am really happy with it. I had heard that the Explorians were not as good, so I didn't take a chance there. I had also heard that Ninjas don't last too long, but this one seems to be quite sturdy. Thanks for such a good review! P.S. I wonder if any of those "company" people ever take recommendations seriously. In other words, will someone from Vitamix see this and propose adjustments to the model?
Thanks for the great comment! Yes.. I hope Vitamix sees this and addresses it for sure. I've always been a big supporter of American companies and been willing to pay a little more to get their products, but they have to deliver the goods too! Our Ninja Foodi Blender is pretty new, so we will see how it holds up and will be sure to make content around it if it doesn't!
@@JoesPhenomenal Yes, you are right about supporting our own companies and workers' jobs. I see some baking blogs where people are promoting European mixers, and complaining about KitchenAid. I would rather support a North American company, and we see KitchenAids more than any other brand in cooking videos. So, they still must have a good reputation. And, what about service? Can you imagine having to ship a heavy mixer away for service? It's much easier to get a KitchenAid fixed closer to home than it is to ship a comparable mixer across the country.
That's odd, too... Kitchen Aid Mixers are pretty durable as far as I've seen, too. Lots more functions too.
@@JoesPhenomenal Yes, but I think the complaint with the mixers deals mainly with making bread dough. It could also be that people are exceeding the limit (weight) of ingredients, making it harder on the mixer. We see KA mixers in all of the popular cooking videos, and they get very good reviews on Amazon, so I don't believe the quality has suffered as some would say.
@@sashineb.2114 That sounds about right... My mixer is rated for 4 lbs max I think... But my model isn't designed for bigger jobs.
It would be better to do ice starting on a low speed then increasing slowly. Starting on high like that, you're just immediately chopping everything around the blade into fine shavings that then form a cavity that doesn't allow the rest of the ice to come in contact with the blade. On low, it would make bigger chunks first that would knock each other around and allow for more even contact with everything else.
I hear ya... We did that test a while back... In retrospect, we should have just left that out all together since it really isn't a real world test anyways.
Ninja fits under cabinets
Yep... Sure does... With room to spare, unless you have really low cabinets. The lid on the Vitamix sticks up a little more. We didn't have a problem with it fitting under ours either, but it was pretty darn close in our kitchen.
You seem slightly biased in this review, but I'll chalk it up to a possibly defective unit. The vitamix, with about a cup of water on the tall 64oz pitcher (and 2 cups on the low profile), will blend basically anything. In actual use, crushing ice is about the only thing the Ninja with "total crushing blade" does better with no help. Green smoothies come out with flakes/small grit remaining, on the Ninja while vitamix is velvety smooth. Ninja has also been shown to froth up anything mostly liquid. I guess it depends what consistency you prefer.
Vitamix will also crush dry ice but there is a procedure of ramping up the speed involved. Vitamix uses a permanently dull blade meant to use blender horsepower, rather than sharpness to do its' work, so the process is a bit different. If you had read the included vitamix cookbook before doing this review, your results may have turned out better.
I'll give you the quality control critiques. I didn't expect a unit that expensive to have so much play in the various controls. I don't have a higher end model to compare, however. Pitchers are also prohibitively expensive. $150 for the 32 or 48oz, and more for the classic 64oz "tall" is insane. In contrast, Ninja had a fairly widespread issue for a while, with cracks and leaking pitchers.
Full disclosure. I do own a Ninja Air Fryer which I love. Also, I have never owned the foodi, but I returned one of the lower end Ninja's with the same blade system.
Heya Sum. Thanks for the insights.. They are much appreciated! I did have a little bias in this review, but it stemmed mostly from over-expectation and having a weird unit didn't help much. We have used higher end Vitamix blenders over here before and never had any of those issues, so a lot of that was more surprise than anything else... Especially given the price tag on it. So right from the start, the Vitamix has to live up to a lot of hype, per-se. That wasn't very fair, but when you're the best, you gotta give up a big reputation... Couple that with the bizarre QC issues we had with that particular one, and a comparison to a much cheaper brand that outperforms its price-point, and a dumb guy like me that gets annoyed way too easy, and you got a recipe for disaster. Costco did mention to me at the time that they had a rash of returns on that model, so probably just a bad batch or something.
@@JoesPhenomenal after further review, I'd say the explorian models follow your findings. I've had mine, which I bought factory renewed, for about a week. Makes a mean smoothie but it has a few quirks. It basically has all the faults yours does, as well as "hunting" when increasing the variable speed. It also smells strongly of burnt plastic or grease and gets stronger whenever the motor is fast enough for the internal fan to be blowing air. IMO, the e310/320 are much lower quality than the higher end models like the 5200 or ascent series. They were designed for Costco to meet a price point, rather than a quality standard.
I may end up returning it as the smell is almost noxious. The foodi does look like a great option, but I don't really like the total crushing blade setup. I'd prefer dull bottom blades like the blendec and Vitamix use, as I believe they are better for a smooth texture and don't sling contents to the outside walls.
What do you think about the older ninja chef or the twisti models, which both use a traditional blade? Blendtec?
What I would wonder is how something that still costs $400 ends up being that noticeably bad... You'd think they could still do something pretty wild at that price point. Their labor costs must be pretty high. As for the recommendation, is probably be looking at the Blendtec. They're a lot like Vitamix, but I kinda feel like their product line is more innovative.
@@JoesPhenomenal $400 should not be a barrier to building a quality blender. They could have dumbed down the motor or included a cheaper container, and maintained their quality otherwise. Instead, what should have been a positive entry-level experience for new owners, has left a bad taste in their mouth. Maybe as you said, "made in USA" comes with unrealistic manufacturing costs.
But you actually read my mind. The Breville Fresh and Furious was also on my list, but the Blendtec seems to be the only other thing on the market that can compete with the Vitamix. Similar power, a blade that will never dull (it already is), and you get newer technology, digital display, pre-programmed modes, etc... of the $600 vitamix models for what....$379? Their wildside container ($129) has an extra (5th) straight side which is supposed to circulate ingredients similarly to the vitamix, in a vortex. I wouldn't expect to get the same velvety results, though.
Totally agree with ya. I prefer to buy stuff made here and will pay extra for it (to an extent), but I better get something really special, too... All Clad is a nice example to me.... Very expensive pans, but they are amazing, too. Hard to swallow that price, but they are pretty bomb proof and look amazing too.
I love your review & comparism. However, because I' m biased to Ninja as I have used that before & the vitamix as well from costco the Ninja does it all for me. However since that single bad experience with vitamix I can never buy it or recommend it to anyone, most especially with regards to the price being ridiculously expensive for what it offers in my opinion.
I've owned both.. Vitamix is normally really great, but I think it might be something just with this model... I feel like I was hard on them a little because of the price and the reputation of the company though, when I look back at it.
I owned a ninja for over 5 years and it totally sucks. It's super loud and terrible at making smoothies. Always did I have chunks of stuff in there. You would think that the 3 vertical blades would be better but trust me, they make things a lot more complicated.
That's unfortunate. Which model did you have? That hasn't been our experience with them.. At least not so far anyway.
You must own stock in the Ninja company! I owned the Ninja multi-blade blender and it was useless junk! So after I booted that out of the house, I bought a refurbished Vitamix and haven't had a problem with it at all! It does everything it is meant to do with no problems! Not so with the Ninja multi-blade! I even got a good gash on my hand from one of their upper blades!
Heya Leonard. Naw.. if I owned stock in them or got a kickback of some soft, I wouldn't do reviews... just feels weird. I agree with you about the Ninja blades. They really are pretty dangerous. When I do cleanings, I typically just leave them in there and shoot in warm water and detergent and just blend to avoid touching them. Also, since they're so sharp they tend to slice through stuff instread of pulverize it... So they results are different from most other blenders. I've been ok with it, but it doesn't work great for a lot of things, especially nut butters. That Vitamix was the only one that I've ever had issues like that with, and Costco quit carrying that model a while after I did that review, so I'm thinking there might have been something with the design of that particular model. That one was also producing a weird kinda of burning smell after it ran about 10 seconds also, so definitely something was going on there. Had a Vitamix 5200 before, and that thing was a beast.
The Ninja model is $99.99 until 11-21-21.
I saw that! That's fantastic!
Don’t embers ur self… why would you wanna blend plain ice in the first place??? And Vitamix made in the USA…:)
You're right. The ice test isn't a real world test since nobody does that. It was meant to be in there more as a power test than anything else, but If I did it again, would probably just leave that one out. Actually did that after the smoothie test as kind of a curiosity thing because the vitamix didn't handle the smoothie all that well and moved it in editing. We actually did a lot more tests but most of them were kind of boring because neither blender had any kind of issues with anything else. I Love that the Vitamix is made in the USA. I actually really like that company and have had great blenders in the past from them, but it looks like there were just a few weird problems with this model, and it looks like there were quite a few people that have had less than stellar performance from it. Even asked the people over at Costco what they thought and they did mention that it's a heavily returned item, so I dunno. Still like Vitamix quite a bit and their warranties are outstanding, but seems like this particular model is a little weird. I'm sure they'll figure it out.
When u have time watch “Blending with Henry” … ;) and yes I own Vitamix for about 10 years…
Blending ice is for the purpose of making snow cones, just putting that out there.
It is possible to purchase faulty equipment. Contact the manufacturer.
With vitamix start slow then ramp up. It needs to get things moving first. Same for ice. Also it seems like your speed dial is broken. Imo the extra dough blade isn't a benefit for the ninja because the vitamix will do dough without switching blades. Its a good thing you can get 3 ninjas for the price of the vitamix too because you'll need too with chinese nonservicable goods.
Heya! Thanks for the input, David. I gotcha on the ice crush... If I were to redo this comparison, I'd probably just leave it out anyways. Everyone seems to wanna do it, but it's not really a real world test, since nobody really does that. The thing with the speed dial was making the speed changes pretty sluggish too... so there's that. I don't doubt the that vitamix build quality and power are better. Used several of them in the past and they have always been really solid. Just figured they might have cut a few corners on that particular model. As far as the Ninja's longevity goes, I can't really have much of an opinion on it, since I haven't had one fail yet. I don't doubt that a Vitamix would outlast one, just haven't seen it yet in my own experience. However, Made in the USA is always nice to have for sure.
I made this same comment. I was actually very surprised as a chef, Joe didn't realize this.
I knew about that... I just didn't think it was going to have a problem with it when I did that video. In restrospect, I should have left that one out.
Okay, so you’re not supposed to blend at high speed at the beginning. You start at one than you ramp up the speed. second there is something wrong with that vitamix. You don’t need to use a tamper for the ice. I really don’t think that vitamix is working properly, I had a ninja, my smoothies were HORRID. They were chunky, kale wasn’t processed completely. I returned it and bought a vitamix. To be frank, I don’t see this as fair. I see this as very biased just for the fact you’re using a broken product to compare to the ninja. You should read on how to use a vitamix before making an unfair comparison.
Yeah.. You right. I messed that ice blending up... Honestly, in retrospect, I should have left that test out all together since it's not really based on real world stuff. The Blender being broken is kind of a rough topic. I have to do the review based on what I have there, if it's like that out of the box, it's unfortunate. Costco has had quite a few returns on that, so it could just be a problem with that model in general. I Don't know.. I've used vitamix before and they never had issues like this one.
Nah bro you just got unlucky, I've never had chunky problems with Ninja
So according to you, he got a lemon and you feel it was an unfair review. You returned your ninja (possible lemon 🤔) because the smoothie didn’t turn out. Plus you want to spend more time slow mixing the ice rather than getting it over with quickly with using the Ninja. I’d say his review was fair and I’m really enjoying my Ninja smooth smoothies. I’m glad you’re enjoying your expensive Vitamix though 👏🏽
@@azmgbbb admitting to using an appliance incorrectly doesn’t & than calling that appliance a dud isn’t something right. Instructions are their for a reason. Your ninja could make a smoothie but it’s performance would never outclass a vitamix. I have my vitamix still have no issues. Not a possible lemon it would just trash. The blades splattered whatever I was mixing and didn’t create a vortex to suck everything down to the blades like a “high end” blender should. You get what you pay for.
ninja makes a blender that does hot soups as well you should have compared with that ninja blender
Vitamix sounds like there is gear misalignment in the transition of rpm, and i would guess the company got bought for its name 10 years ago.
I dunno....Like I mentioned in the pinned comment, there was something really wrong going on with the blender, but that's what came, so that's how it goes I guess. Vitamix says that they test every single machine that comes off the line for quality, but I'm not so sure about that... They sell tons of blenders. That would be really hard to do, and evidently this one got though along with some other people in the comments. They did change owners about 10 years ago, but that was another family member taking over the operation, so I wouldn't think it would change the company all that much, but who knows?
@@JoesPhenomenal well money, inflation and the magic 15% increase in stock price every quarter has to come from somewhere, and i would imagine the switches and gears took a hit at some point😄 🤣 😂.
Good point ya got there... Lol
Fabulous review. Exactly the information we were looking for!
We bought a Foodi Ninja from Costco two months ago and last week the base snapped off. (I always lifted the blender via the suction cups --- had to get a finger under one and even then it was hard --- but my daughter pulled on the groove part and it broke all four of them off, so heads up about that....)
ANYWAY. I did a blog post about it, asking readers if a Vitamix was worth it, and the responses were all over the place. And now this review.
So what to do? I'm considering just returning the Foodi Ninja and getting a replacement... (Unless you have an even better blender to recommend??)
Thanks, Jennifer! If it were for me, I'd stick to your Ninja if you have liked it other than that mishap. Especially since you can just walk into Costco and get it replaced for nothing. I love Vitamix, but I've always felt that even though they make a great product, Their pricing is too high for the features they give you... and I'm not a fan of the version they have over in Costco. Just my personal opinion on that, though.
@@JoesPhenomenal Yeah, that's what I think we're going to do. (P.S. My husband and I BOTH watched your video and laughed out loud a couple times. That silly cup guard shroud thing!)
Lol... Glad you liked it!
These two really aren’t comparable. The Ninja has sharp blades that will dull and are dangerous to handle and clean. The blender is not built for daily use for a long period of time with its construction. It will do better at making ice, but that’s about it.
The vitamix is superior at basically anything except ice. The little blender cup attachment is not the best and takes some getting used to in order to make sure the ingredients are packed in the right order. The normal container does an amazing job with anything except ice because ice doesn’t move around. The dangerous column of blades are an advantage there.
Every model above this base Explorian is much quieter, this is the loudest in the lineup because it’s a barebones version for Costco meant to provide the normal power of the higher end blenders but without the features and sound proofing.
Heya, cujobob! Thanks for the great insight. Those ninja blades can definitely get ya if you're not careful for sure. I can't really comment too much on Ninja's durabilty though. I agree with you that Vitamix is built more to last, but I haven't ever had a Ninja base break or blades dull down noticeably during daily use. Not saying it doesn't happen, just that I haven't experienced it....yet. The ice test isn't something we do anymore.... in retrospect it's not a great test since it's not really real world. Can't really remember a time where I wanted to blend ice by itself, anyway. When we did that video, that was kind of a trending thing and was even being advertised by some of the blender manufacturers. Should have left that out, so that's our mistake. Overall, however, the Explorian really is pretty bare bones, like you said. It worked fine for the most of what we tested, but just felt like Vitamix really needed to try to get that price point down further for it's feature set. I still think Vitamix's higher end blenders are best in class, however... with some pretty heated competition from Blendtec lately.
What are you blending ? I've had my ninja for 7 years now and haven't had a single issue. How are you grabbing or cleaning the blades that there is a danger, it's possible that your issues are all operator error
@@Beeautifullifefarm I use my blender every single day for smoothies and more. A ninja wouldn’t survive the abuse I put my Vitamix under, most likely, and the blades which start out sharp - will dull. For someone who uses a blender less often, the story changes. As for the danger… you have to clean the blender and remove those blades on the Ninja and that increases the risk of being cut.
@@Cujobob place Ninja blades in pitcher, then add Luke warm water and some dish soap. And pulse for seconds as needed. No danger what so ever.
3-6 smoothies a day plus regular blending every day in my house, using an 8 year old ninja. But whatever makes you feel better.
Just replaced the blade for 16 bucks last year. Hell of a lot cheaper than spending a few hundred extra dollars in my opinion.
my mom and i abuse the living heck of our blenders. we have 3 blenders vitamin a3500 & blendtec designer series and a ninja foodi. i can tell the blendtec and vitamix have no
problem turning anything into a smooth smoothie or a purée of a chille. ninja failed us they say they have a lot of power just by making it loud but i still had to chew my food and see it being gritty, straining chille for birria i and to strain a lot of it with the ninja. it felt very cheap with quality wise the other two felt heavy and way much better build quality this is just my opinion other may differ
Heya Joshua. That tree design that Ninja uses makes it really nice for certain things, but seems to be pretty average for other stuff. I suppose it depends what you normally tend you make in your blender. That being said, The vitamix (that 3500 is wat better than the explorian models) and the blendtec machines are really in a different class. Those big powerful motors are a bit pricey, so when push comes to shove on pure power, the Ninjas tend to be outspent on components.... Might be interesting to see if they ever decide to put out an ultra powerful and expesive model to compete with those guys on that front. I doubt that though. Blendtec and Vitamix machines are geared more towards commercial environments while Ninja products are designed solidly for more budget oriented kitchens.
@@JoesPhenomenal never knew that! i remember ninja tried to make a vitamix model that says it’s better i think it’s called ninja ultima blender+ they don’t make it anymore but i know it’s out there it has a variable speed control and a tamper like the vitamix
I remember that.... Never checked it out though.
Bought the most expensive ninja $239
Detailed comparison and explanations.
Well thank you! 😁
With vitamix I find you have to add alot of water with smoothie
I noticed that. Didn't think I'd have to do that... Probably just because that single serve cup is so narrow.
Ninja to the rescue!
wayamint lol my sis in law has the Vitamix and it mixes way better than that version. thanks!! great video.
Yeah..... Has to be that model is just weird. Thanks for visiting!! :)
Estoy viendo videos de la vitamix y hablan maravillas tanto que me estaba decepcionando de mi ninja 😢,pero al ver este video me puse contenta 😅.
Pero lo que busco es una que muela semillas y los chiles que los pulverice bien,gracias por el video.
De nada. Usted puede ser capaz de hacer eso con su ninja si tiene las tazas de servicio único. Esas tazas más pequeñas hacen un mejor trabajo en ese tipo de cosas que la jarra grande hace.
u said 2 blender blades, but i count 3.
Oops.. You're right! I messed that up there.
Can Ninja do nut butter and hot soup?
That foodi blender doesn't do hot stuff like soups, but it makes a a nice, smooth nut butter though. Have done it with almond, peanut, and cashew, and they all came out nice. Ninja does make a hot and cold blender, though. I'm not sure how well it does does the soup though since I haven't messed with it. I am going to take a wild guess though, and say that the Vitamix would beat it in soup making pretty easily. Vitamix blender are really powerful, and I know you can make soup in those in around 5 minutes or so.
You have to first learn how to use a profuct, and then make a review and confuse people. There a puls button!!! And have to load products correctly.!!!!!!!
Hi! Thanks for the input! I assume you are talking about the ice crush test. If that were supposed to be a tutorial on how to blend frozen drinks or something, I would agree with you. In that case, you wouldn't blend ice alone, and would probably give it a few pulses to get it starting before going into a full blend. That test isn't for that though. It is a test that is supposed to be hard on the Blender and is used to expose potential problems. That test showed that there is a problem with that particular models pitcher design where it's too narrow at the bottom. You can see that even though the vitamix is extremely powerful, that was a problem. The ninja, probably because of the wider base and the tall blade assembly didn't have as. Much of an issue with it. Even if you don't agree with doing that test {which I agree with you probably could have been left out) the explorian still had problems with the single cup attachment design, the narrow single serve cups, the erratic motor, and the funky variable speed dial. Like I said in the comparison video, these are all issues that I have never seen on a vitamix Blender... Just this model, so I had to assume I either had a bad unit for review or that particular model was designed with some shortcuts to bring the price down. I don't really see how that is confusing or misleading, but if it is for people, I apologize for the confusion and will try to be more careful next time. Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and wish you a happy holiday season!
Ninja is not good for anything else except ice crushing. I have one and if you use the big jug it doesn't make good smoothies and it leaves chuncks on the wall of the jug if you do humus or nut butter. Unless you use only the small jug is not a good blender at all. Next time make a fair comparison because you are misleading people.
Also don't understand the hype around Ninja. Is not nearly as good as people claim it to be. Not to mention that i've cut myself several times while washing the blender. Not a good design whatsoever. It's not hate ,it's genuinely bad experience.
Heya Filip. I dunno... I've had a pretty good experience with them... We've even done it butters and a whol who's rid other things on the channel here and they've always come out nice for us... I suppose that all depends on what ingredients are being used, and a few other variables. I agree with you about the blade tree though... It's definitely tough to work with from a cleaning perspective. That double blade design can be dangerous if you're not careful. Usually, I don't even remove it. I just clean the system by putting in warm water and detergent and running a couple of cycles. Cleans up really nice without having to mess with it. In our experience Vitamix blenders have always been really great but the problem revolves around this particular model. It was bad enough to where I thought there must just be something wrong with our review unit, but quite a few people have complained about the same things, so I had to assume that Vitamix cut too many corners trying to get the price down. As far as being a fair comparison, it more of a let down with the performance of the Explorian than it is with anything that's overly amazing with the Ninja for us. We were comparing a $500 Blender to one that costed us about $120 when we did that video back then... Obviously, you had a different experience though, and I respect that, completely. Hope you have a great holiday season, and thanks for your insight!
You obviously like the Junk Ninja better
That day I did... Pretty sure there was some sort of QC problem at Vitamix at the time. Shortly after that model got pulled from Costco and replaced with a different one. I've heard from some other people that have that Explorian 320, and the more recent ones don't seem to have a lot of those issues anymore. So that's a good thing.
I had a ninja, complete junk and blades are right out of a horror movie. Bought a Vitamix and never looked back! You show the Vitamix container wobble, it doesn’t wobble when in use, it sits stable on the rubber. The rubber lid comes on and off much easier than the ninja lid. If you take apart the ninja, which I did when mine broke you will see it’s complete junk inside, all plastic cheap parts inside. Take apart a Vitamix, no comparison! A Vitamix will outlive a ninja! My ninja lasted less than a year. My Vitamix is still going strong after 5! The Vitamix is also a dream to clean, the ninja was awful with those horror movie blades! My ninja blender pitcher cracked and busted up after a month of daily use. The second pitcher did the same within a couple more months. I’ve never had that with my Vitamix. The plastic blade assembly broke in the ninja then the final straw was the motor burnt up within the first year of use, trash! You can show a one time use demo all you want but will it last? The answer is NO! Ninja won’t make nut butter the way Vitamix will either you didn’t show that either!
Hi Nate! Thanks for your comments! You make several really good points. With the ninja blades, I assume that you're talking about how you can maybe cut yourself trying to clean them? That's a valid concern, and it's one that got overlooked. We ended up using a brush with a handle on it to clean that thing at first, due to being a little freaked out trying to get in between the blades for cleaning. We didn't experience any wobbling with the Vitamix in use and never said it was dangerous... Just that a locking mechanism is a better idea in case it gets hit with an elbow or something. Will that happen? Probably not, but the point is that it would be nice it they implemented something like that. Their commercial blenders do. We did mention that the drive system in the Vitamix is all metal, and that it was superior to Ninja's (or anyone else that uses plastic gears) and that it would last longer, and even mentioned how great having not only a 7 year warranty is, but also one that they cover shipping both ways. That's amazing, actually. We did have a problem in the past with a cracked pitcher on a Ninja Food processor attachment. It cracked where the metal screws connect the blade base assembly to pitcher on the bottom. That ended being caused by repeated washes in the dishwasher with the Heated drying turned on. I don't know if maybe that could be what happened with yours possibly? That was several years ago, and since then, we decided that nothing plastic is really a good idea to clean in there even if they say they're dishwasher safe.... Much better just to hand wash that kind of stuff. Better yet, I always tell people, the best way to clean a blender in general is just to drop a little detergent into the pitcher with warm water, and run the thing for a bit... Comes out nice and clean unless you let it sit around and stuff gets caked onto it. Since doing that, we never had any issues. In fact, we picked up that Foodi Power Blender just because it was on sale, and our old Ninja was getting cruddy looking and old.. We gave it to a friend that needed one and it's still working well. It sucks that yours lasted such a sort time though. That's a bummer. We didn't do a nut butter comparison, but I assume the Vitamix would do that well... Our Foodi did a nice job it.. We have a video posted on the channel for that.. Turned out nice. As far as durability goes, I would actually be shocked if any Vitamix didn't outlast a Ninja... But I would expect that, especially at the price they go for. But if it didn't you'd still have that sweet sweet warranty, and it would get taken care of, I bet. Based on your comments, I thought it would be a good idea to maybe to a follow-up video on the Ninja Foodi when it get's a year old, just so people can see what kind of problems there were, if any, and if it's still running, etc. You're right about reviews, they don't tell you about how long things last... just how they work right now. However, there is something that we have to keep in mind... Not all Ninja models are the same. The same goes for Vitamix. The name on the box does not guarantee the quality of what you get when you open it. The comparison is between the Explorian and the Foodi Power Blender, and just those... It's doesn't mean that anything else in either line will produce the same results. Chevy makes the Spark and Corvette, but we can't compare those at all... Not saying that you can compare a blender to a 'Vette or anything, just that the name on the badge doesn't automatically mean anything. We owned a High End Vitamix 10 years ago, and it was awesome! Loved it.. But there was an accident and we lost it, and when it came time to get a replacement, we couldn't afford the get another. That's where the old Ninja comes in that we mentioned above and gave away. It worked really well for us too, and were actually surprised, because we were not expecting it to work very great given the price, but were pleasantly surprised. When we did the comparison, we were expecting the Vitamix beat the Ninja, but for the Ninja to put up a respectable fight. What happened was a little depressing actually. We figured even Vitamix's Low End Explorian should still kick some butt. In fact, we even got some email from people mentioning the same kind of things happening, Blender bases smelling like something burning, and some other stuff with their Explorian E320s. I even reached out to Costco's customer service and they mentioned that they get a lot of returns on that model. You had a Ninja that was just horrible it seems, and then got yourself a sweet Vitamix that you're happy with. That's awesome! I love it when people are happy with what they spend their hard earned cash on. But remember, everyone's experience can be a lot different based on picking up a model that just happens to have some issues, or maybe even just getting unlucky and getting one that's just defective. Either way, it paints a horrible picture. Anyway, I'm super glad that you have something that you like! At the end of the day, that's what matters!
I actually found the Ninja removable blade better than Vitamix’s. My biggest complaint about Vitamix is cleaning after usage as the blade is deep down and difficult to reach. Just bought a Ninja Foodi (on sale at Costco) and will give it a try. I especially like the part that it can make dough.
@@bhuan9987 Yeah.. I like the blade assembly also... The fact that it has all the extra blades on the blade shaft, helps with that a bunch. For cleaning, and this is for either Blender, I just put a few drops of detergent into the pitcher and fill half way with warm water, and run the Blender. It gets everything nice and clean without having to try to reach in there. I would do that pretty soon after use though, so nothing sticks in there really good. This is especially good with the ninja, because that blade assembly can cut you pretty good if you aren't careful.
Yeh i don’t hv time for that Vitamix nonsense w/ the individual cups 🤔
Vitamix needs to evaluate their blade. The speed means nothing if the blade is crap.
Yeha.. Right there with you... The ice test was shocking. Didn't expect that.
@@JoesPhenomenal you have to start slow and then go fast
@@jimmysyar889 That's what she said. 😉. Anyway, yes.. It worked out better doing that... Or pulsing a few times at the beginning. It still wasn't super fantastic though. In any case, the ice crush test isn't really a great real world test since you're likely going to have some liquid in there, too.
Nice review👌👌 support done..
Hey! Thanks! Appreciate ya!
I don't do ninja and that their company is all just for marketing and that they cut corners like one is the power cord is a cord you see on fans and that's not a cord for high wattage and blendtec vitamix and waring extreme has a thick three prong cord on them and that ninja blades are to sharp that vitamix blendtec and waring extreme has blunt blades that are safe to touch and works better then ninja and with ninjas warranty they charge you for the shipping and its not long but vitamix blendtec and waring it's almost 10 years they are made in the usa and ninja is made in china
Heya! Thanks for your thoughts! I agree with you about the "Made in the USA" comment. I always try to buy American if I can, and we do have a lot of great companies that make great products. Vitamix is definitely one of those. Unfortunately, the Explorian version of their blenders isn't one of their best efforts. Just being an American company doesn't give them a pass when they put out a bad product, and that gets amplified when that company has the kind of reputation for quality and value that Vitamix has. In fact, that can work against them, because it will cause them to be judged a lot more harshly due to expectations. The Ninja comparison is a good example. If the Ninja compares favorably, it makes Ninja look more impressive, but if it compares poorly, people will have already expected that due to the price. It's not always super fair, but price and reputation and definitely key things that people focus on. Vitamix definitely uses hefty power cords, but they also use higher amperage motors. A thicker power cable seems really nice (I like that also), but it's isn't a necessity if the power requirement isn't there. You can tell if a cord is too thin if it warms up a lot during use, and we never experienced any issues with that on the Ninja Blender. The Ninja blades are definitely a little dangerous since they have that stacked design. I'm not super excited about that design for that reason, however as far as performance it is a very effective design. It does require a heck of a lot of care to deal with if you pull it out of the blender for sure, though. Will have to disagree with you on the blade performance, though. In all of our testing, that has always been a strong feature for Ninja, which is why they're so popular. As far as warranties go, Vitamix's warranty is one of the best i've ever seen. That can't be mentioned enough. It's fantastic. You definitely get peace of mind when you spend what you have to spend to buy one. However, Ninja's isn't terrible... it's just your basic 1-yr that you get from most companies, and given the price of their small appliances, you can't really expect more than that. They would have to push prices up in order to offer something like that. The real question with warranties though is whether or not you end up having to use them and how much. We have had appliances from Vitamix, Blendtec, Ninja, Cuisinart, and KitchenAid in our kitchen, and we have never had to use the warranty service on any of them... Don't get me wrong, great warranties are awesome and they are definitely good selling points, giving you a lot of peace of mind, but if the product doesn't fail on you, then it doesn't come into play... and when you ask for the cash investment that Vitamix, Blendtec, and All-Clad ask for then that warranty starts to shift towards being a neccessity instead of a perk, otherwise it discourges a lot of people from making those purchases. That's why we have a hard time leaning too heavily into warranty coverage for reviews. Especially since we can't knock a product for a shorter warranty if it doesn't end up failing on us.
@@JoesPhenomenal Like with the longer warranty they stand behind their product much longer like if something was defected but that defected part last for quite a while like shipping sometimes handles the packages rough and ninja should include a tool to handle the sharp blades
@@driftracing08 yep.. totally agree with you there! and those delivery drivers can be brutal sometimes!
Vitamix sounds like a v8 on a dump pull
LOL... It does! It's got a lot of HP though.. That was definitely a little surprising though.
I couldn’t wait the get my vitamix after having a ninja for years. I even accepted a different color to receive it faster when they were out of stock on my primary color of choice. I almost gave away my ninja but decided instead to live with both for a while. To this day I grab for my ninja for chopping needs and I have used my vitamix about 6 times in 10 years mostly for smoothies and it does work very well for smoothies but so does the ninja. My husband hates the ninja. blade because of safety concerns. Recently, I began shopping for a new blender/food processor as my ninja is looking a bit worn yet still going strong. I found this review very true to my experience and I think I may be leaning toward the ninja again.
Thanks for the great insight! I agree about that blade tower... Scary stuff! I found that just leaving the blades in, dropping in some warm water at a little soap, and blending it for a minute or so will get it nice and clean without having to take it out of there.
just oredered this on costco. havent got it yet. just saw this video. wont even open the box, will return to local costco. i sent a email to vitamix about this video and me returning it.
my previous blender was a BLentec... was absolutly amazing. will stick to blendtec or if feeling cheaper the ninja
Hey! Glad I could help you out. There's always the possibility that I had a bad unit though... However, Costco didn't seem too impressed with them either. Blendtec is a really great company too. Need to get one of those in here to check out sooner than later.
@@JoesPhenomenal had a blendtec for 7 years started to smoke. Costco took it back full refund. I believe it was a 8yr Warranty. It would turn ice to snow.
Ordered the ninja tonight. It's $30off making it currently $100. Will test that out. If it fails to my expectations, will go back to a blendtec.
Would love to see a blendtec review. It was a absolute beast when I had it.
@@BrandonRyanPresents OK... I'll see about getting one here and doing that for ya. Costco is AMAZING with returns. Their service is great. They treat their employees really well, also.
Ninja do better work !! So its the number 1 #
I had a Vitamix for 10 years, best blender ever. The new one from Costco between $300-$400 absolutely sucks! I returned 2 of them tired of that damn plunger and chunks in my protein shakes. It was half the blender my old Vitamix was. The Ninja for $129 shockingly crushes the Vitamix! It’s not even a comparison with the tiered blade and smoothie mode.
Yeah... That explorian they made for Costco might just be weird... I've had vitamix blenders in the past and never had bizarre issues with them before.
Biased much?
Kinda seemed that when I look back at it. The problem is that in a comparison like this, the Vitamix is going to be at a big disadvantage. If it does better than a much cheaper Blender, then of course it did because it costs way more... But if the performance is anywhere even close, then it loses for similar reasons. There is also the reputation of Vitamix at play here too... In this case they released and extremely scaled down and bare bones blender for a lower price point. IMO, that's a mistake. It's going to draw direct comparison to its higher end models, and going to be judged accordingly. I expected so much more out of that Blender, and it didn't help that it got through quality control with some kind of mechanical problem. I love vitamix, and have used several of them in the past, but none of them had the weirdness that the explorian did, and for what you get with that package, the price needed to come down a little bit more that. It really should have steamrolled that Ninja. Will it last longer than the Ninja? I would expect it to for several reasons, especially with that awesome warranty it has on it, but really I can't just say that either. We've never had a Ninja Blender break on us other than a cracked pitcher, that was getting cleaned in a dishwasher (which I don't recommend at all). So definitely there is bias there.... But it's hard to avoid. With brands like Vitamix there is an expectation that goes along with it, unfortunately.
@@JoesPhenomenal I've had my vitamix for three weeks now. I'm glad you made it know in your review the jerking motion as well as the lack of speed increase when you go from 1 ---> 2 that frustrated me and still does. The fact that it doesn't lock into place it rather annoying too. I agree its over priced the overall deciding factor for me was the 5 year warranty and the ability to purchase an additional warranty. I checked ninjas website and a majority had only one
@@yLaQueso0 They do have that FANTASTIC warranty for sure.... It even includes the shipping both ways. I don't know that anyone else does that.
The ninja is a pos. Even w the blade tower I’ve had it not properly blend or break down ingredients.
Your ice crushing comparison was laughable - jeez!
Heya, John.. We've had pretty good luck with ours... The only thing we have had trouble with over here was smaller batches using the large pitcher. Those blades then to slice through stuff instead of pulverizing, so it can miss stuff that sticks to the side... Small things like but butters end up working a lot better with the smaller cups. It's not perfect, but I still think it's great for the price, IMO. You right about the ice crushing. If I did it again, I'd leave that out. It wasn't really meant to be a real test since people don't typically blend ice like that, but more of a lets-see-what-happens kind of thing... However, that Explorian model and a lot of other weird things going on with it. Never had those issues with other Vitamix models...just the one, and Costco has since replaced it with a different model. Maybe too many sacrifices to get the price down. Who knows? In any case, Thanks for you insight! Much appreciated.
@@JoesPhenomenal My ninja died after the warranty period and I was left w a blender sized boat anchor.
You mention that the vitamix had issues, but it has a 7 year warranty. Not so with the ninja’s 1 year warranty.
That’s a major advantage which you neglected to take into account.
Yeah.. I can understand how frustrating that is, John. I didn mention the 7 yr warranty on the Vitamix though. I even said that the fact that they even include the shipping in that is pretty fantastic. For something at that price point, I would expect that sort of servicex but as far as I've seen, they're one of the few that actually going out of their way on that... All Clad does pretty well with that too.
@@JoesPhenomenal not based on your review 😁, I bought an E320 for $299.
It didn’t have the QC Issues yours had, and I’m impressed with the performance - it makes juices that are smoother than the ninja ever did.
I owned a ninja. It worked great at first, but broke after a year.
I brought up the warranty bc you should get your E320 fixed/replaced and retest.
Solid price on that at 299! Glad to see the qc stuff was isolated. 👍