It's no secret that Vitamix make the best blenders in the world. It's also no secret that Vitamix make the most expensive blenders in the world.
It might sit right at the top of our guide to the best blenders, but Vitamix's most premium blender costs more than $600. I've tested kitchen gadgets like blenders my entire career, and not even I love smoothies that much. What's more, even their cheaper blenders will set you back more than $300. It's a lot to spend for slightly tastier protein shakes.
That's why I was excited when one of our eagle-eyed product testers caught that the Vitamix Explorian is now on sale at QVC. One of their cheaper blenders, it brings excellent performance around down to a price that most people can actually buy. This is a better price than we saw on Black Friday, so if you've been putting off buying a blender, I'd jump on this deal.
What's the deal?
Is the Explorian any good?
Like other Vitamixes, the Explorian is an exceptionally good blender. Made in the USA, it aced every test we threw at it. For example, we tested it on a particularly tricky protein shake with some tough ingredients. It was packed with protein powder, which can be gritty and hard to mix; oats, which can be very thick and turn powdery; peanut butter, which can easily gum up the blades; and frozen raspberries, which not only have bitty, tough skin, but also little seeds and stems. This blender devoured all of them, blending every ingredient, including the seeds, into a smooth, drinkable, delicious smoothie.
It can also make hot soup right in the pitcher, just from the heat of the friction of its blades. This wasn't as effective as other Vitamixes, which make piping hot soup, but made a delicious, if slightly foamy soup.
Yet crushing ice is where it truly shines. It turned ten ice cubes into snow in just seconds. It makes the perfect consistency for frozen cocktails or snow cones for kids and is the perfect companion for summer hosting as the weather slowly heats up.
However, we found that it's missing a safety feature that other blenders have as standard. You can turn it on without the lid in place, which can be pretty dangerous if you aren't careful. What's more, bigger families might find that the 48oz pitcher is a little lacking when catering to the whole household. Most high-end blenders in this style can hold at least 64oz, so you might find that the portion sizes in this are smaller than you were expecting.
There's more information in our full Vitamix Explorian E310 review.
What are my other options?
However, don't think this is your only option. There are a lot of better options out there, including some a lot less than this discounted sale price.
Best blender/food processor
If you want something that's even better value, this is the blender. It comes with an absurdly big 72 oz pitcher, 64 oz food processor bowl for chopping and mixing, and smaller, single-serve cups too.
Best blender in the world
There aren't words for how good this blender is. It can turn sticks and stems into slick smoothies, makes hot soup on the spot, and is so powerful it even makes oat milk. However, it will cost you.
Best for everything
This is a slightly cheaper of the other Vitamix and performs almost identically, but it's slightly worse in every department.
