Prime decide
This high-performance machine is well worth the funding when you use a blender repeatedly to make issues like thick smoothies, pureed soups, or motor-taxing nut butters.
The Vitamix 5200 presents the perfect efficiency you will get in a house blender. This mannequin has been one among our favourite blenders since 2014, and it’s the basic Vitamix that has remained the usual for professional cooks and blender fanatics. It produced essentially the most constantly good outcomes throughout the entire exams, and this blender was essentially the most pleasant to make use of.
The Vitamix 5200 constantly blended extra gracefully than every other blender. The mix of the jar’s form and the motor power created a vortex that pulled elements down into the blades with ease.
It additionally made a few of the smoothest smoothies in our exams. Although the prize for absolutely the smoothest drinks went to the Cleanblend Blender, the distinction between drinks made within the Cleanblend and the Vitamix was marginal. The smoothie made within the Vitamix had just some extra entire raspberry seeds.
The Vitamix 5200 excelled at nut butters and mayo. This blender was the one mannequin we examined that easily blended peanuts and almonds into butter. Different picks spit bits of mayo up the edges of the jar and out the lid’s heart gap. However the Vitamix saved the combination shifting easily and evenly across the base of the blade.
It had the perfect vary of speeds. The Vitamix 5200’s low is de facto low, and this blender produces a noticeable shift as you advance via every quantity. This vary of speeds made the Vitamix the perfect blender we examined for warm liquids: You can begin at a lazy swirl and steadily enhance the pace in order that sizzling liquid is much less more likely to shoot up towards the lid. By comparability, on its lowest setting, the Cleanblend has a forceful begin, which will increase the possibilities of a painful eruption of sizzling soup.
The Vitamix 5200’s tamper helps it mix actually quick. A tamper is crucial for breaking apart air pockets and pushing elements down towards the blade whereas the machine is operating. By conserving the elements shifting with the tamper, we had been capable of whip up a smoothie in lower than 60 seconds.
After we used fashions that didn’t have a tamper, we regularly wanted to cease the blender to burst air pockets or scrape elements down the edges of the jar with a spatula. In some circumstances, we additionally had so as to add extra water to the smoothie to get the entire elements to maneuver across the blades. So it took longer to mix a smoothie in these machines—typically with more-watery outcomes.
Its Tritan-plastic jar is sturdy and cozy to carry. And within the 5 years we used ours in Wirecutter’s take a look at kitchen, it additionally remained clear and freed from cracks.
It’s simple to scrub. Simply mix 8 ounces of sizzling faucet water with a pair drops of dish cleaning soap for about 30 seconds, after which rinse out the jar.
And it’s quieter than others we examined. No high-powered blender could possibly be described as quiet, however we discovered the Vitamix’s noise to be quieter than different fashions we examined.
The Vitamix 5200 is supplied with an automatic-shutoff characteristic. Ought to its motor overheat, this retains it from burning out. In our expertise, this blender ought to have the ability to deal with loads earlier than it will get to that time. But when yours does shut off, it’s greatest to let the machine relaxation for an hour earlier than you attempt to use it once more.
It’s backed by a seven-year guarantee. This softens the blow of spending $400 on a blender. In accordance with Vitamix’s customer support, the approximate time between submitting a declare and receiving your blender again in working order (or an authorized refurb) is six to 10 days. For an extra payment, you should purchase a three-year prolonged guarantee for the 5200.
Attachments for the Vitamix 5200
In 2022, we examined some attachments which can be accessible (as separate purchases) for the Vitamix 5200: the Vitamix Private Cup Adapter and a 48-ounce chrome steel mixing pitcher.
We examined the Private Cup Adapter package deal (which incorporates two 20-ounce double-walled mixing cups with lids and an adapter fitted with blades) towards our private blender picks.
The Vitamix Private Cup Adapter works simply in addition to the private blenders we advocate. In our exams, it carried out on a par with each fashions at pureeing vibrant kale pesto, silky date shakes, and thick smoothies.
The trade-off is that the tapered cup is small, with a capability that’s 12 ounces lower than the Nutribullet’s. And the underside is kind of slender, so if you wish to maximize the Private Cup Adapter’s mixing capability, that you must be strategic about filling the cup (tiny fruit first, chunkier fruit later). By comparability, the Nutribullet has huge cylindrical mixing containers that may accommodate giant chunks of fruit and ice, regardless of the way you load them.
Should you already personal a 5200, it’s handy to get the adapter as an alternative of one other standalone private blender. However it’s important to weigh that comfort towards the associated fee: In contrast with our suggestions in our standalone private blender information, the Vitamix adapter is costlier than our prime decide.
Should you’re searching for an alternative choice to a plastic jar, take into account the Vitamix 48-ounce chrome steel mixing pitcher. The benefits to chrome steel are that it doesn’t stain or retain smells. However the 48-ounce chrome steel mixing pitcher has much less capability than the full-size, 64-ounce plastic container that comes with the 5200. And like different low-profile mixing containers, the chrome steel jar additionally works greatest when it’s at the least one-quarter full. That stated, in our exams it simply blended a thick, 24-ounce berry-kale smoothie, with few seeds left entire.
How the Vitamix 5200 has held up
Editorial director Marguerite Preston has used her Vitamix 5200 on a weekly foundation since 2019, and she or he says it’s held up nice. Her household makes use of it primarily to make smoothies, herb-based sauces, and the occasional batch of oatmeal-banana pancakes.
We additionally used a Vitamix 5200 in our take a look at kitchen for 5 years and had nothing however wonderful outcomes. It lastly did burn out, however solely after we put it via strenuous use over the course of many exams for this information and others. Nonetheless, it simply outlasted different blenders, and it made many extra (and higher) batches of nut butter and extra-thick smoothies earlier than we pushed it to its restrict. Since our Vitamix was nonetheless beneath guarantee when it burned out, we contacted customer support, and the representatives promptly changed it.
Christine Cyr Clisset, deputy editor and writer of a earlier model of this information, stated she lastly purchased herself a refurbished Vitamix 5200 after years of long-term testing numerous Wirecutter blender picks. Christine stated the primary 5 (or so) instances she used her 5200, she seen a slight burning scent whereas making her morning smoothies.
Throughout a name with customer support, she discovered that if you’re mixing a thick smoothie, Vitamix recommends that you just begin the blender on the lowest variable pace setting, after which instantly flip the dial to 10—whereas vigorously tamping on the similar time. Christine had been beginning on low after which very steadily growing the pace, seemingly stressing the motor. She stories that the burning scent has subsided since she’s adopted the recommendation from Vitamix.
Flaws however not dealbreakers
For many individuals, the most important concern with the Vitamix 5200 is its steep worth. This blender is often at the least twice the worth of our runner-up, the Oster Versa. However after years of testing and utilizing the Vitamix 5200, we discover that it’s extra sturdy and total more practical than every other blender we’ve tried.
It can save you some cash on a Vitamix when you go for a certified-refurbished mannequin. An authorized reconditioned Vitamix comes with a five-year guarantee (with an choice to increase protection three extra years, for an extra $75).
At greater than 20 inches tall, the Vitamix 5200 is an enormous equipment. It’s too tall to suit beneath some kitchen cupboards. If dimension is a matter, and also you’re prepared to surrender a few of the performance you get from a tall, tapered jar, Vitamix makes different blenders (as talked about under) which have a shorter profile.
The Vitamix 5200 doesn’t include any presets, only a variable-speed dial. Nonetheless, despite the fact that it’s good to have the ability to press a button and have your blender run via a smoothie-making program, this isn’t actually important. You’ll in all probability stick near your blender anyway, in an effort to use the tamper to get issues shifting, and it’s not arduous to regulate the dial when you really feel the necessity to. With this blender, it’s additionally simple to get good outcomes with none presets.
