Best blender for crushing ice???

[IDoDis]

In an effort to save money, DH and I stopped buying the $4 smoothies from KEVA Juice and decided to make our own at home. The first Oyster blender we got was about $50 and lasted about 3 months. We used it every morning to crush ice and fruit. After that blender went out, I bought a Cuisinart. That one lasted only a month! I think it's the ice crushing that is burning out the motors, even though these claimed to be able to crush ice. So now we need a new blender, but this time we want to get one that will last.

Does anyone know which one is the best? We also realize that even though we did this to save money, it is costing us more buy now buying another blender, but we are still prepared to pay more. We like the conveince of making our breakfast smoothies at home, and we've both lost weight! The best one I've found on the web seems to be the Vita-Mix 5000, but we don't need all of the other features of grinding up seeds to grain, etc. The price is around $400 plus shipping which is more than we want to spend.

If someone has a blender that they use daily to crush ice and the blender has lasted a long time, I'd appreciate the info (including how long you['ve had it!

 

[imaaagination]

I have a blender from Starbucks that's lasted me about 4 years so far. I don't make blended drinks every day, but I'd say probably 1-2 times a week. It's still working great! It only has 3 settings--ice crush, low, and high. I think that it was about $99 when I got it, I bought it at a Starbucks store, they were marketing them toward making your own Frappuccinos at home (shocking! why don't they want my $4 a day? ). Anyways--it's definitely the best blender I've had and it makes great drinks!

 

[dvcgirl]

We drink lots of smoothies and our Kitchenaide blender does a great job. We'll put up to 8 ice cubes in and sometimes frozen fruit as well and it handles it with no problem.

 

[luv2nascar]

I don't make smoothies but I have a Hawaiwan ice shaver I got at Target for $18 bucks. We use it for snow cones and margaritas. You could pre chop the ice in it to save the blender. Our ice maker in fridge chips the ice too.

 

[disneysteve]

I love my Kitchen-Aid blender. It does a good job on ice. But I have a better question for you. Why are you putting ice in your smoothies? All that does is water them down. Make your smoothies using frozen fruit and cold juice and there's no need for ice. We make smoothies regularly (not daily, but often enough). We freeze bananas, strawberries, raspberries, mandarin oranges, mango, pineapple and more. There is a great recipe book called Super Smoothies (and a 2nd edition too). I think they are still in print. Check Borders or Amazon. It's definitely worth buying if you are a smoothie fan. (Just checked. It's $5.99 at Amazon. Well worth the price).

The Kitchen-Aid 5 speed is about $100.

 

[crjack]

We have a Cuisinart that had held up great. We got it at Bed Bath & Beyond or Linens & Things since they each offer 20% off coupons in our area on a regular basis. The list price was around $100 but with the discount it was a great investment.

 

[Poohnatic]

You don't want to know how many blenders I've killed making daquiris and frozen Hurricanes.

My mom bought me a Professional KitchenAid about 4 years ago-and it does an awesome job. They're about 100 bucks.

Short of that, I was going to go to a restaurant supply and get a 2 speed bar blender-but the KitchenAid has held up to our heavy use.

Suzanne

 

[rsschneck]

Vita Mix


My Mom has had hers for about 25 years. Jamba juice, starbucks, bars, etc. use the vita mix. We bought one at @ Costco for $396 at the beginning of summer and use it allmost everyday for smoothies, ice cream, sorbet and soups.

 

[IDoDis]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'm making a list so keep them coming! I'm going to check out KitchenAid and Starbucks, for sure! That's also a great idea to maybe purchase at Linen's-n-Things w/ the 20% off if they have what we decide on.
(going back to school tomorrow!)

 

[IDoDis]

Why are you putting ice in your smoothies? All that does is water them down. Make your smoothies using frozen fruit and cold juice and there's no need for ice.

We add ice because they come out super cold and save on the bad sugar calories that are in the juice. There are also natural sugars in the fruit, so too much juice would make it not as healthy. We still add juice, but not as much since we add the ice. They are really good! DH adds peanut butter to his and we both add whey protein. These are our breakfasts. DH has lost 40 pounds and I lost 12 lbs so far. He needed to lose more than me though! LOL

 

[rsschneck]

I know the Vita Mix sounds expensive, but if you are using your blender everyday for health benefits (that is why we got ours) then I highly recommend it. We got a 7 year warranty on the motor. We use fresh fruit, ice, 100% soy protein powder (great if you have high cholesterol). You can make fresh sorbet in 1 minute (literally) and use splenda instead of sugar. You can make soups, sauces, desserts, beverages, smoothies, shakes, ice cream, sorbet, etc. etc.


My Mom's is still going strong after 25 YEARS!!!! We sold our other blender in a yard sale.

 

[Jacqueline2589]

I’d recommend Karmin's blender. It's the best I have ever used

 

[undertheradar]

Here's hoping the OP solved this in the 10+ years since they started this thread.

 

[ktlm]

I have the Margaritaville Margarita Maker (now called the Frozen Concoction Maker). I know I have had mine at least 4 years and maybe longer, and it is going strong. No issues at all. It's made to crush ice and claims it is up to restaurant quality for that purpose. I have killed a few blenders in the past and this one has no issues and makes perfect smoothies, slushes, margaritas, daiquiris every time. It was over $200, but well worth it. I'm sure I would have killed enough blenders that I would have spent more on them that that by now. Plus, this one does a much better job in shaving/crushing the ice than a regular blender. The smoothies,slushes and drinks are much better from this machine than from the blenders we used before we got it.

 

[ktlm]

Here's hoping the OP solved this in the 10+ years since they started this thread.

That is hilarious!!! I didn't even notice. It was at the top of the feed and I just read the first post and then looked at the last post which was an hour ago!

 

[DLgal]

I have owned three different "high end" blenders. Cuisinart, Kitchenaid, Vitamix...

Then I bought the NutriBullet Pro. Best. Blender. Ever.

It is $99 (can get it for $80 at Bed Bath and Beyond or Costco). The thing is a beast...it turns ice into snow in seconds...pulverizes anything you put in it for completely smooth smoothies. Can make different individual smoothies back to back, but there is also a super large cup for making a double portion of the same kind. Cleanup is a breeze...I love this thing so much. I have had it over 2 years now and seriously use it every day.

I use it for smoothies, milkshakes, frozen adult drinks, soups, marinades...there is literally nothing this thing can't do. And when it eventually dies on me, I can get a new one for under $100.

 

[JenzyHP]

I like the vitamix or blendtec. I've seen many deals on both by following slick deals website so it shouldn't be $400 or costco has deals. Cheapie blenders don't really work well for much.

 

[Dashzap]

Here's hoping the OP solved this in the 10+ years since they started this thread.

No doubt they have, but I'm shopping for an ice-crushing blender right now so the thread is still timely.

 

[JenzyHP]

hahah dangit! Why do people bump ancient threads?

 

[cvjw]

We purchased the Vitamix from Costco about 18 months ago. Used it to make our smoothies several days a week for about a year. Then it started making a horrible scraping noise and I took it back. It was $450. Purchased the Nutri Ninja Kitchen System with auto IQ boost. Got it on sale at Costco for about $100. It runs circles around the Vitamix

It has different automatic programs - one for smoothies that makes them perfectly! With lots of frozen berries and ice. It is also a breeze to clean up. I hated how the Vitamix had the blades in the bottom of the pitcher - such a pain to clean. The ninja comes apart for easy cleaning.