Geo Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 DH just bought this from Sam's ($125) for me, bless his heart. I don't want to reject this gift out of hand, but, I had been considering buying an older, used Vita-Mix off ebay, but even those are going for over $200-$250, minimum. I'd like some outside input like, "How long have you owned it, and does it still work, say, 1 year later"? Amazon reviews are so wildly mixed..."Hate it"... "Love it", etc. I don't expect it to perform as well as Blendtec or Vita-Mix, but I would like this baby to last a couple of years to justify the $ spent. My tightwaddery exceeds the allure of new and shiny. The blender works just fine for our green smoothies. Smooth enough in my opinion, no chunks like some amazon reviewers claim. I am going to use the food processor tonight, as I have concerns on how well it will perform that function, per amazon reviews. Some other online reviews said it worked very well, but died after 3 months! Good or bad....all reviews are welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I have the first ninja. It is 2-3 years old and it works great. Makes great snow cones. I bought it for the kids as I didn't want my good stuff ruined. My friend has the newest ninja that she uses to make baby food daily. She likes it and her dh likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Funny you should ask...the UPS man just delivered mine. I haven't used it yet so I'm all ears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Funny you should ask...the UPS man just delivered mine. I haven't used it yet so I'm all ears! Watch those blades! One reviewer said she adds soap and hot water to her carafe (with blade) and blends for a minute, rinses, and puts it back on the base...just to avoid those blades. I have to agree. The blades are similar in sharpness to a german brand vegetable slicer I bought this summer. Any contact with those blades always results in a deep cut...and to think, I bought that slicer to avoid cuts from a mandolin. The box even touted the guarantee, "No more cut fingers"! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilacii Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 We love ours! We have the 1200, which is only slightly different than the 1100. I use it to make smoothies, "sorbet", and even bread dough. I, too, originally desired a Vitamix. After shopping around, I could not justify the cost (for our needs). Therefore, I thought this would work. It has been even better than I expected. My husband even comments on the "power" that it has. So that you are aware, we have not been able to produce extra-fine "snow ice" like one would find at a snow ice vendor; however, we our quite content with the ability to crush ice. We esp. like to use frozen fruit to create "ice cream". It does an excellent job blending various fruits/ veggies IF enough moisture is present. You might consider looking on Craigslist for one (before opening your husband's gift). We found a young couple who had received one as a wedding gift and did not want it. It's worth a try:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) We love ours! We have the 1200, which is only slightly different than the 1100. I use it to make smoothies, "sorbet", and even bread dough. I, too, originally desired a Vitamix. After shopping around, I could not justify the cost (for our needs). Therefore, I thought this would work. It has been even better than I expected. My husband even comments on the "power" that it has.So that you are aware, we have not been able to produce extra-fine "snow ice" like one would find at a snow ice vendor; however, we our quite content with the ability to crush ice. We esp. like to use frozen fruit to create "ice cream". It does an excellent job blending various fruits/ veggies IF enough moisture is present. You might consider looking on Craigslist for one (before opening your husband's gift). We found a young couple who had received one as a wedding gift and did not want it. It's worth a try:) Too late for that, we've already used it twice ;)...but I would have no problem returning it anyway if it doesn't do something it claims to do. I don't care about making "snow" myself. Smoothies are enough, though ice cream would be a plus. 1100 watts of power is wonderful, but am wondering about the quality of the motor parts and if it can handle all the functions for the long term. What I mean is, with everything it claims to do, can it actually do them every day for 2 years or more?...or even 1 year? How does the processor (40oz) perform? Edited February 24, 2012 by Geo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Watch those blades! One reviewer said she adds soap and hot water to her carafe (with blade) and blends for a minute, rinses, and puts it back on the base...just to avoid those blades. I have to agree. The blades are similar in sharpness to a german brand vegetable slicer I bought this summer. Any contact with those blades always results in a deep cut...and to think, I bought that slicer to avoid cuts from a mandolin. The box even touted the guarantee, "No more cut fingers"! :glare: Thanks for the heads up!!!! The last thing I need is stitches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'd like to get an opinion on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I would love a review of the food processor function as well. And does anyone know if it can grind meat? :bigear: I have been trying to justify the cost of a Vitamix because we are currently looking for a very good food processor, blender, and meat grinder. It seems we might actually save money getting all 3 in 1 device (not to mention valuable kitchen real estate) but I still can't quite wrap my head around spending that much. If the Ninja will do it for that much less, I'll buy one tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 It doesn't "grind" meat...but with 1100 watts it could chew it for you. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 It doesn't "grind" meat...but with 1100 watts it could chew it for you. :D :lol: That might be close enough! Dh and I have been debating getting a really good meat/veggie grinder instead of a Vitamix (or equivalent). We have an immersion blender that works for most of our blending needs, and a KA stand mixer that works like a champ. But we need food processing and meat grinding capabilities because we raise our own meat (some of which we would like to have ground) and he is a restaurant manager and brings home all the scrap produce from his kitchen to feed our pigs. It gets old fast chopping all that by hand. And yes, we have to chop it because they are babies still. Um, didn't mean to hijack...but if anyone has suggestions for us, we would be :bigear:! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 :lol: That might be close enough! Dh and I have been debating getting a really good meat/veggie grinder instead of a Vitamix (or equivalent). We have an immersion blender that works for most of our blending needs, and a KA stand mixer that works like a champ. But we need food processing and meat grinding capabilities because we raise our own meat (some of which we would like to have ground) and he is a restaurant manager and brings home all the scrap produce from his kitchen to feed our pigs. It gets old fast chopping all that by hand. And yes, we have to chop it because they are babies still. Um, didn't mean to hijack...but if anyone has suggestions for us, we would be :bigear:! Hey, that's ok...just bumps my thread up to the first page. :D Have you considered a meat grinder attachment to the KA? Are they hard on the lower wattage of the KA? We raised our own meat for a couple years. Our problem was that our animals were on our property (1.3 acres) and not in a field somewhere else...hence, kids couldn't get over eating members of our herd/flock...especially the bunnies. Now we just grow our much less adorable vegetables. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Watch those blades! One reviewer said she adds soap and hot water to her carafe (with blade) and blends for a minute, rinses, and puts it back on the base...just to avoid those blades. I have to agree. The blades are similar in sharpness to a german brand vegetable slicer I bought this summer. Any contact with those blades always results in a deep cut...and to think, I bought that slicer to avoid cuts from a mandolin. The box even touted the guarantee, "No more cut fingers"! :glare: They are so sharp that my kids have been instructed to leave them in the dishwasher or in the drainer hen putting up the dishes. I don't want them touching them (and the kids are 9 and 10!). I LOVE my Ninja. I use it daily for smoothies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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