Do you have a Vitamix and if so, would you recommend it?

[FelicityFeatherstone]

I'm considering buying one but they're very expensive.

Do you have one and what do you use it for? How is it superior to the Ninja, for example?

Hi, I too was considering a Vitamix. This was due to the many American raw foodists that swore by them.
However, I did a hell of a lot of research on similar blenders, and found one called an Optimum (I think… I’m half asleep at present) and in my opinion its superior to a Vitamix, as it’s got six blades as opposed to four.
it’s reputed to be able to crush pebbles!
I’ve had mine many years now, and I still would recommend it.
When I wake tomorrow and I see that I’ve got the name of it wrong, I’ll add another reply.

i've received mine as a gift, it takes up a fair amount of cupboard or pantry space and to this date i only use it once a month when i mix up the liquid portion of a jamie oliver recipe (best breakfast bircher).
i can foresee this being a garage sale item in a few years time.

I have one. It's excellent. Blends everything very well, until it's super smooth. Good for smoothies and cocktails! Will chomp up ice no problem.

You can make icecream in it out of frozen bananas but it's a bit fiddly to scrape it out.

My DH does breadcrumbs in it.

You can make hot soup. But we don't really. It's very noisy and I can't bear to keep it running for long enough!

We had an issue with the plastic jug leaking and also with the "nut" (it's not a nut I just don't know what it's called!) that grips the jug and makes the blades spin. Vitamix sent replacements with little to no fuss. Excellent customer service. We've had it for about 7 years now I think.

Yes! We love it and use it daily. We use it for juicing, smoothies and soups. We were just on holiday and used a normal blender there and it reminded me how great our Vitamix is. Worth the money and I won't be without one. I believe they make a smaller version too if you don't have as much counter/pantry space.