Best Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender Review

The E310 Explorian blender by Vitamix may just be the best blender for green smoothies. This model is considered the Cadillac of blenders, offering many must-have features that the avid smoothie drinker will love. There’s no doubt that this is a model that’s packing some serious power, so you won’t have to worry about your blender stalling out or overheating during use. This top of the line model scored well in a variety of categories, offering the type of powerful performance that allows it to take on any type of fruit or veggie. In this review, I’ll take a look at exactly what makes this model a best-seller, how it performs, and how it measures up to competing blenders.

Our Verdict: Solidly built and designed for daily use, this is one powerful blender and a model that comes loaded with speed setting options, which you can choose based on the type of food you’re blending. It comes with a pulse feature, that further adds to this model’s versatility, in addition to thermal heat protection, a must-have safety feature that will ensure your blender doesn’t quit on you during use. This model earned top marks for its powerful design, but the real drawback is the smaller pitcher that’s able to produce enough food or drinks for up to six people. Additionally, the price is a little steep, but if you consider the type of durability and power the Explorian has to offer, it’s well worth the price.

Overview and Features

Vitamix is a company that has a reputation for producing some of the best appliances in the world. Their line of blenders can be found in pro and home kitchens and can easily withstand daily use. With this model, it’s impressively tough and sharp blade system, combined with a powerful motor are just a couple of reasons that these blenders are easily crushing the competition.

This latest model from Vitamix is designed more for family kitchens than a commercial one, but it still offers the type of premium performance you need. This appliance offers ten speed settings to choose from, top of the line steel blades, a pulse feature, and a self-cleaning mode that makes cleaning this model a totally hands-off process. Weighing in at a a little over eleven pounds, this is one heavy-duty blender.

However, the big drawback here is the price, since it’s significantly more expensive than many competing smoothie blenders. But is this model really worth the higher price tag? Let’s find out.

Design

This model features a sleek base and smooth sides, giving it a more compact design that will allow you to store it in a kitchen cabinet when not in use. The manufacturer doesn’t skimp on power. This model has a reputation for handling challenging types of fruits and veggies, which will be a huge selling point for anyone who is looking for a sturdy blender they can use daily. This model operates with a two HP motor at 1380 watts. It’s also equipped with a thermal protection system which consists of a radial cooling fan that’s designed to prevent a premature shutdown, an issue that often occurs with high-powered blenders.

Pitcher

In the past, Vitamix produced pitchers with a capacity of sixty-four ounces, however, their latest model only offers a capacity of forty-eight ounces. The smaller size does help to make the blender easier to store in cupboards, but it can only handle making about six large smoothies per pitcher. This isn’t the largest pitcher on the market; however, its smaller size will not be a deal-breaker for most buyers.

Self-Cleaning

Cleaning out a pitcher after making a batch of smoothies can be time consuming, which is why most potential buyers will appreciate the blender’s self-cleaning mode. To clean, you’ll only need to use a couple of drops of dish soap, some hot water, and let the self-cleaning mode run for thirty to sixty seconds. However, if you’re dealing with some heavy-duty ingredients, such as broccoli, you may have to still wipe out the interior using a damp cloth after the self-cleaning mode is complete. Fortunately, the cleaning mode will be able to handle the bulk of the work.

Speed Settings

Most models will come with three to five speed settings. The more speed settings a blender has, the more versatile it is, since it will allow you to blend a wider variety of food types.

This model comes with a total of ten speed options. These settings will allow you to blend a wide variety of foods.

If you want to make your own ice cream, you can choose from one of the lower settings. If you want to make soup from scratch, you’ll choose a medium speed settings. If you’re trying out a new avocado smoothie recipe, then you’ll use one of the higher speed settings.

Aside from the ten speed settings, you’ll also find a pulse mode. Pulse modes are commonly found on all types of blenders, however, in the past, the manufacturer has not included a pulse function, so this is a big deal.

Using the pulse feature, you can easily make your favorite dishes and dips such as hummus or chunky salsa.

Performance

If you know about the benefits of drinking smoothies and you want to learn how to make your own, then this beginner friendly appliance is a perfect choice. In terms of power, this model can offer a performance that’s comparable to a full-sized model. Since this is a variable speed blender it can produce creamy, smoothies, easily plowing through tough root veggies and leafy greens. Even more impressive, if you allow the blender to run for approximately six minutes, it can even take room temperature ingredients and heat them up, due to the friction of the blades when the blender is placed on the highest speed setting. One of the biggest reasons people turn to this blender is due to its reputation for being able to handle leafy green veggies without freezing up. If you’ve ever tried to make a green smoothie using a standard blender, then you know the produce often gets caught in the blades and can cause them to freeze, making the process frustrating and time-consuming. With this blender, you’ll no longer have to deal with that issue. Instead, you’ll choose one of the higher speed settings and sit back and watch as the blender gets to work and produces a creamy smoothie in a matter of seconds.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Pros of Vitamix E310

Cons of Vitamix

Best Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender Versus Oster Rapid Blend Blender

The Oster Rapid Blend blender is one of the Explorian’s biggest competitors, although when you put them head to head, you’ll find that the E310 easily outperforms it. The model by Oster offers 450-watts of power and eight speed options, up against this model’s 1380 watts and ten speed settings. However, the Oster is also surprisingly versatile and comes with a three-cup food processor attachment, allowing for more versatility in terms of the types of foods you can blend and the dishes you can create. Additionally, the competing model comes with an impressive ten-year warranty, while this model is only covered by a five-year warranty. The Oster is also a lot more forgiving when you consider the price. However, its lack of power can also make it a poor choice if you need a heavy-duty model that can tackle pretty much any type of food you throw at in. In the end, this model by Vitamix is still clearly the winner, but if you’re on a tight budget, the Oster is a great option, just don’t expect the same type of power that you’ll only find with higher priced models.

Conclusion and Rating

Our Rating: (4.5/5)

If you’re looking for the ultimate blender, one that you can use to instantly make yout favorite smoothie, milkshake, soup, hummus, dip, and more, then your search is over.

The Vitamix E310 Explorian blender earned top marks for its variable speed settings, durable design, and top of the line motor. The blade system is impressively sharp and when combined with a higher speed setting, actually has the power to heat up room temperature ingredients. The self-cleaning mode is a big deal for every buyer and it’s a great feature that’s designed to minimize cleanup time while ensuring your blender is spotless and ready to go. Of course, the steep price tag is the biggest drawback for people on a tight budget, but if you’re looking for a serious workhorse and a blender that can handle heavy-duty daily use, then the Explorian is worth every penny. This model earned a rating of four and a half out of five stars.