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Company: Amazon via seller Oster
Price Range: $230-$250
Pros:
Discover a blender with similar power to the Vitamix, better looks, and a lower price. I have discovered my new favorite sub-$250 blender currently on the market. Let it be known, my favorite blenders still remain the Vitamix series. However, I find it extremely important to get information out there about other more affordable brands for people new to the blending lifestyle that are not yet ready to invest in a Vitamix blender. With all of that being said, the Oster VERSA delivers in so many regards.
Blend smoothies, bean dips, and soups with programmed settings. Based upon my own experiences with blenders, all I ever really make are smoothies and bean dips, with the occasional soup thrown in every now and then as well. Oster recognizes that this is what most people who blend are actually doing, and went out to make a blender that will perform these tasks automatically. Simply press the button on the blender and it will blend your ingredients into the consistency you want. Of course you can manually control the blender as well with a power dial to determine how fast you want it to run, or you can press the pulse button for fast blending.
For a mid-line blender, this machine comes with plenty of great features. I do not understand why other blenders than the Vitamix do not include a tamper, the tamper is an incredibly helpful tool when blending. Thankfully Oster included a tamper with the Oster VERSA Blender
which really adds an extra layer of control. Another benefit of this blender are the stainless steel blending blades that remind me a ton of the Vitamix. If I am making this sound like an extreme Vitamix contrast review, it is. Oster really took a page from Vitamix's book to make this blender.
This is a personal taste, but I love the looks of this blender. The sleek black design of this blender looks great kitchen, but what really appeals to me is the almost neon red lining of the blender. Oster really made an aesthetically pleasing blender in my view. Its looks almost remind me of the 80's or just some slick night club with a neon sign shining in the dead of night.
Cons:
Other reviewers claim this blender is hard to clean, I do not
believe this to be the case. Truth be told, I do not have a dishwasher
so I have not experimented with the blender in the dishwasher, but it
appears the blender can be placed on the bottom rack based on what
others have said. In any case, you can clean this blender manually
easily enough by first rinsing it out after blending, then putting dish soap in the blender and running the blender for up to ten seconds. You will have your blender come clean after that, you may want to wipe down the sides with a sponge and around the rim to have no crust stick to it.
While Oster does claim this blender can make soups, I am hesitant to say to go out and do so. Other reviewers claim having burnout issues with Oster blenders. I have never had a blender actually burn out on me before, but I have mainly used Vitamix blenders for workhorses and they have a reputation for extreme craftsmanship. When it comes to soup blending, you will need to run your blender for a solid 5-6 minutes at a time. Personally, I would not wanted to repeatedly stress a mid-line blender with this kind of workload.
Oster includes a 7 year warranty on the blender to cover any defects in the manufacturing. For anyone hesitant on the quality of middle of the road blenders, an extensive warranty should be a promising sign.
The Amazon A-Z Guarantee is the best guarantee in the market. In the
event that the product is not delivered, delivered in a broken
condition, or is not meeting the quality expectations of the buyer, the
item may be returned to Amazon for a full refund. A 30 day window exists
to file a claim to Amazon over any problem that may come up with the
product.
Value for money?
The Oster VERSA 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender is my new favorite when it comes to mid-tier blenders. Its power and performance come close to matching the Vitamix, but they do not quite reach the blending perfection the Vitamix offers. Smoothies come out great and bean dips are made with the automatic function. There is little to not like with this blender and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get into the world of blending.
Where to buy:
Where to buy:
"This is a very powerful blender." - Pickles
"This jar fits better under the cabinets and limited counter space." - Jean Ferrier
"I own both a Oster Versa and VitaMix, and I think both a great blenders." - Quality Man
By Mat McNeile
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