Blendtec HPA-611-W Blender
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- Capacity: 64 oz.
- Blender Type: Work Top
- Pulse Feature: With Pulse Feature
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A Blender With Brains AND Braun
Pros
Power, easy to clean, very well designed, easy to use. Durable.
Cons
Loud, needs a strong hand at the rudder to keep it in place.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Blendtec, when you absolutely positively need to blend every single last seed in your smoothie into dust. There is no substitute.
06/24/09 - update
After 250+ cycles, nearly all of them being MASSIVE 40+ oz smoothies made with frozen strawberries my blender is still going strong. It attacks the full carafe with a ferocity not seen since the battle scenes in Braveheart. The carafe isn't completely clear anymore, but it spins just fine. Several people have commented on the noise, but all are impressed with the quality and performance. The body still looks like new and even dried up stuff from a couple of days ago cleans up quick with a moist washcloth. I still think this is one of the best appliances made.
-------------Original review from 04/02/2008------------------
The Blendtec HPA-611 (or HP-3A) is a leading contender for the most manly blender available. In short, the Blendtec will turn just about anything you throw at it into dust. I haven't repeated the "will it blend" experiments, but the Blendtec attacks my smoothie mix with such fervor that I'm thinking about it.
I have grown tired of lesser blenders. In a move to preserve my health, I eat smoothies for breakfast 5 days a week. My family has joined in, so the smoothies are getting pretty big. We had a 10 year old Oster that couldn't keep up, so we replaced it with a 'smoothie' blender from Wal-Mart. That lasted 3 days. I got a second Oster 'beehive' blender which worked OK, but the seal design led to leaks and at 600 watts, it really wasn't powerful enough for a full pitcher of frozen goodness.
I looked at a wide variety of models before spending the big bucks here. There are a number of nearly-capable products in the 900 watt range available for approximately $200. Most were very similar in terms of features to the Blendtec, save for the power and computer control. The Vita Mix products were impressive, but I don't want to use a plunger in my kitchen.
The key features are a large, polycarbonate carafe; fully automatic control; and 1,500 FLAMING watts of power. Once you get it home, you will be impressed with the quality of materials and workmanship. The carafe lid is thick, firm rubber. The blender's case is very thick polycarbonate with a finish that will hide fingerprints. The power cord is like an anaconda (at least compared to a regular blender) and includes a thoughtful velcro wrap to keep it together. The display is easy to read and the buttons well placed. The entire thing is smooth and was clearly designed for easy cleaning. I think it looks good, but my wife was a little skeptical. One could argue the Krups/KitchenAid products are more fashionable, but they don't compare in terms of materials and workmanship. Blendtec packs in a HUGE recipe book which is glossy and spiral bound, so it's easy to use in the kitchen and easy to keep clean. It also keeps track of how many 'cycles' it has run! How cool is that?
I decided to go big for the first run. I filled the carafe with over 40 OZ of ice, frozen strawberries, banana, instant pudding mix, milk, and yogurt. I hit the 'smoothie' button and waited. The machine fired up and started to run across the counter like it was hit with a bolt of lightning. It got about 2/3 of the way through mixing and shut down. The display told me the motor got to hot and wouldn't start up until it cooled down. Admittedly I was a little dismayed. I used the pulse button to finish the job, which took about 10 seconds. Attempt #2 was successful with an identically large batch and the use of the XL smoothie button. This thing can mix things so thick that you can't pour them!
The computer control works very well and the carafe/lid keep things together. It is somewhat noisy, but with over a HP on tap, that's to be expected. Also, it benefits from a strong hand on the lid. There is so much power on tap that it will wiggle/walk all over the counter if left on it's own (leaving some light black marks, which was a letdown). A significant dribble down the side was left to dry all day, yet cleaned up with a quick wipe of a warm washcloth. Everything about the experience backs up Blendtec's commercial credentials.
After 2 weeks, I can say that I'm completely impressed. I can also say that it was a worthwhile investment. This thing is built to last and if I add up the previous two blender experiments over the last year, I would be over a third of the way to paying for this one.
If you are serious about blending or just want the most luxurious small kitchen appliance available, you can't go wrong here. The going rate seems to be around $400 - not cheap, but the best usually isn't. I'd put this against a $200 Kitchen Aid or Braun all day long.
After 250+ cycles, nearly all of them being MASSIVE 40+ oz smoothies made with frozen strawberries my blender is still going strong. It attacks the full carafe with a ferocity not seen since the battle scenes in Braveheart. The carafe isn't completely clear anymore, but it spins just fine. Several people have commented on the noise, but all are impressed with the quality and performance. The body still looks like new and even dried up stuff from a couple of days ago cleans up quick with a moist washcloth. I still think this is one of the best appliances made.
-------------Original review from 04/02/2008------------------
The Blendtec HPA-611 (or HP-3A) is a leading contender for the most manly blender available. In short, the Blendtec will turn just about anything you throw at it into dust. I haven't repeated the "will it blend" experiments, but the Blendtec attacks my smoothie mix with such fervor that I'm thinking about it.
I have grown tired of lesser blenders. In a move to preserve my health, I eat smoothies for breakfast 5 days a week. My family has joined in, so the smoothies are getting pretty big. We had a 10 year old Oster that couldn't keep up, so we replaced it with a 'smoothie' blender from Wal-Mart. That lasted 3 days. I got a second Oster 'beehive' blender which worked OK, but the seal design led to leaks and at 600 watts, it really wasn't powerful enough for a full pitcher of frozen goodness.
I looked at a wide variety of models before spending the big bucks here. There are a number of nearly-capable products in the 900 watt range available for approximately $200. Most were very similar in terms of features to the Blendtec, save for the power and computer control. The Vita Mix products were impressive, but I don't want to use a plunger in my kitchen.
The key features are a large, polycarbonate carafe; fully automatic control; and 1,500 FLAMING watts of power. Once you get it home, you will be impressed with the quality of materials and workmanship. The carafe lid is thick, firm rubber. The blender's case is very thick polycarbonate with a finish that will hide fingerprints. The power cord is like an anaconda (at least compared to a regular blender) and includes a thoughtful velcro wrap to keep it together. The display is easy to read and the buttons well placed. The entire thing is smooth and was clearly designed for easy cleaning. I think it looks good, but my wife was a little skeptical. One could argue the Krups/KitchenAid products are more fashionable, but they don't compare in terms of materials and workmanship. Blendtec packs in a HUGE recipe book which is glossy and spiral bound, so it's easy to use in the kitchen and easy to keep clean. It also keeps track of how many 'cycles' it has run! How cool is that?
I decided to go big for the first run. I filled the carafe with over 40 OZ of ice, frozen strawberries, banana, instant pudding mix, milk, and yogurt. I hit the 'smoothie' button and waited. The machine fired up and started to run across the counter like it was hit with a bolt of lightning. It got about 2/3 of the way through mixing and shut down. The display told me the motor got to hot and wouldn't start up until it cooled down. Admittedly I was a little dismayed. I used the pulse button to finish the job, which took about 10 seconds. Attempt #2 was successful with an identically large batch and the use of the XL smoothie button. This thing can mix things so thick that you can't pour them!
The computer control works very well and the carafe/lid keep things together. It is somewhat noisy, but with over a HP on tap, that's to be expected. Also, it benefits from a strong hand on the lid. There is so much power on tap that it will wiggle/walk all over the counter if left on it's own (leaving some light black marks, which was a letdown). A significant dribble down the side was left to dry all day, yet cleaned up with a quick wipe of a warm washcloth. Everything about the experience backs up Blendtec's commercial credentials.
After 2 weeks, I can say that I'm completely impressed. I can also say that it was a worthwhile investment. This thing is built to last and if I add up the previous two blender experiments over the last year, I would be over a third of the way to paying for this one.
If you are serious about blending or just want the most luxurious small kitchen appliance available, you can't go wrong here. The going rate seems to be around $400 - not cheap, but the best usually isn't. I'd put this against a $200 Kitchen Aid or Braun all day long.
