Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

So much has already been written, I will simply hit my experience in one month of ownership. It was between this and VitaMix (VM) at $400-$500 (I rapidly ruled out Ninjas based on even their highest level machine having plastic coupling of blade to motor (underneath the cup) and the reviews saying they pretty much crap out suddenly after a few months). I'm delighted I got this for Smoothies. If I was a professional chef, making pastry dough, perhaps I would need the VM. I make only Smoothies. This easily smoothies ice cubes, frozen tangerines and bananas, etc. I freeze everything now--including spinach-in-a-bag, leftover yogurt, etc.--and just grind it in this Oster to a smooth pulp. I see no residual skin, pulp, etc. This machine even has a dedicated button for smoothies--it works for a minute or so, then turns off by itself. You can do other things...it just runs perfectly. Nice! This machine has no tamper stick like VM, the kind that one sticks in the top to mush food around. Why? It doesn't need one--the blade works in both directions, even when you hit the Smoothie button (ten seconds one way, ten seconds the other, etc. automatically). So, food doesn't get stuck, and it does a swell job. Might it be tougher on the motor to be bi-directional? See warranty note later in this review. Adding water, and how much, is the key to smoothie making. Too much, too thin; not enough, hard time making smoothie. You'll get the hang of it. I do not use the To Go cups bc they don't hold enough solids to make enough drink for my tastes. I haven't tried the food processor and likely never will. This machine, just like VM brand, has a 7-year warranty! Basically, you pay to return the machine, they replace it and ship you a new or refurbed one (at least that's what it says for both VM and Oster online; I haven't tried it). Key: the Oster official website sells replacement parts. The container, the blade, the gaskets ($1 each) and the lid are, all together, about $50. They have free shipping over $50. I love that I can replace the blade, or the gasket, should it be needed. I bought a whole "replacement kit" of these items from Oster. Comparatively, the VitaMix item--the full set that I described--are $125!! Vitamix Eastman Tritan Copolyester Soft-Grip 64-Ounce Container with Wet Blade and Lid (VM parts can be seen on Amazon). Bust a VM blade and you'll be springing for the whole enchilada since the blade is built into the blending container base; Oster allows single parts to be replaced (I think the new blade was $6.99). Clean up is a snap; run lid under water to wash it, then half fill the Oster container with water, blend on high for 15 seconds, open to air dry. Boom! No taking off the blades, or the rubber ring, or all that jazz. Cleanup takes under a minute, so I do it before I even drink my smoothie. It is powerful at 1100-watts (normal $40 blender is about 250-watts). I debated the Oster $199 model with the 1400-watt motor, but for smoothies, this one is ideal. Strong! Ice---no match! If one is a chef, maybe consider the 1400-watter to knead dough or make thick peanut butter or something. For the smoothie guys, this is enough. It's loud. I got a pair of earplugs to keep by the blender, no joke! Love these earplugs, and I suggest you order them with this blender unless you just want to put your two fingers in your ears each time, which is cool, too. Howard Leight by Honeywell R-01538 Quiet Band Hearing Protector with Reusable Pods These earplugs fit perfectly around the base for storage--no kidding! Tip: I considered a "juicer", but those are a beeeatch to clean, and I want pulp and rind. Sure, it's a touch thicker to drink, but I have had no issues. None at all. There is so much waste with juicers. Here, no waste. Grind seeds and all. The thickness depends on how much water one adds (fruit to water ratio). I tried Almond Milk as a base, but it rots in one week in the fridge, and cold water is so easy, now I just use tap water. Soy milk, cow's milk, you can use any of it that you have lying around. I add protein power, like Vanilla or Chocolate. Sure, I could add pea protein or nut protein, and would if I had them lying around, but in a quick minute, just toss in a scoop of the stuff bodybuilders use. And sweetener, the videos online would tell you bee honey or what not, and I tried it, but in the end, good old sugar or Sweet and Lo and this thing's sweet enough. You can get so many pre-diced frozen fruits in the store. Strawbs, pomegranate, cherrys, blah blah. Sure, I use fresh when I can, but to get a bag of, say, pineapple chunks (frozen and pre-cut) and toss them in here with a rotten banana and yesterday's unfinished dinner salad and, bam, some chocolate protein power to kill off the skunky taste--man, it's like Thanksgiving in Key West every day! I like that you don't have to take the stems off the strawberries or nothing. Seeds in your oranges--who gives a rat's patoot. And you know those oranges that you peel and it's like, darn, I'm leaving more white rind on here than I'm taking off. "Shed your skin, you crazy little, out-of-season Sunkist!" Well, before it was painful to eat that rubbery thing, knowing that you spent, like, a buck on the big ones and darn if you're going to toss it away--now, bam, just chuck it in the Oster "garbage disposal for the gullet" and it minces up so you can gulp it down like drinking a fruity picante. You win! Whenever we buy fruit, Jello cups, pudding, whatever, it all gets brown and old before we can eat it. For instance, yogurt: you know that "Oh, poo! Today's the expiration date, and I have a ten-mile hike this afternoon. Should I chance it?" Now, no problem...pop that bad boy in the freezer. In a week or so, when you're just lounging around watching the NY Jets eat sod yet again, spoon that vintage yogurt into the blender with a crummy packet of Swiss Miss Cocoa mix that's been growing cobwebs in your pantry, add some water, and beat the living daylight out of the thing. Then throw in some cashews that have been greasing up the bottom of a dish on the footstool for a couple weeks, plus a few of those licorice jellybeans that no one wants to ever eat, and bam, hit the smoothie button and go take a leak. It runs itself and shuts itself off. Come back in a couple minutes and, voila, dinner is served! This blender comes with a fancy "cookbook", but unless your kitchen has a ton of plantains, Valencia grapes, papayas and kiwi lying around, you'll likely just end up throwing some bananas in this baby and calling it a day. It's liberating to know that those "Hey, those bananas are looking pretty rancid!" moments can be tamed; just peel them, throw them in a gallon freezer bag, and boom, smoothie them anytime. Enjoy salads? I now buy bags of 1/2 priced salad--you know, the type with the big flourescent stickers that say "Buy Me!", but that ought to say, "I'm poison" because in, like, twelve hours it'll become compost right there in your grocer's freezer--well, buy a few bags just to freeze! Between getting my salads half price, plus using no salad dressing, I figure I'll have this blender bought and paid for in, like, a year and a half. Bloobs for cereal, can't eat them before getting fuzzy, right? Now just freeze them and, in month, make a blueberry-vanilla protein powder smoothie. Toss in some Gushers Fruit Snacks that your kids left lying around and it's delish! Booyah! Be the master of your kitchen again, the way it was supposed to be!! If I drink a smoothie, plus eat a frozen macs and cheese Smart One and a 1/2 jumbo bag of Cool Ranch Doritos (to add some crunch *wink, wink*), I'm good for hours and hours. Maybe even all night (but, admittedly, at midnight I'm too tired to make another smoothie, so I just eat a Ring-Ding and call it done). I drank 1-2 smoothies a day for a month and it has changed my life. They are nutritious and filling. This review is going to make you think I've lost my marbles, but I swear on a stack of Sports Illustrated magazines that I have ground up and drank everything that I have mentioned in this review. This thing is intense! You'll start putting your hand behind the couch cushions just looking for things to grind up and drink. I suspected that I might get the ka-poops with all that pulpy fiber coursing through my colon like a tractor-trailer truck on a lonely highway, but it hasn't happened. Maybe, like my ex-wife said, it was the Devil Dogs and Chicago Red Hot frankfurters that were tearing me up. All-natural doesn't seem to twink me out as much as I guessed it would. Yes, I tossed in a jigger of honey Jack once or twice. My brother, Mark, turned me on to the stuff and I'm a lightweight when it comes to booze. But, with icing, this baby is cold anyhow, why not? So sue me. I'm human. Honey Jack D likes the Oster, too. Never complained, anyway. Hope this review helped someone who is on the fence about living a healthy lifestyle. :-) Recommended! UPDATE: have owned it now for nearly four months, no issues. Used daily. Smoothies. Awesome! But when sticking hand in couch cushions to find things to grind and drink, here's something I learned the hard way: it's not powerful enough to grind Washington quarters and copper pennies.