Customer Reviews

Ninja Blender NJ600 XL - Black

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I drink a lot of smoothies that contain frozen fruit and various vegetables. I was using a standard blender that could be purchased anywhere for normal household use. It was not powerful enough to handle all of the frozen fruit and items that I threw in it and the motor burnt out very quickly. I purchased the Ninja Blender to replace it, and here is my feedback after using it daily for two weeks:

Perks:

It is very powerful. I can fill it full of frozen fruit, various vegetables and greens, and it blends them very quickly and effortlessly. For that, I love it! It is easy and safe to use, even my children can operate it safely. It has a large pitcher that is easy to pour from. It is easy to clean-no need to disassemble it, the design is brilliant in that the parts are solid and well constructed, and easy to remove from the base to wash.

Downfalls:

It DOES NOT blend to a smooth consistency! If the most important feature of a blender for you is that it blend the contents smoothly, this IS NOT the blender for you. It does break everything down quickly and efficiently-power is not a problem. But no matter how long you blend the contents, they will still be grainy or "minced" at best. In other words, I must still "chew" my smoothie a bit. I believe it is the shape of the blades that are the downfall of this blender.

Because I blend daily and demand a lot from the blender, yet cannot afford the $300-400 units that would blend the way I need them to, I am opting to keep the Ninja. I am surrendering to the fact (for financial reasons) that it will not blend smoothly. I make my smoothies using a two-step process: cycle it through the Ninja first breaking everything up as much as possible, then pouring the amount I want to drink into my Magic Bullet and blending it again to a smooth consistency (I already owned the Magic Bullet, but rarely used it before because it simply wasn't big enough to suit my needs). This works for me because I make a huge Ninja pitcher full in the morning and put it in the fridge, then pour out and blend small amounts to drink in the Magic bullet throughout the day, "fast food" if you will.

It would be a benefit to the manufacturer of the Ninja Blender to construct an additional blade that will fit on the base of the current unit that blends to a smooth consistency.

***UPDATE***

I decided to contact the manufacturer to find out if there was a better blade available for the Ninja Blender. I was unhappy that their customer support was a non-English speaking representative. I could barely understand what he was saying, he could not understand me...I THINK that I discovered there is not another blade available that will puree my food/smoothies to a smooth consistency.

Ultimately, I returned the Ninja Blender. I grew tired of my two-step process described above, and felt it was not worth the money spent versus a less expensive blender that was perhaps not as powerful but would puree to a smooth consistency.

Because of my unpleasant experience with the customer service, and the fact that the blender does not puree, I reduced the rating to 2-star, and would NOT recommend this product for the money spent.

I would not recommend this product.

My wife and I just heard about the Ninja Blender a couple days ago. I've heard in the past that the amount of power (watts) is one of the most important factors to look for when looking for a blender. This one has 100O watts of power, which is more than any of the blenders that I know about around this price level.

I actually used to use my parent's vitamix for a couple years a few years ago and that thing was the best blender ever. Earlier this year, we bought the Blendtec from Costco and loved it, but ended up returning it because it was just too expensive. So anyway, we had a coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond and we figured if the Ninja Blender sucked, then we could return it easily. I wasn't expecting all that much since it is only 1/4th the price of a Vitamix or Blendtec. I guess I shouldn't be comparing in the first place, but those are the only blenders that did not break and worked very well when making my frozen fruit smoothies. I have tried a number of cheaper blenders around the $50-$100 range, but they all were terrible.

Tonight is our first night using the Ninja blender and so far this thing is awesome!!!!! Seriously. It blended my frozen fruit smoothie in 30 seconds pretty well. It's not clumpy at all and we are even using cheap, narrow straws successfully. Now, when comparing to the blendtec and vitamix, it doesn't puree it quite as much, but definitely thoroughly. In fact, perhaps the blendtec and vitamix purees the fruit too much?

Cleaning is easy. For a quick cleanup, just rinse out, add 3/4th up full of warm/hot water with a drop of soap, then hit the pulse button a couple times. For a thorough cleaning, the blades come right out very easily and everything can be cleaned very easily. The pitcher (forgot if that is what it is actually called), blades, and lid are dishwasher safe.

It even has some cool features that I've never seen before. Locking lid and the pitcher locks in too. It won't run until both are locked in place, which is safe since the blades pull out when the lid comes off.

Now, when comparing to blendtec and vitamix again, you have to remember they are in different classes. Blendtec and Vitamix are commercial grade while the Ninja blender is not. When you look at the parts that actually wind/turn under the pitcher and on top of the base, the Blendtec and Vitamix use steel or at least metal; the Ninja Blender is using some kind of plastic. I don't know how long it will hold up, but I'm happy as long as it does for a couple years.

In short, this blender is better than any blender in this pricing range. Maybe it won't handle as much or last as long as the $400 blenders, but it does a heck of a job at a quarter of the cost.

Because this is only my first day using this blender, I may post an update to my review at a later date. If you don't see any updates, then assume everything is excellent.

I got this blender today so it has only been used twice. However, I LOVE it so far...made "snow" in a jiffy. My main use will be for smoothies and it is a champ at making these clump free. I used all frozen fruit and nuts in mine today and it blended them right up. The container is huge and made perfect sized smoothies for my family of 3. I was in the market for the Blendtec total blender and while I'm sure it would be an AWESOME blender, it's just too expensive for my smoothie habits right now. Hopefully, this blender will be around for a few years. It is really sturdy on my cabinet as well. I love the fact that the container must be locked on before the machine will power up. Another reviewer mentioned the size was tall...it is a tall machine! I will have put the container in a cabinet and leave the base on countertop. It measured 17" from counter to top of the container with the lid locked on top. About 7" deep measuring from front to back of the base.
Hope this helps,

Update on my review...
I have made quite a few smoothies now and it is proving to be a great blender! I don't have any clumps or chunks in anything I've blended. I'm using frozen fruit and ice as well and it is smooth. The only time it is "gritty" is when I add nuts but I like the texture. They are extremely blended down but it does change the consistency a bit. I use the regular straws and drink it just fine. I'm extremely happy with this purchase=)

This isn't a bad blender. I've had it for about 2 months. No doubt that it is powerful. It does crush ice in a matter of seconds. It is fairly quiet since it is a 1000w blender and after a good deal at BBB, I am happy for this $60-$65 blender. At $100, not happy at all.

Like I said, it does crush ice down in a matter of seconds, but "snow"? Not really. Maybe chunky, man-made stuff, but not snow. It leaves chucks that will go up a straw, but large enough that you can still crunch them. I make my fruit smoothies with ice and I want them smooth. My old Cuisanart 600w blender made them smoother but you could smell the motor on the verge of burning out with making thick, icy smoothies. But after 3 years and 2 blenders (lousy plastic gear) I went for a change. I doesn't matter how long I blend and at any speed, the chunks remain. While you blend, you can see 2 zones (between the blades) where the smoothie really isn't moving. That means nothing is getting broken down any further.

The lid is nice, But I am worried it may not last long. I do like the size of the pitcher.

I'll keep working with it. I may even change the angle of some of the blades to improve the mixing. The price of an early adopter.

I've owned this blender for approximately three months and I absolutely love it. I've not owned a blendtec or a Vitamix and I'm sure at four times the cost they probably blend to a smoother consistency (I would hope so at least). My current budget won't allow me to spend that much on a blender so I was thrilled to find the Ninja in my price range and even more thrilled with its performance.

I make green smoothies in my Ninja every morning that contain the following: water, spinach, carrots, stalk of celery, bananas, apple, and frozen berries. It blends everything extremely well and I don't feel like I'm "chewing" my smoothie.

Yeah, I'd love to be able to afford a $400 blender, but at this point in time, the Ninja does what I need it to do and my family and I are healthier because of it. I highly recommended this as an alternative to a commercial grade blender.

I almost passed on this machine due to the "it doesnt blend smoothies just right and leaves em grainy and gritty" reviews.

That is just simply not true. The consistincy of a (spinach and strawberry ) smoothie that I made was identical to the consitancy of a strawberry smothie from a major franchise I frequent. I dont know if it compares to the vita mix or blendtec...cuz I am not gonna pay that for a blender. I DO know that the major franchise I frequent has state of the art machinery...and guess what...you still have strawberry seeds in your smoothie. Its a fact of life. If you cant deal with that...stick to bannanas or pea smoothies. If the ninja leaves one of them gritty...ya better call an exterminator...cuz something else fell in there.

This machine does what it says it will do. All day.

This blender is powerful. When taking the food out, you remove the blades first, so it is MUCH easier to remove food. The locking top is nice.

However, the blades seem to be poorly designed. I noticed most blender's blades are bent. This one may have a lot of blades, but the bottom blades are straight, so they do not get everything. The food does not get guided up into the blades. I have a recipe that is made by pureeing cooked cauliflower. In my old Oster blender, the mixture became like perfect mashed potatoes (as it was supposed to do). In this blender, it remains grainy. (By the way, the Oster was otherwise a piece of junk in that it quickly bacame impossible to turn off. You had to unplug it to stop it! I know someone else with the exact same blender that did the same thing.)

It seems it is impossible to find a good blender! Note: this Ninja blender is huge. It either needs to stay on top of the counter or you need a VERY tall cabinet.

I cannot recommend it since I have twice been disappointed with the results.

We went through two blenders in the last 3 years due to breakage. I now wanted a blender that was powerful, well designed and dependable as opposed to the cheap models. I never heard of Ninja Blenders. To be honest the name is awful. It reminds me of a toy instead of an serious kitchen machine.

While browsing I came upon the Ninja NJ600 30 Professional Blender as stated on the box. 1000 watts. Unbelieveable when most are 450-600w, maybe 700w and not that much more in price. I went to a famous local retailer to check it out. I was impressed with the looks, the weight of the motor and how the 72 oz. pitcher locks in place on top of the motor. Furthermore, the lid also fits tight in place when you line up the two small triangular markings. Once the lid is locked you can lift the entire blender using the handle on top of the lid. IMO, that is quality construction. As a safety feature if the lid is not locked correctly the motor will not run. The power button blinks red. When locked properly in place the power button is a consent red. There is no off button. There are 3 speeds and pulse. When your blend is done, press the power button again as the off button.

Our first blend was a smoothie my 4 year old enjoys drinking of milk, banana, apple and a little rice cereal. I turned it on and the blender was enormously more quieter than a Osters we had previously (irritatingly loud). The blend was very smooth and looked so delicious I wanted to drink it too (but I didn't).

Another fantastic positive point is the SIX patented blades are mounted on a shaft at different levels. This shaft is almost the entire height of the pitcher. Most blenders have their blades on the bottom of the pitcher. Very clever with this blade design that does not create a vortex. Just imagine what a carrot goes through in there :-). Remove the shaft before you pour your mixture. Removing the shaft after use makes cleaning easy.

The spinning rotors mounted on top of the motor doesn't look like metal nor cheap plastic. I don't know the material. The first that came to mind was ceramic because of the matt color tone. To the touch it feels like very hard rubber.

I have a feeling I'll be blending more smoothies the next couple of months than all of 2010 together. Buy a Ninja.

Update 12 Dec. 2010: Since purchase approx. 2 weeks ago I've been blending many different combinations of ingredients daily including cranberries, celery, oranges and other similar fruits or vegetables. Some vegetables do not blend completely smooth as other reviews have stated. Carrots are super fine minced and drinkable. If you strain a carrot mix you'll get a nice drink. I think most commercial vitamin drinks containing carrots has sediment on the bottom of the container and needs to be shaken.

Please remember this is not a $400+ blender (Bentley vs. Lexus) as others have mentioned as comparison which is unfair. Therefore you probably will not get the same results. However, for the price imo I am positive I got the best product. The cheaper blenders are extremely, annoyingly loud. This machine's noise level is acceptable to us. Your noise tolerance may vary of course. Better blender, better drinks.

I needed a powerful yet inexpensive blender to juice veggies and fruits. This blender is awesome! I looked at the reviews carefully and decided to get it anyway. I couldn't be happier with the performance. I've been using it everyday so far no trouble. Although not a Vitamixer, I would say its a cheaper version to start with before you can save up your monies to get one. I'd buy 2 more b4 I would invest in a Vitamixer.

This blender is amazing. I use it to make smoothies with frozen fruit and it requires much less water than my old Osterizer needed. Having blades at different heights is such a great idea and I can't believe more blenders have that. The blender doesn't work well as a food processor because of the blade heights but it's not designed to. If you are looking for a blender that will chop up ice and frozen fruit in seconds without being very loud, this is the one for you.