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My first Vitamix was a vintage model that, despite being over 19 years old, worked perfectly. This year, while testing newer Vitamix models for CNET’s list of the best blenders, I got to try the VX1 and 5200. Both lived up to Vitamix’s reputation with quality blending performance. So when I was sent the company’s first personal blender, the Nano, I had high hopes.
Yet while the Nano has a pleasing design, resembling a baby VX1, it didn’t deliver on performance.
What I didn’t like about the Vitamix Nano
Aligning the cup was tricky
As other reviews on the Vitamix website have noted, it can be tough to align the cup, blade base and motor base. If the blade base doesn’t attach to the cup perfectly in the locked position, then it won’t fit in the motor base. Sometimes, it takes an extra try or two to get it right.
It’s difficult to get the seal back on
There’s also a seal on the blade base that needs to be washed, rinsed and dried, as liquid can get trapped underneath it. However, because the blade base has a few ridges, it can be difficult to get the seal back onto the bottom ridge without it twisting along the way.
At one point, I didn’t get a good seal — and the container leaked. This was my fault and wouldn’t have been a big deal, but the drainage hole on the motor base points toward the engine’s air holes, so I ended up having to use a Q-tip to clean smoothie out of them.
A small cup size
When it came time to blend, I had trouble fitting all my ingredients in the 20-oz cup, and I wish it had measurements on the side instead of just max fill, wash fill and minimum fill indicators. This would be especially helpful for ensuring enough liquid is added — the manual recommends a 50:50 ratio of liquids to solids — for smooth operation.
There’s a burn risk
My last critique involves the metal drive spine on the bottom of the blade base that connects to the drive socket. It can get hot after blending, and since it’s close to where you use your hand to remove the base from the cup, you’re at risk of burning yourself. After a close call in which my hand briefly touched the hot drive spine, I started using an oven mitt when handling that part of the blender.
How the Nano performed in testing
Compared with the other personal blenders we tested, the 1000-watt Nano fell short. When blending a green smoothie, it took the longest of any model tested at 3 minutes and 8 seconds on high speed. Even then, I still had to stop the process to shake the container twice.
By comparison, CNET’s favorite personal blender, the 1200-watt Ninja BlendBoss, took 50 seconds.
The Nano wasn’t able to blend ice at all after some of it got stuck and froze under the blades, while the BlendBoss took only 13 seconds on its “ice crush” mode.
One test the Nano excelled at was blending butternut squash soup in just 17 seconds. However, this blender isn’t designed for hot liquids, so I had to let the soup mixture cool completely before adding it to the blender.
When tested with the Decibel X app, the Nano was only slightly louder, at 93.1 dBA (A-weighted decibels) on average, than the BlendBoss at 92 dBA. For reference, a vacuum cleaner is around 75 dBA, while city traffic is about 85 dBA.
The SmoothiePilot program works best with small fruit
That brings me to the Nano’s SmoothiePilot program, which automatically selects the best blending speed and duration for the ingredients you put in the cup. I tested this a few times and was only able to get it to work perfectly twice. Other times, I had to add extra liquid or shake the container. I also found it works best for smaller pieces of frozen fruit, such as berries, as I sometimes ended up with half a frozen banana or a large piece of mango in the final product.
Most of the time, once SmoothiePilot finished, I found that running the variable speed setting on high worked best for blending any remaining chunks of fruit.
What I liked about the Nano
I love the Nano’s sleek, compact design, measuring 8.5 x 5.5 x 15.3 inches and weighing 9.5 pounds, which is helpful in kitchens where storage space is lacking. The single control dial makes it simple to use, too.
I also greatly appreciate that it comes with two cup holder-friendly, BPA-free cups that work with the included to-go lids, so you don’t have to worry about dirtying another cup or figuring out how to travel with your beverage.
Perhaps best of all, the cup, lid and blade base are all top-rack dishwasher-safe, but you can also clean the cup’s interior and the blade base by blending a drop of dish soap and cold water for 30 seconds.
It’s also great that the Nano comes with a three-year limited warranty, though it is the shortest warranty Vitamix offers. However, it’s longer than the BlendBoss’s one-year limited warranty.
What CNET recommends instead
Based on our testing, we recommend the Ninja BlendBoss, which sells for $130 — $70 less than the $200 Vitamix Nano. The Ninja BlendBoss includes a 26-oz tumbler with a flip cap and a detachable straw, so you can take it on the go.
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