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Vitamix Explorian E310 Review

A sleek, simple blender that doesn't offer any presets but does offer complete control across a variety of tasks
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Vitamix Explorian E310 Review (The Explorian is a great blender, but the lack of presets requires a more hands-on blending experience.)
The Explorian is a great blender, but the lack of presets requires a more hands-on blending experience.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Price:  $380 List
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Manufacturer:   Vitamix
By Hayley Thomas, Genaveve Bradshaw & Aaron Rice  ⋅  Jun 4, 2024
80
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#6 of 16
  • Smoothies - 30% 8.9
  • Convenience - 25% 5.9
  • Ice - 20% 9.7
  • Pureeing - 15% 6.8
  • Grinding - 10% 8.7

Our Verdict

Whether you're looking for velvety green smoothies or perfectly blended margaritas, the Vitamix Explorian E310 has you covered. This time-tested Vitamix blender turns out creamy, delicious smoothies and perfectly blended margaritas. Despite the plain interface and lack of presets or a digital timer, you have complete control over the blending process. Even though this blender doesn't offer the same “hands-off” blending experience as more premium models, you still get the same top-notch quality that Vitamix is renowned for. Considering the price point compared to other models and the Explorian's strong performance across the board, this blender is a fantastic mid-priced option. See how the Explorian E310 stacks up to the competition in our review of the best blenders on the market.
REASONS TO BUY
Delicious smoothies and margaritas
Streamlined interface
Budget-friendly for the brand
REASONS TO AVOID
No presets
No digital timer
Smaller jug capacity
Doesn't heat soup as well as other Vitamix models
Editor's Note: We recently retested the Vitamix Explorian E310 and updated this review with our most recent findings on June 4, 2024.

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Bottom Line A versatile, high-performance blender with a range of speed options but no presetsThis premium blender features a plethora of handy presets, offering top-notch versatility for blending, pureeing, and millingA reasonably priced blender that is built to lastConvenient and affordable, this blender is the perfect balance of price and performanceA solid option for blending frozen beverages, without the same versatility as more expensive blenders
Rating Categories Vitamix Explorian E310 Breville the Super Q Blendtec Total Classic Nutribullet Combo Ninja Professional...
Smoothies (30%)
8.9
9.2
8.9
7.5
6.2
Convenience (25%)
5.9
8.8
8.0
6.7
6.3
Ice (20%)
9.7
10.0
9.7
6.6
8.1
Pureeing (15%)
6.8
9.8
8.8
7.4
5.6
Grinding (10%)
8.7
9.3
7.9
7.9
4.9
Specs Vitamix Explorian E310 Breville the Super Q Blendtec Total Classic Nutribullet Combo Ninja Professional...
Model Number E310 BBL920BSS1BUS1 ES3 NBC-12A BL610
Power 2 HP 2.4 HP Peak 3.0 HP Peak 1.6 HP Peak 1.3 HP
Pitcher Capacity 48 oz 68 oz 32 oz 64 oz 72 oz
Presets Yes, 1: Pulse Yes, 6: Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Ice Crush, Frozen Desserts, Soup, Clean, 12 speed settings Yes, 6: Smoothie, Batters, Hot Soup, Whole Juice, Ice Cream, Mixed Drinks Yes, 2: Extract, Pulse, 3 speed settings Yes, 1: Pulse, 3 speed settings
Measured Dimensions (base with pitcher) 18" x 11" x 8" 18" x 10.5" x 8.1" 15.3" x 8" x 7" 17" x 7" x 9.5" 18" x 10.5" x 7.5"
Dishwasher Safe Yes - Lid, Lid Plug, Centering Pad, Tamper, Tamper Holder and Blade Scraper Yes - the blender jug, the personal blender cup, tamper, scraper, and the lids Pitcher; top rack only Yes Yes
Accessories Yes
  • Tamper
  • Small recipe pamphlet
Yes
  • Personal cup
  • Recipe book
  • Two tampers
  • Personal cup blade system
Yes
-Manual with recipes
Yes
-32oz Cup with blade attachment
-24oz Cup with blade attachment
-2 To-Go lids
-Tamper
-Recipe book
No
Digital Timer No Yes Yes No No
Meant for Heating? Yes Yes Yes No No
Cord Length 4.5ft 3.8 ft 2.9 ft 2.5 ft 2.8 ft
Wattage 1400 watts 1800 watts 1560 watts 1200 watts 1000 watts
Measured Decibels for Standard Smoothie *not measured 82.4 84 83.7 84.1
Measured Soup Temperature 112 160 129 145 73

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Explorian E310 is a long-standing favorite in Vitamix's line of premium blenders. Although it is designed for household use only, the base is a powerful, 2-horsepower motor that is more than capable of professional-grade tasks. This base model doesn't include presets but instead features 10 variable speed settings and a pulse feature. The Explorian includes a single 48-ounce container, a mini tamper — which is useful because this smaller blender requires some stirring and a more hands-on approach — and a cookbook for commonly blended recipes.

Performance Comparison


If you don't mind putting in a little work, the Explorian E310 whips up a deliciously smooth green smoothie.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Smoothies


Even though it doesn't feature any Smoothie presets, like more premium Vitamix blenders, the Explorian consistently turns out high-quality smoothies. It blends frozen fruit easily, and although there are a few seconds of struggle initially, it has no issue blending thicker green shakes and fruit, nut, and oat smoothies.

Here, you can see the Explorian struggling a little to get started.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

To mimic other blender Smoothie presets, we varied power levels between five and nine during blending. Although this requires a more hands-on approach, the green shake, berry blend and Oreo milkshake that the Explorian produced were evenly blended with a delightfully “fluffy texture,” as one tester put it. We had to fluctuate speeds between eight and nine for the thicker fruit, nut, and oat smoothie, but with some assistance from the tamper, this blender still turned out a well-blended breakfast smoothie in only one minute.

Once things get going, the Explorian has no issue blending up a fruit smoothie.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Convenience


Admittedly, the Explorian is much less convenient than other Vitamix blenders we tested. It lacks the digital timers, buttons, and presets to offer a 'hands-off' blending experience. But with a variable 10-speed dial and pulse switch, you have complete control over the blending process. It is also worth noting that this blender gets substantially louder at higher speeds, and the sound can be a bit overbearing if you're operating at the highest speeds.

vitamix explorian e310 - some may be bothered by the lack of presets on the explorian; others...
Some may be bothered by the lack of presets on the Explorian; others may enjoy the highly variable control over the blending process.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Even though it doesn't have a preset cleaning function, Vitamix recommends adding a bit of soap and warm water to the blender and running it a a low-to-medium setting. Considering that the blades are not removable, this method makes cleaning the Explorian a breeze. Drying doesn't take up much counter space, as you can place the jug over the base at an angle to ensure proper airflow.

Even though it doesn't have a cleaning preset, washing the Explorian is easy: Simply run it with soap and warm water to clean the non-removable blades.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Ice


The Explorian absolutely crushed our ice tests. Instead of leaning on a preset, you have to hold the Pulse switch, but the yield is perfect. We blended margarita ingredients on speed eight for about seven seconds, followed by about five seconds on speed six — the result was a creamy, perfectly blended marg, in less than 15 seconds. With a performance like that, we would put the Explorian up against any of the other premium blenders we tested.

vitamix explorian e310 - the explorian transforms ice into a perfect snow-like consistency.
The Explorian transforms ice into a perfect snow-like consistency.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Pureeing


Vitamix blenders are beloved for their ability to puree — a task normally reserved for food processors. Although it gets the job done, it wasn't as easy for the Explorian as other Vitamix models we tested. Blending nut butter required a lot of tamping, stirring, and additional oil to keep things moving. That said, the result is super smooth, creamy, and evenly textured. Without a Soup preset, we ramped up speed according to how well our homemade tomato soup was mixing. Although the soup we made only reached 112 °F, we undoubtedly could have warmed it more if we had kept it at speed 10 for longer. But the hard-working motor started emitting a strange electrical smell, which was worrisome. We had the same unfortunate experience with two different blenders, so it's certainly something to be mindful of.

vitamix explorian e310 - even if we weren't able to warm it as much as we would have liked...
Even if we weren't able to warm it as much as we would have liked, our homemade tomato soup was blended to a nice consistency.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Grinding


While we were put off a bit by the puree experience of the Explorian, this blender's grinding abilities are well above average. But again, without presets, this blender requires you to fully engage in the process. At speeds of eight or nine, we ground regular crystal sugar into light, fluffy powdered sugar in 30 seconds. By fluctuating from speed one to 10 and then back down, we successfully milled high-quality corn flour with only a few coarse grains that did not pass through the sieve. The Explorian also does a great job griding hard cheeses, like parmesan, into a very fine, almost powdery consistency, although it did require some help from the tamper to knock the blocks of cheese back down into the blades. Again, the Explorian does a great job at these extraneous tasks; it just takes a bit more work on your part.

The Explorian has no problem grinding crystal sugar into finally...
The Explorian has no problem grinding crystal sugar into finally milled powder sugar.
Although there was a little bit of leftover grit, we're confident...
Although there was a little bit of leftover grit, we're confident that the Explorian would have made quick work of these cornmeal bits if our test had allowed it to continue past one minute of milling.
Without much trouble or time, the Explorian created fluffy powdered sugar and corn flour.

Should You Buy the Vitamix Explorian E310?


The Explorian is a great blender as long as you don't mind tamping, stirring, and manually adjusting your blender speeds — this is certainly not the same 'hands-off' experience as other premium models we tested. However, it produces pleasantly airy smoothies, creamy blended margaritas, and delicious nut butter, and it is versatile enough for grinding and milling. As long as you can be more engaged with your blending, the Explorian presents an opportunity for some significant savings over more expensive Vitamix models.

vitamix explorian e310 - as long as you don't mind the lack of presets, the explorian is a...
As long as you don't mind the lack of presets, the Explorian is a premium blender at a reasonable price point.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

What Other Blenders Should You Consider?


If you prefer the set-it-and-forget-it blending style and want to stay within the Vitamix line, the A2500 Ascent Series is a user-friendly smart blender. The Breville the Super Q is a similarly high-performance blender with a plethora of presets. That said, both of these models carry a premium price tag. At the other end of the spectrum, the Nutribullet Combo is a more affordable plenty with plenty of capability.

Hayley Thomas, Genaveve Bradshaw & Aaron Rice