I was excited when this came out and available at my local warehouse. Very disappointed. I primarily use frozen fruits, and if the fruits are large IE 1/2 of a frozen banana, large frozen strawberries etc, the fruit gets stuck at that narrow bottom (instructions say to load frozen stuff first) and does not get pulled into the blade. If I attempt to run the machine long enough to tray and pull down the frozen fruit, the adapter gear nut overheats and gets hot (which the instructions state not to run long). Finally, the large base is very awkward for small hands, and you have to have the cup firmly standing on the counter, and then you have to really be aware of ensuring that you align and screw the large awkward base properly or you will cross thread. Just a poor design. Expected more for the price and the name of Vitamix.  Ended up taking back.