TLDR: Highly recommended for exceptional usability, durability, and **ease of clean-up** with ZERO PLASTIC.I make multiple smoothies in a week. Protein shakes - FTW! I used to use a "bullet style" blender for that.But there were two things that bothered me:ONE: the bullet container is plastic. All that stuff in my smoothie (ice cubes, other frozen things) gets rocketed around inside at a bazillion RPMs, careening off the plastic container and - over time - teeny tiny micro-particles of that container make it into my smoothie.I tried to find a replacement bullet container / vessel made of SS, but they are not readily offered from most manufacturers (compatibility may be an issue) AND you still have a plastic base - which is always in contact with your smoothie while blending - in the equation. Additionally, the container size can be a little constrained in bullet blenders.TWO: clearly the smooth sides of the clear plastic container(s) were very, very slowly getting a little more cloudy (scratched), and would did not always come clean after a run through dishwasher.This VITAMIX Stainless Steel pitcher is freaking awesome. Solved the plastic problem. Solved the capacity problem. Clean-up is crazy easy. Like I said, I use this pitcher 5 times a week and it has been a true work-horse. The laser-burned numbers / markings inside the pitcher are helpful for portion consistency and look as good as the day it arrived (May).FYI - I bought the pitcher to go on a Vitamix E310 base. It works great on that. I think they (and Amazon) could make it a little more clear / obvious which bases are compatible with this pitcher.PS: The LID is some sort of Lexan or plastic adjacent material, but it is not in contact with the food. Ever. Just there to prevent my smoothie ingredients from hitting the ceiling. LID cleans up easy too!