What's the difference between the Blendtec Total Blender Basic and the Blendtec Total Blender WildSide? Great question! Both the Total Blender WildSide and the Total Blender Basic come with the famous Blendtec Total Blender base. The difference is in which jar comes with the package. The WildSide* jar is wider, has a longer blade and has a larger capacity than the Basic jar. Because of the WildSide jar's wider base and the way that fifth "wild" side changes the angle of the blending vortex, frozen ingredients are far less likely to form caves above the blades. You'll get through your coldest, biggest recipes very quickly. Smoothie shops absolutely love the WildSide jar. If you're mostly going to use your blender for smoothies, I would recommend the WildSide. The smaller Basic jar does an excellent job too, particularly with smaller recipes, like humus, nut butters, and single-serving smoothies. Its narrower base means you won't have large quantities of ingredients stacking up higher than the blades. The Basic jar also generates more friction, heating soups a little faster than the WildSide. As for larger recipes, yes, the Basic jar still handles most recipes without a problem. It just doesn't speed through them as quickly as the WildSide would. Personally, I would absolutely love my blender with either jar, but I especially love using both.