Review: Mini Personal Blenders

Post image for Review: Mini Personal Blenders

Besides my beloved professional Blendtec blender, I like to have a mini personal blender handy. It comes in useful when making small portions (since my full-size blender requires a minimum of ingredients in order to blend) – like a quick smoothie, a dressing or a little dish of key lime mousse – yum! The travel mugs are great too because you can blend right in the mug, seal and go.

Having moved often, I’ve tried a few mini blenders during my travels. So when my Magic Bullet was on its last legs, I researched my options. Here are my findings.

Mini Blender Facts & Features:

Magic Bullet

17-piece high-speed mixing system
Includes base, 2 blades, 2 cups, 4 mugs, 2 sealed lids, 2 vented lids, recipes
Microwave and freezer-safe cups and mugs; dishwasher-safe parts
Measures approximately 4 by 4 by 10″; 1-year limited warranty
Amazon price – $51.99

Tribest Personal Blender

Lightweight, portable, compact blender
PBA-free blending container
Includes one commuter lid
200 watt motor
Manufacturers Limited 1 Year Warranty
Amazon Price: $57.99

Back to Basics Blender

11-piece system with 350-watt motor base, 2 speeds, plus pulse
2 blades: 1 with quarto cross blades & 1 with dual flat blades
2 24-ounce plastic travel mugs
12- and 18-ounce plastic blending containers
2 sealable sipping lids; 2 drinking rims; recipes included
approx 6 by 5-1/2″ by 13-1/5″; 1-year limited warranty
Amazon price; $34.99

Pros and Cons:

Magic Bullet Pros:

The “cyclonic” cycle was strongest & blended best of the 3
It’s a nice size width cup to work with
Lasted 3 years of heavy use with minor wear & tear

Magic Bullet Cons:

Can’t find single replacement parts easily

___________________________________

Tribest Personal Blender Pros:

Optional glass containers
The plastic jars are bps-free
Good customer repair service

Tribest Personal Blender Cons:

Narrow diameter makes it hard to reach contents at the bottom
Due to narrow long container, blending can be uneven
Broke after 2 months of light use, but fixed & returned in 2 weeks

___________________________________

Back to Basics Blender Pros:

Nice wide cup diameter makes it easy to work with
The extra cups are large with no-spill travel lids
Best price of the three blenders

Back to Basics Blender Cons:

Ingredients not well incorporated together sometimes
Doesn’t seem as powerful as the other two

My Mini Blender Recommendation:

I have yet to find the perfect mini blender. If I could shrink my Blendtec, THAT would be ideal. But since I can’t, the best of the above three for me is the Magic Bullet. The power is decent, the items blended well, the cup width is workable and it’s lasted quite long (still working actually) considering how much I use it.

My second choice would be the Back to Basics blender. Not as powerful as the other two blenders, so takes longer to blend but I really like all the size cups and the travel lids.

Coming in last is the Tribest. I like that the plastic is bpa-free and that they offer optional glass containers, but the narrow long jars just don’t allow the ingredients to be incorporated well unless they are all liquid. Plus mine broke after minimal use.

So my somewhat reluctant vote goes to the Magic Bullet, but if there are any Blendtec or Vitamix reps reading this, I think there is a huge hole in the market. Please make a decent mini blender with the power of the Magic Bullet, the bpa-free containers of the Tribest and the large, secure travel mugs of the Back to Basics blender – my recipe for a dream mini blending machine!