Nutribullet Portable Blender review: quality smoothies on the go

T3's Nutribullet Portable Blender review in a sentence: A small but perfectly formed portable blender that’s compact and powerful enough to produce decent smoothies.

I do enjoy a freshly made smoothie but I’m not obsessive about them. However, if you are and cannot be separated from your daily juice, smoothie or nutrition shake the Nutribullet Portable Blender is going to be a must-have purchase. Nutribullet is a well-respected brand that already features in the best blender guide we have here at T3. In fact, so good is the brand that it has enough quality products to have its own best NutriBullet guide too.

What I’ve found with this new model is that I get all of the positives of going with a tried and tested blender brand, but with the added convenience of portability. The Nutribullet Portable blender is compact and lightweight, about the size of a large-ish water bottle and can be taken anywhere.

It features a decent capacity and can be charged via USB, which means that I can whip up a smoothie whenever and wherever I want. If you’re keen to do the same, then read on to find out how I’ve been getting along with the Nutribullet Portable blender.

Nutribullet Portable Blender review: Price and availability

The Nutribullet Portable Blender is out now and comes with a RRP of £39.99 direct from the Nutribullet website but, naturally, it’ll be on sale at any other electrical online outlet including Amazon.

Nutribullet Portable Blender review: What is it?

The Nutribullet Portable Blender is one of many compact and travel-friendly portable blender models on the market, all designed to let you enjoy smoothies on-the-go. As you’d expect, the 475ml capacity design is slim and slender and doesn’t weigh much either. 

In fact, travelling with one is not much different to carrying a sizeable water container with you thanks to those 272mm x 80mm x 95mm dimensions and a 0.71kg weight. The big difference is that it’s got a motor inside that can whip up your favourite drink anywhere.

Inside the base is a lithium battery, which when fully charged can provide up to 15 blending cycles, depending on how you use it. I especially like the design of this model as it can be easily taken apart for convenient cleaning and has a lid with a handle too, which is also reminiscent of a water container. 

The design is easily slipped into any type of bag and can also fit into many in-car drink slots if you’re on move on four wheels. There’s a decent user guide included for good measure.

Nutribullet Portable Blender review: Is it any good?

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting miracles from the Nutribullet Portable Blender, mainly because I also wasn’t convinced that something so compact would have any real blending muscle. However, the construction suggests that this is a small appliance with more beef than expected. The 4-point stainless-steel blade looks just as formidable as any one you’ll find in a countertop blender and, inside, there’s a 100W motor, which is more than enough for most everyday smoothie-making operations.

Seeing as this is most likely to be used on the move, I also love the way the Nutribullet Portable Blender offers up easy disassembly. The lip, cup and base can all be taken apart with just a couple of turns. At the same time, there’s a flip-able lid that stays shut thanks to a small plastic clip mechanism. That means if I make a smoothie and need to get going, I can clip the top down and chuck it into my bag without fear of leakage. So far, so good.

My model arrived with a standard black finish, but the Nutribullet designers have created a series of five different colour variations on the theme. So, if you’re style conscious, or have multiple family members who want one and need to be able to distinguish between them quickly then choose from black, light blue, magenta, navy blue, purple or white. Easy peasy.

Nutribullet Portable Blender review: Performance

As I mentioned, it’s easy to be a little bit cynical about just how good performance is going to be from something so small and compact. However, the Nutribullet Portable Blender is surprisingly good and can handle all sorts of ingredients. During my time with it I’ve added all sorts into the blending pot, from strawberries through to kiwi fruit and all points in-between.

Considering its size, the Nutribullet Portable Blender uses its 100 Watts of power to get to work on all sorts of fruit, but I’ve found it to be rather good at mashing nuts too. Nutribullet claims it’ll handle ice and frozen fruit as well, which I’ve yet to try. Based on my experience with it using everyday fruit items, I see no reason to think the Nutribullet isn’t going to be successful at pulverising chunks of ice.

I’ve been very happy with the amount of blending I’ve got from a single charge too. The official figure is around 15 cycles from a full battery and the device is quite good at managing its stored power, so I've not been able to over-blend anything. The other great thing about the blender is it takes just 90-minutes to fully charge again via a 0.5 metre USB Type-C cable connection, so it works for me if I'm going to be moving from hotel to hotel on holiday, for example.

Nutribullet Portable Blender review: Verdict

The Nutribullet Portable Blender is a great idea if you’re keen to have quick and easy access to smoothies and shakes if you’re not always in a kitchen-focused location. Anyone who travels a lot and tends to skip hotel breakfasts will find this little gadget invaluable, as will anyone who needs to eat more fruit on the go, but finds it hard to chomp through whole apples, bananas and so on. There’s a decent amount of power, plenty of battery life and a compact design that’s barely noticeable in an average travel bag.

Nutribullet Portable Blender review: Alternatives to consider

I'm pleased with the performance and power of the Nutribullet Portable Blender. However, if you have no need for a mobile solution then head in the direction of a countertop model, like the Smeg BLC02WHMUK High Performance Blender, which is excellent. 

A great alternative is the full-sized blender option, the Smeg BLF01. Its 800W motor cuts through frozen food and ice admirably and its Tritan jug holds an impressive 1.5-litres. It also comes with a 600ml bottle for drinks on the move.

If you'd prefer to stick with a Nutribullet, the 600 Series comes recommended. It's small, efficient and is about half the price of something like the Smeg PBF01 Personal Blender.