BlendJet 2 vs. Ninja Blast: Which is the best personal blender?

Jan 18, 2024

I love smoothies, but I don't love hauling out a big, heavy, noisy blender (looking at you, Vitamix) whenever I want to make one. It's not exactly travel-friendly, either, what with its pesky need for an electrical outlet. Thankfully, portable blenders are a thing, promising enough power for the likes of not only smoothies, but also frozen margaritas, protein shakes and baby food. Do they really work? I pitted the popular BlendJet 2 ($50) against newcomer Ninja Blast ($60) to find out which is the best portable blender. Spoiler alert: They're both good, but I think there's a clear winner.

These are very similar devices, blenders shrunk to roughly the size of a water bottle. In addition to being portable, with battery-powered bases, they're "personal," designed for single-serve drinks consumed right out of their plastic tumblers. This feels a little weird at first, upending an entire blender in your face, but you get used to it.

Although both models have 16-ounce capacity (with handy measurement markings on their tumblers), the BlendJet 2 is the lighter of the two at 1.3 pounds; the Blast weighs 1.7. The BlendJet is also the shorter blender, standing about 9.4 inches (with lid); the Blast stands at 10.75. I'll cop to a slight preference for the latter's design, with its industrial-looking base and nicely ridged tumbler.

Both models also come in a variety of colors, with the BlendJet opting for brighter, cheerier options like mint, lavender and ocean and the Blast keeping with cool metallic hues like forest green and denim blue.

There's one key difference, however: The BlendJet 2 comes with a screw-top lid that must be removed to drink your smoothie; the Ninja Blast includes a pop-top "sippy" lid that can stay in place. I like this considerably more; it's a tidier way to drink and it makes things easier overall. If you've let your smoothie sit for a few minutes and want to give it a quickie spin, you don't have to screw the lid back on and then remove it again. The good news is BlendJet does sell an Orbiter Drinking Lid ($15) that effectively levels the playing field.

The two machines each promise up to 15 "blends" per charge, but the Blast has the larger battery of the two. How do I know? Because a BlendJet cycle lasts for 20 seconds; the Blast's last 30 seconds. In theory, you'd get the same amount of blending accomplished in two cycles with the Blast versus three with the BlendJet.

Curiously, neither one has a rubber plug covering its USB-C charging port, which I don't understand. Although both manufacturers state that the ports are water-resistant, you still have to be mindful of any water getting in there — and wait until they're fully dry (how do you know for sure?) before attempting to charge again. Needless to say, although you can unscrew the tumblers, which are dishwasher-safe, the bases must be hand-washed.

Any blender can churn up fresh ingredients, and indeed these two made short work of anything I made using bananas, berries and so on. The real test is how they handle frozen items. My baseline recipe consisted of coconut water, fresh spinach and frozen chunks of banana, pineapple and mango. (This comes pretty close to duplicating Tropical Smoothie Cafe's Island Green, a personal favorite.)

Because these tumblers are so much smaller than a standard blender's, it's easy for fruit chunks to get stuck in the blades — which happened fairly often with both models, sometimes almost immediately upon starting. I learned quickly that you need to pour your liquid in first, then add the fresh stuff, then the frozen.

Even then it was hit or miss. One day I'd get through a full blend cycle without interruption; the next I'd have to upend the blender and give a hard shake to try to dislodge the stuck chunk.

Here's the thing, though: The BlendJet got stuck more often than the Blast. I don't know if it's because the former has slightly offset-from-center blades or that it has two serrated blades (out of six total); either one might cause fruit chunks to get hung up. Your experience may differ depending on a number of variables, especially the kind and amount of frozen fruit you use. This is simply what happened during my testing.

With both models, it took at least two blend cycles to get the smoothie to the consistency I like — but, again, the BlendJet required more because its cycles are shorter.

I liked both of these products a lot. They're compact and easy to use and honestly just kind of fun. The end result of this testing is that I'm drinking a lot more smoothies (healthy ones!), which is a good thing.

In the end, I have to give the nod to the Ninja Blast. Although it's the (slightly) larger and heavier of the two, I think it's a cooler-looking little machine. It can blend longer on a charge and it's less likely to struggle with frozen fruit. But it's really the sip-top that puts it over the edge; I don't like the hassle of having to remove the BlendJet's lid or the feel of drinking directly from its tumbler.

Make no mistake, fast and easy smoothies await you with either blender. And if you're endeavoring to consume more fruits (and leafy greens), these things can really help.

A simple and effective personal blender that's available in a variety of cheerful colors. My only complaint is that it can occasionally get hung up on frozen fruit.

Ninja's new blender looks a little cooler and feels a little more substantial than the BlendJet 2, plus it does a slightly better job with frozen fruit. The sip-top lid is what I like best, though.