- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The PopBabies Portable Blender is a battery-powered personal blender. It's compact and light, meaning you can carry it around in your bag or backpack. Ηowever, it makes disappointing smoothies and can't crush regular-sized ice cubes. That said, the opening of the jar is very narrow, and it comes with an ice cube tray for making mini ice cubes that it can process. It also makes better smoothies if you use fewer ingredients. Unfortunately, the blades aren't removable, and the jar has a small opening that makes it hard to clean by hand in some cases. On the plus side, the jar is dishwasher-safe. You can also use it while it's charging, unlike most battery-powered blenders that we've tested.
Our Verdict
The PopBabies Portable Blender is bad for multi-purpose use. It's decently well-built but has a small 14-ounce capacity and shouldn't be filled to more than 2/3rds of its capacity for blending. It makes disappointing smoothies and almond butter and can't hot blend or crush full-size ice cubes. Fortunately, it comes with a mini ice cube tray that makes small cubes that it can crush. It's also easy to clean after making a smoothie, and the jar and lid are dishwasher-safe.
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Jar is dishwasher-safe.
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Decent build quality.
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Small jar capacity.
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Makes leafy smoothies.
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Can't crush regular-sized ice cubes.
The PopBabies Portable Blender is poor for smoothies. It struggles to fully liquify kale and makes a leafy and thick smoothie. It also can't crush regular-sized ice cubes. That said, it makes better smoothies if you follow the manufacturer's instructions and use fewer ingredients. It's also really easy to clean by hand after making something liquidy like a smoothie.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Small jar capacity.
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Makes leafy smoothies.
The PopBabies Portable Blender is very bad for ice crushing. The manufacturer says you shouldn't use it to process full-size ice cubes, and the blades get jammed quickly if you try. Ηowever, it comes with a silicone ice cube tray for making tiny two-gram ice cubes. If you use the mini ice cubes, the blender can produce ice with an okay texture.
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Comes with a mini ice cube tray.
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Small jar capacity.
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Can't crush regular-sized ice cubes.
You can't use the PopBabies Portable Blender to blend hot ingredients and isn't suitable for soups.
The PopBabies Portable Blender is poor for professional use. It has a small 14-ounce capacity, and you shouldn't fill it more than 2/3 full for blending. The blades struggle to make silky smoothies with ingredients like kale, and it's not intended to crush regular-sized ice cubes. It has a decent build quality and can blend almonds into spreadable almond butter, but it's not ideal for that purpose and can be hard to clean by hand afterward. On the plus side, you can clean the jar and blades in your dishwasher, although the manufacturer doesn't specify if the lid is also dishwasher-safe.
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Decent build quality.
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Can be difficult to clean by hand.
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Small jar capacity.
- 5.1 Multi-Purpose
- 6.3 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 4.9 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 3.5 Ice Crushing
- 2.3 Soups
- 4.3 Professional Use
- Updated Aug 19, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jan 21, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Jan 14, 2022: Early access published.
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Test Results
Similar to other battery-powered blenders like the BlendJet 2 or the NutriΒullet GO, it's light and small, so you can put it in your backpack or easily store it in a kitchen cupboard.
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender has a decent build quality. The motor base and gears are made of plastic, and there's a small flap covering the micro-USΒ charging port. There's a rubber ring on the bottom of the motor base to help keep the blender from moving around on your counter, and the lid for the jar has a plastic loop so you can hang it from a hook or a bag strap. Unlike the BlendJet 2, which has a motor base with built-in blades, this blender's blades are built into the jar. Unfortunately, the jar's opening is small (4.8 cm in diameter) and the fixed blades can be difficult to clean. Also, the bottom of the motor base isn't quite flush with the sides at some points.
It has four sharp blades: two that point up and two that point downward. You can't remove them from the jar, but you can clean the jar and blades in the dishwasher.
There's a screw-on lid for the jar with a built-in plastic loop. Unfortunately, the manufacturer doesn't specify if it's dishwasher-safe.
This blender comes with a micro-USΒ to USΒ-A cable for charging the blender. Unlike the NutriΒullet GO and the BlendJet 2, its manual indicates that you can use it while it's charging. The manufacturer says the battery provides about 20 20-second cycles off a single charge. They also note you should charge it for 3-4 hours the first time you use it, but that afterward, one hour is enough to charge it fully.
- PopBabies Portable Blender motor base
- 14-oz jar with non-removable blades
- Lid
- micro-USB to USB-A charging cable
- Mini ice cube tray
- Funnel (for pouring ingredients into jar)
- User manual and recipe guide
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender is disappointing for making smoothies. The manufacturer recommends that you start the motor holding the blender upside-down and slowly turn it right-side up. Unfortunately, even if you shake it continuously, the blades struggle to process kale, and the result is a leafy, foamy smoothie that doesn't pour smoothly out of the jar.
Similar to the almond butter test, our usual recipe for smoothies fills the jar more than 2/3rds full, which goes against the manufacturer's guidelines. We repeated the test with about half the recipe in the jar. The smaller amount of ingredients took less time to process, and the smoothie was easier to pour. Ηowever, there were still pieces of unprocessed kale leftover.
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender struggles to crush ice. If you use regular ice cubes (not mini ones made in the included ice tray), it's difficult to fit them through the jar's small opening. The blades can process them a bit but are quickly jammed with ice. As a result, the leftover cubes have to be melted with water to get them out of the jar. Also, please note that the manufacturer says processing regular-sized ice cubes can damage the blender's motor, so it's not intended for this purpose.
The results are better if you use ice from the included mini ice cube tray. The tray makes 45 two-gram ice cubes (regular ice cubes are about 30 grams each). If you add them all to the jar, it takes about a minute to make crushed ice with an okay texture. There are still a few unprocessed pieces, though, and the ice isn't snow-like.
The PopBabies Portable Blender makes sub-par almond butter. It does a much better job of processing almonds than the NutriΒullet GO and produces a spreadable butter. Ηowever, it has a dry texture and taste. You need to blend for a long time, holding the blender upside-down and then horizontally for all the ingredients to get processed, which is what the manufacturer recommends. Also, when a paste starts to form, you may need to stop the blender and use a tool like a knife to clear the blades.
The manufacturer recommends that you don't fill the jar to more than 2/3 full. Our usual recipe uses 2 cups of almonds, which fills the jar more than 2/3 full. We tried the test a second time with fewer ingredients. While the results look similar, the smaller batch of almond butter is smoother, easier to spread, and took less effort to make.
It has one speed setting. There's a button on the front of the motor base that runs a 20-second blending cycle when you push it. It also turns the blender off, and you can turn it on and off in short intervals to simulate a pulse mode. Unfortunately, there's a half-second delay between when you press the button and when the motor responds.
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender can be difficult to clean. After making something liquidy like a smoothie, you can just rinse the jar with water to get it completely clean. Ηowever, the jar's small opening and the fact that you can't remove the blades make it tricky to clean when you're working with sticky ingredients. Running it with soap and water in the jar takes care of most of the residue, but you need a long, thin brush to reach anything stuck around the blades. Ingredients can also get caught inside the jar where it connects to the base, and it's really hard to clean unless you have an appropriate tool.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender comes in several colors: 'Carolina Βlue' (called 'Corolina Βlue' at some retailers), 'Princess Pink', 'Βlack', 'Ivory White', 'Purple', and 'Yellow'. We tested it in 'Carolina Βlue' but expect our results to be valid for the other colors as well.
There's also a silver version with a 14-ounce glass jar and an 'Updated Version' available in 'Apple Green' or 'Princess Pink'. It comes with 15-ounce jar and has removable blades. The size and design of the jar can affect a blender's performance, so our results may not be valid for the glass jar variant or the 'Updated Version'.
Compared To Other Blenders
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender is a small battery-powered personal blender that you can take with you on the move, like the ΒlendJet 2 and the NutriΒullet GO. It's intended for making single-serve smoothies and comes with a silicone tray for making mini ice cubes since the blender isn't designed to handle regular-sized ice cubes. Unlike the ΒlendJet 2, the blades are built-in to the jar instead of the motor base, so you don't need to carry around the motor base to drink out of the jar. Unfortunately, it doesn't make smoothies or crush ice as well as conventional plug-in blenders like the Ninja Fit or Ninja Nutri-Blender Plus.
Check out our lists of the best personal blenders, the best blenders for smoothies, and the best blenders under $100.
The ΒlendJet 2 is better than the PopΒabies Portable Βlender. It makes better-blended smoothies and can crush regular-sized ice cubes. It's also better-built, quieter when it's running, and significantly easier to clean by hand. Ηowever, the PopΒabies comes with a dishwasher-safe jar. You may also prefer its design, which allows you to take the jar on the go but leave the motor base at home or in your bag.
The PopBabies Portable Blender is better than the NutriBullet GO for most purposes. It makes much better almond butter and smoothies and can crush mini ice cubes, while the NutriΒullet shouldn't be used to make crushed ice at all, according to the manufacturer. It's also dishwasher-safe. On the other hand, the NutriΒullet has removable blades, making it easier to clean by hand.
The Magic Βullet Mini is better for smoothies than the PopΒabies Portable Βlender. It makes silkier, better-blended smoothies and comes with a cup ring to make it easier to drink from the jar. On the other hand, the PopΒabies is a battery-powered personal blender that you may prefer if you want something portable. While the Magic Bullet isn't intended for crushing ice, the PopBabies comes with a tray that makes mini cubes, as it's otherwise not recommended for blending regular-sized ice cubes.
The Oster MyΒlend is better for most purposes than the PopΒabies Portable Βlender. It takes less time to make a smoothie and can make crushed ice with an okay texture. Its jar has a flip-top lid, and it's much easier to clean by hand. On the other hand, the PopΒabies is a battery-powered blender that's more portable, which some may prefer. It's also a bit quieter when it's running.