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Looking to have access to the power and capabilities of a blender for your daily meals while you travel? You’ve come to the right place.
The best portable blenders find the perfect balance between powerful food processing and portability for easy packing into your luggage.
In this comprehensive guide, we’re going to break down all the key considerations and things to know before buying a portable blender.
Then, we’ll take a closer look at eight of the best portable blenders on the market. Gone are the days when delicious smoothies and soups could only be prepared in the kitchen!
Best Portable Blenders
Top Pick
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Vitamix is arguably the go-to brand when it comes to blending, and they have injected plenty of the energy and durability that made their home kitchen blenders so successful into their compact S30 model, which is great for making quick, healthy food while away from home.
Quick Picks
| I’m happy to pay more for a high-quality and powerful blender: | Vitamix S30 |
| I’m looking for a mid-price portable blender that is effective yet affordable: | Ninja Nutri Pro Compact Personal Blender |
| I want a great portable blender on a budget: | Hamilton Beach Personal Blender |
| I’d like a blending set not just a portable blender: | Bella Personal Size Rocket Blender 12 Piece Set |
| I want a USB-charging portable blender: | NutriBullet GO Portable Blender |
What is a Portable Blender?
Very simply, a portable blender is a smaller, lightweight version of a traditional kitchen blender.
Most blenders are not designed to fit into rucksacks or backpacks. They are designed to process large amounts of food and sit in one position on a kitchen counter.
Portable blenders are both smaller and lighter. This way, they are much easier to fit into your luggage, and lighter to carry.
Portable blenders also operate on reduced power. They largely do this via three methods:
- Operate via electricity on reduced voltage
- Operate via batteries
- Operate via USB-charged battery
This makes them very convenient when you’re in rural, isolated areas, or in foreign countries with different socket voltage.
While a portable blender doesn’t harness the power of a kitchen-sized blender, food processor, or liquefier, they still pack plenty of punch.
Portable blenders can be used to make all kinds of smoothies, sauces, soups, and juices, depending on what ingredients you have on hand.
If you’re worried about your dietary requirements or healthy eating while traveling, these types of blenders are an excellent investment.
What to Look for in a Portable Blender
There are a number of things to look for before buying a portable blender that’s right for you.
Power
A blender’s wattage will give you a good idea of how powerful the blender is.
If you generally blend soft foods, like peanut butter or banana, you shouldn’t have too much trouble with any blender.
However, if you blend ice or thick-cut hard vegetables, you should look at acquiring a portable blender with a higher wattage.
Higher-wattage blenders tend to be noisier too, so bare that in mind if you’re traveling to isolated places, or going camping with others.
Dimensions
Blenders take on many shapes and sizes. While it may seem at first a good size, it’s difficult to tell until you test the portable blender in your backpack or luggage.
Even though these blenders are portable, they’re still large items when you consider the capacity of luggage. So make sure you account for the extra room.
The last thing you want to be doing is squeezing the blender into your luggage last minute, risking damage to both the blender and your luggage.
Capacity of Cup
Think about how much food you blend for meals. If it’s a lot, you’ll want to consider a portable blender on the larger end of the scale.
The number of people using the blender is also an important factor. If you’re traveling with one or more people, you will need a larger cup, unless you want to blend more than once for each person.
Considerations Before Buying a Portable Blender
Size and Weight
As mentioned above, it’s important to make sure the portable blender you buy fits in your luggage.
Your blender will have to travel in your suitcase. The blades mean it would be a prohibited item for your hand luggage.
Make sure you account for its dimensions and weight. Some blenders are a difficult shape to pack, so consider keeping it in the box when packing.
Ingredients
If you largely blend soft foods and liquids, you won’t need as powerful a blender.
For frozen foods and harder fruits and vegetables, you may want to consider a portable blender with more power.
It’s also considering that, by nature, portable blenders can’t generate the power of kitchen-top liquefiers or processors.
So it’s important to understand those expectations before purchasing. Make sure you test your meals in your blender before you travel.
Motor
Kitchen blenders in the highest price brackets will have motors that generate power in the region of 700W.
Portable blenders will have motors that generate less power, some as low as 125-150W.
However, this doesn’t mean they cannot blend the perfect smoothie for you. It’s something you need to test and set expectations for.
You need to find a motor with power that can handle the ingredients you use, and the frequency of your blends.
Power Source
This is undoubtedly the most critical factor. Your first decision will be whether to choose a chorded or battery-operated blender.
- Electricity-operated
If you’re traveling to cities or urban areas, you’ll know there will be opportunities to plug your blender in.
It’s important to consider the voltage here. An adapter is an excellent purchase to make sure the correct voltage is passing through your blender.
Sometimes countries have very high voltages through their sockets. Be careful that you don’t overpower the blender and cause damage. Sometimes you may need to buy a power converter, not just an adapter.
- Battery-operated
Many portable blenders come with their own batteries, that have a certain amount of life before they need to be replaced or recharged.
Your environment is the best factor to consider when purchasing a portable blender that runs on ion batteries.
If you’re going out for the day, a fully-charged battery should be enough to get your meals in.
However, days of camping in rural areas means you’re going to need backup batteries. So this is worth considering if you’re going to be away from electricity for long periods.
- USB-charged
Finally, if you travel with a lot of devices, a USB-charged portable blender could be an excellent choice.
USB-charged portable blenders tend to be the least powerful, but the convenience is very useful.
If you’re traveling to a country with high voltage output from sockets, this could be a great choice.
Alternatively, some people camp for several days with solar chargers for their devices. So again, a USB-charged blender would work in this situation.
Cups and Accessories
Portable blenders often come with additional or built-in cups, and that means you can blend then detach the cup and drink.
Many will also come with additional accessories, like blades or pouring funnels.
You want to make sure the blender you choose can operate on a sole setting. Constantly changing accessories is going to take up both space in your luggage, and time.
Making sure the cup can hold all the ingredients you plan to blend is also important.
Self-Cleaning Capabilities
Cleaning a blender at home can be difficult enough. However, you have all the space and equipment to do it effectively.
When traveling, you don’t have that luxury. Hunched over a bathroom sink trying to clean the blades isn’t going to be ideal.
Many portable blenders come with self-cleaning features, which will make your life much easier when traveling.
If they don’t, you’ll want to consider how you’re going to clean the blender with little effort and additional accessories.
Frequently Asked Questions about Portable Blenders
How long does it take to charge a portable blender?
Naturally, this will depend on the model. Many battery-operated blenders need around 3-4 hours to recharge their batteries fully.
Some are quicker, at around 2 hours, and some longer. Check the specifications of the model.
It’s also worth getting into the habit of charging your blender the night before you travel.
Can I refrigerate my portable blender?
The bottles or cups of the portable blender can be stored in a fridge. This will help keep your meals refreshingly cold and the correct consistency.
The blender itself, however, should not be stored in a refrigerator. Keep the base and other attachments in your luggage or in the room.
Are portable blenders safe?
Firstly, there’s the issue of the blade. Obviously, your hands or any body parts should not go anywhere near the blade when power is connected.
If your blender is chord-operated, as mentioned above the voltage of the socket is important.
If the voltage is too high, it could cause the blender to overheat or fry, which you’d want to avoid.
However, the materials of the cup or bottle should also be considered, particularly if you’re going to drink from them.
Also look for both FDA-approved and BPA-proof materials, where possible.
Can I blend hot liquids in my portable blender?
Warm liquids can be added to your mixture. However, high-heat and boiling liquids should absolutely not be blended.
These can cause damage to both the materials of the blender and potentially scold you.
How do I clean my portable blender?
For self-cleaning blenders, all you have to add is add a little water or dish soap, if you have it, and run the motor.
For other blenders, make sure the blender is off before you detach the cup and blade.
Use a combination of soap and water to clean both the cup and the blades, and rinse them.
Once rinsed, be sure to dry this segment of the blender thoroughly with paper towels or dish clothes.
Do not attempt to clean the blender while the blade and cup or container are still attached to the base.
Best Portable Blenders for Travel
With everything considered, it’s time to take a look at some of the best portable blenders on the market to accompany you on your travels.
Best Luxury Personal Blender Overall
1 – Vitamix S30
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The Vitamix S30 is our pick for the best overall luxury personal blender. Let’s check out what it brings to the table and see what makes it special.
The most defining feature of this blender is how it brings together the power and versatility of a high-performance blender with the convenience of a personal one.
This blender can easily be used on the road but it has the power and features that allow it to easily serve in place of a regular kitchen blender. The manufacturers are aware of this and the blender will come with two containers. One is a more portable, 20-ounce container, and the other is a 40-ounce container that is more suitable for making family meals.
The variable speed control puts you in full control of the preparation of your blended meals.
Other useful features include a pulse feature that lets you mix rougher chops with more smooth ones, as well as a 2-part vented lid that allows you to blend hot mixes and let the steam out.
A powerful, 790-watt motor will be more than able to blend just about any food you crave, and it is strong enough to make ice cream or soups.
To tap it all off, the blender is backed by a 5-year full warranty so you can be certain it will last you for a very long time. No matter what you need to blend, this blender is more than able to provide.
Best Mid-Price Personal Blenders
2 – Ninja Nutri Pro Compact Personal Blender
Our top mid-price choice
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The Ninja Nutri Pro Compact Personal Blender is a very powerful yet compact blender and you might have a hard time believing how much power such a small device can pack.
This blender has a 900-watt motor “under the hood” which will let you blend just about anything you can think of and then some.
With this much power, you will be able to easily make very fire puree or smoothies, crushing ice becomes a breeze, and all of it can be done in a flash.
Any harder parts of fruits or vegetables, such as seeds, won’t need to be “fished out” with this blender.
Since you have more than enough power to blend just about anything, a pulse feature would really come in handy for mixing. You’ll be glad to hear that the Ninja Nutri Pro Compact has that feature.
You’ll also like to hear that it is very easy to wash since all of the parts can be washed in a dishwasher perfectly safely.
You will receive two containers with this blender, but the size difference between the two is not that great, 18 vs 24 ounces. On the other hand, both lids have the sip & seal lids that let you take your smoothie or drink with you without the need for an additional container.
This is a very handy feature to have when you’re traveling and anyone using this blender will no doubt like having it.
3 – Ninja Personal Blender
Another good mid-price personal blender
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Given how this blender is also made by Ninja, we believe a comparison with the previous model on this list is more than in order.
When it comes to price, this model is a bit cheaper than the Nutri Pro Compact and you are probably wondering what the tradeoffs are.
The most noticeable tradeoff is the motor. While the Nutri Compact pro featured a 900-watt motor, this model is a bit less powerful with a 700-watt motor. This is still powerful enough to crush ice and frozen fruit, so making smoothies is still possible, it just might just be a bit more difficult.
The pulse feature found on the Nutri Compact pro is still present here and the blender itself is very easy to use which is definitely a plus.
When it comes to cups, there’s some great news for all the travelers out there. This blender comes with two 16 oz. Nutri Ninja cups with to-go lids that fit in most car cup holders which allows you to easily enjoy your smoothie on the road.
Just like with the Nutri Pro Compact, washing this blender is a simple process, and every component of the blender is dishwasher-safe.
There’s not too much difference between the two models, and the main decision to make here is whether or not you really need the extra motor power for the things you want to blend. In reality, you won’t go wrong with either choice.
4 – Cuisinart CBP-300
Another good mid-price personal blender
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When most people look at the Cuisinart CBP-300 online, the first thing they will probably notice is that it “only” has a 350-watt motor. While that may be lower than many other models on this list, this blender makes up for it with a slew of cool features and accessories that you won’t be able not to like.
Let’s start with the controls. Three touchpad buttons are noticeable on the front of the blender, and they let you control the speed and use the pulse feature. Each button has its own dedicated LED which will easily let you know which button is active.
Moving on from the controls, there are also several other features worth discussing as the blender has a standby mode, safety interlock, and auto-stop features.
You will also love all the jars and cups you will get with this blender, six of them in total.
You get a small, 8-ounce chopping cup, four 16-ounce travel cups with lids, and a big, 32-ounce blending jar for really big blending.
The feet of the blender are slip-proof which will definitely help if you’re working on a wet surface and the blender has its own cord storage so that you don’t have to invent ways to minimize the amount of space that the cord will take up.
Finally, all of the blender’s components are completely safe for dishwashers, which makes cleaning it a breeze.
If you’re a fan of mid-range blenders with plenty of features, this is the one for you.
Best Budget Personal Blenders
5 – Hamilton Beach Personal Blender
Our top budget choice
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The Hamilton Beach Personal blender is a great budget option for those looking to find a compact travel blender that is great for travel at a very affordable price.
However, budget options almost always mean that power or features are sacrificed to bring the price down.
In this case, the first downgrade is the motor. The 175-watt of this blender is not nearly as strong as the motors of the previous blenders on this list.
As such, you might think it won’t suffice for your needs, but it is still able to crush ice for smoothies. There are also no features such as high or low-speed settings, but there is a pulse feature, although it is not quite as powerful as the pulse feature on the blenders so far.
It is very easy to use, and all the blending can be done with just one touch.
One thing that makes this blender great for traveling is its compact size.
On the other hand, the compact size means that the jar is a bit smaller than the usual 16 ounces that we’ve seen so far. The jar on this blender is a 14-ounce one, and it comes with a lid that lets you take it around without risking spillage.
Cleaning the blender is also not difficult given how all of the components can be easily put and perfectly safely washed in a dishwasher.
If you value portability and don’t need to do any heavy-duty blending, this one will do just fine.
6 – Oster BLSTPB-WRS My Blend 250-Watt Blender
Another good budget personal blender
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The Oster BLSTPB-WRS is a sleek-looking budget blender that is more powerful than the Hamilton Beach Personal Blender, and it is a bit more expensive as a result. The price difference is nothing big as the Oster BLSTPB-WRS can still be picked up at just under 30 dollars.
The 250-watt motor of this blender is certainly more powerful than the 175-watt motor on the Hamilton Beach Personal Blender. The motor is powerful enough to crush frozen ice and blend frozen fruit and vegetables.
There is always a danger of the motor overheating when it comes to smaller motors like this and there is, fortunately, a great safety feature to prevent the motor from overheating. That feature is a resettable fuse that will cut off the motor when it overheats. When the motor cools down after about 15 minutes, you can start the blender again without any danger.
If you’re a fan of larger blender jars, you’ll be happy to hear that the jar on this blender is larger than usual at 20 ounces and it has a carry hook for easier portability.
This 20-ounce jar is BPA-free and safe to wash in a dishwasher.
With one-touch blending, the device is really easy to use.
There is, unfortunately, no real pulse feature on this blender and that is something you might want to take into account if you’re looking for a budget blender.
Best Budget Blending Set
7 – Bella Personal Size Rocket Blender 12 Piece Set
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Bella’s Personal Size Rocket Blender is the choice for you if you want every single accessory and attachment you could possibly think of for your blender.
With this set, you get as many as 12 different pieces. Some blenders might use having a lot of pieces in a set to skip out on the power of the blender itself, but that is not the case here since this blender comes equipped with a very powerful 700-watt motor.
That kind of power combined with great stainless-steel blades will let you blend anything you need to blend quickly and very well.
Even seeds, nuts, or coffee beans are an easy task for this blender and the pieces in the set.
You will also receive three cups as a part of this set, two of them are 16-ounce and one is an 8-ounce cup.
When it comes to washing the blender and the pieces of the set, users have noted that hand washing is a much better option than using a dishwasher, so that might be something to take into consideration when making your purchase.
For everything you get with this set, the price of around $50 is very affordable and this is definitely a great pickup if you value the versatility offered by the set.
Best USB Blender
8 – NutriBullet GO Portable Blender
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For a compact USB-charging portable blender, the NutriBullet GO gives you a surprising amount of power considering the entire blender only weighs 1.5 lb.
Naturally, its 70W motor isn’t going to cut through everything that its bigger 600W and 900W brothers can, but for its incredibly compact size and lightweight frame, being able to blend non-frozen fruit, vegetables, and nutrients into up to 13oz smoothies is mightly impressive.
It comes with a USB charging cable, charges quickly, and, as long as the blade is removed and stowed in your checked luggage, is light and small enough to come with you on the plane in your backpack or carry-on luggage.
Best Portable Blenders for Travel Summary
There’s no doubt that portable blenders can make a huge difference to the way you eat and drink when traveling.
For some of us, control over how we prepare our food is critical. Not everyone can simply eat out at restaurants when traveling.
Whether your decision to prepare your own food is due to health or dietary requirements, it’s important to know you can do this when away from your home.
There are many considerations to take into account before getting a portable blender.
But if you travel often and want to prepare your own food, they can be a sound purchase.
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Author: Dale Johnson has been a digital nomad since 2015, and has traveled to 30+ countries and counting. He is a content designer and marketing specialist and loves writing in-depth about new and exciting travel gear and accessories.
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