Nutribullet is one of the go-to brands for high-performance blenders and a leading innovator in the rising trend of personal cup blenders. With these blenders you can put lump-free drinks such as smoothies and protein shakes directly into the cup you want to drink them from. And Nutribullet has a worldwide reputation for making super-powerful personal blenders that can crush the toughest ingredients, including ice cream, root vegetables, seeds and nuts, creating smooth and tasty nutritious drinks.
The Nutribullet Go is the brand’s wireless portable device, offering the flexibility to mix your favorite drink anywhere. It charges via USB cable, with a full battery providing enough juice for up to 20 blending cycles. This way you can make fresh smoothies and shakes at work, in a hotel room or even on a camping trip or at a festival.
But with just a 385ml cup, it can’t make large servings. The other major drawback is that it can’t be used to blend frozen ingredients, so if you’re a fan of ice-cold smoothies, you’ll have to pour it over ice once your drink is blended. On the plus side, though, it’s easy to use, budget-friendly and also compact, so it won’t take up a lot of storage — or boot space, if you’re taking it with you on a trip.
During the test, it turned out to be better than we expected; but don’t expect super smooth drinks. The results were somewhat fleshy – and every now and then we found a lump or two. While it’s not one of our best blenders, it did the job for the most part, and given its size and portability, it would be unfair to expect it to match a full-size personal blender. As long as you have realistic expectations and are not trying to mix difficult ingredients, this is a good option for making mixed drinks on the go.
Nutribullet Go: price and availability
- MSRP: $34.99 / £49.99 / AU$79
You can pick up the Nutribullet Go directly from Nutribullet. It’s one of the cheapest personal blenders you can buy from the brand and has the added benefit of being portable, although on a slightly higher budget you can get the Nutribullet Magic Bullet Kitchen Express, which comes with two cups. Keep in mind, though, that none of these models have the power or capacity of the slightly more expensive, but more versatile, corded personal blenders on offer.
Nutribullet Go: design and main features
- 30 second blend cycle
- Small 13 oz / 385 ml cup
- Wireless and portable
This compact little blender measures 8.5 x 3.15 x 3.15 inches / 21.5 x 8 x 8 cm (HxWxD) with the cup on the base, and weighs only 700g, which is light enough to fit in your luggage. to stop for a trip. And for added cuteness, it comes in red, white, black or silver.
A full charge takes up to five hours using the included USB cable, but no power adapter is included to plug it into a wall outlet. So you’ll have to use one you already have, or charge it through another device like a laptop. Once powered on, the Go can be used for up to 20 blending cycles, which equates to approximately 10 minutes of blending.
The cup has a lid with a handy carrying strap, but no spout from which you can drink; you have to remove it to enjoy your drink. The base comes with a screw-on blade cover so you can throw the blender in your bag without worry.
Pressing the power button twice starts the automatic blending cycle, which lasts 30 seconds. If your potion isn’t smooth enough by the end of this time, you can turn it back on right away – but the directions for use say it can’t be turned on for more than two consecutive blending cycles.
The cup and lid are not dishwasher safe, so you have to wash them by hand; However, if you use it on the go, you may not have access to a dishwasher after all. Either way, it’s so small that cleaning it by hand isn’t a big job.
Nutribullet Go: Performance
- Fruit-based drinks were not lump-free
- Mixes powders thoroughly
- One mixing cycle is not enough
Using the Nutribullet Go is easy. With the protective cap removed, the base and blade screw onto the ingredient cup. Then press the start button twice to start the 30 second blending cycle.
The first drink we tried was from a recipe featured in the blueberry-vanilla smoothie manual. However, we have exchanged the blueberries for raspberries; the other ingredients were just vanilla protein powder and plant-based milk. After the first 30 second blend, it was visually clear that there were still some pieces of raspberry that needed further blending. So we immediately put it on a second mixing cycle for a better result. The drink was nicely mixed with no lumps of protein powder; but it didn’t quite go smoothly. It had a grainy texture from the raspberry seeds that held up whole, and there was a slight pulpy texture from the raspberries that you wouldn’t get if you were using a larger, more powerful blender.
Then we made a scaled-down version of the smoothie we make in all of our blender tests. It consists of pineapple, spinach, apple juice, Greek yogurt and banana. Again, it took two blending cycles to thoroughly froth the drink, but to our surprise, the Go coped better with these more stringy ingredients. For the most part, the drink was smooth, with a similar, slightly fleshy texture to the first drink. In addition, we found a small chunk of pineapple the size of a pea and a slice of banana that remained whole. Nevertheless, we were impressed that despite some visible flecks of green foliage, the spinach had almost completely broken down.
For our final test, we followed the included chocolate banana protein smoothie recipe, made with banana, protein powder, peanut butter, and milk. We also added some cocoa powder to see how well it would mix. Despite two blending cycles, we still discovered a whole banana slice and, like the previous few drinks, this smoothie also had a fleshy rather than a smooth texture. Other than that, everything was well mixed and nicely aerated – not a bad result from a compact cordless blender.
At its loudest, the Nutribullet Go registered 81dB on our decibel meter, but the blender didn’t feel too loud during use. And while the Go couldn’t be cleaned in the dishwasher, it turned out to be easy to rinse – as long as it was done immediately, rather than after the remains of a drink had dried on the cup. Our only complaint is that the carrying strap can get a little soggy if you’re not careful when rinsing the lid.
Should I buy the Nutribullet Go?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Read more about how we test
First assessment: April 2022
