NutriBullet go review: A convenient cordless blender, but don’t expect much power

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The NutriBullet go is the brand’s first-ever cordless blender, designed with convenience on the “go” (yes, the clue is in the name) in mind.

Diminutive and impressively lightweight, it’s a move away from the larger powerhouse machines that NutriBullet is known and loved for, but we suspect it’ll find a home within many an office space or gym bag nonetheless.

In line with its transportable ethos, this travel-size blender is a single-serving only situation, with just enough room to get an average banana and a handful of berries into the cup before blitzing.

At £49.99, the NutriBullet go is actually pricier than NutriBullet’s standard larger and more powerful starter kit (£39.99, Argos.co.uk) – so does the portability of this personal bullet blender warrant the additional spend?

We put the NutriBullet go through its paces making everything from smoothies to nut butter and even crushed ice with… varying results.

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Buy now £49.99, Amazon.co.uk

The first thing you’ll probably notice about this device is that it’s unusually small – even the box it arrives in is relatively tiny for an appliance, as the minimal line-up of components requires nothing in the way of supportive cardboard or polystyrene padding.

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Out of said box, this is a sleek, minimal, good-looking machine. We tested the silver model, which is available exclusively through Amazon, but there are other colours, including black and a vibrant cherry red – any of which we’d be proud to display in our kitchen (or on our desk at work, as the case may be here).

It’s one of the most scaled-down, lightest blenders we’ve encountered, with the cup fitting perfectly in the palm of our hands (even if you’re travelling light, you won’t have trouble slipping it into a duffel or cabin bag).

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The charging port on the front is powered by USB – convenient if you’re using it next to your laptop or another similar device – but as only the USB cable is included, with no plug adapter, we did find ourselves having to hunt one down when all of our ports were already full.

The plastic cup is BPA-free, and we found it a good size to sip from – the lid which comes included is also a good fit and doesn’t leak. However, the fact it’s quite small and narrow makes it tricky to clean with a normal sponge, as your hand doesn’t quite fit through the opening. The blades don’t detach from the unit, but as there are no cables involved, this part is very easy to rinse off after use.

Set up couldn’t be more straightforward. You simply twist the cup onto the charged base and press the on button located on the front – one three-hour charge is enough for 20 blends. There’s a clever safety feature that means it refuses to activate unless you’ve assembled it correctly, so look for the blue light and you’ll know you’re good to go.

The first challenge in using the NutriBullet go is its volume – it can hold around 370ml, but for context, this is only 40ml more than a standard soft drink can, meaning once you’ve added a couple of different ingredients you’ll probably find the container gets very full very quickly. While the appeal of the product is, of course, supposed to lie in its compact nature, this could prove limiting for those looking for a more generous, filling drink.

We tested first with a basic smoothie of strawberries and a banana, which took us to full capacity, and caused the NutriBullet go to have a couple of teething problems.

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Buy now £49.99, Amazon.co.uk

We had to shake the blender a few times and add a splash of oat milk to really get things going – but though the result was slightly frothy, it was ultimately tasty, and relatively smooth considering the initial struggle. If you like the sound of being able to whip up fruity drinks from wherever the day may take you, the go will serve you well.

A spinach-based smoothie, however, didn’t fair so well – again it juddered and took a while to start blending evenly, and after several rounds of blending, the poured drink still had a few chunks of leafy greens floating around in its depths.

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Although it’s primarily intended for drinks, we were intrigued by other possibilities the go might be able to offer, so added a handful of roasted almonds to the blender on the off chance it might transform them into nut butter. It didn’t – but it did mill them to a fine sandy texture, so if you like to make your own ground almonds or similar on a regular basis, it will offer this function quite happily.

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Out of curiosity – and not because the go claims to be good at it – we also tried to crush ice.

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The NutriBullet go did not enjoy this process. You can firmly remove any thoughts of chilled hotel room cocktails from your mind.

The NutriBullet go will suit those looking for a lightweight blender that they can use in the office or gym, or while travelling, or who are short on counter space and can’t stretch to a bigger model. This is, of course, exactly what it’s marketed for, but for the price we’re not sure that’s enough – there are other slightly larger and more robust blenders on the market at similar prices, if not slightly cheaper, which can offer a more versatile experience.

If you make a lot of smoothies or protein shakes away from home, or feel that having a corded blender is regularly a hindrance, it’ll be a welcome addition to your arsenal of kitchen kit. If not, we can’t help but feel you’d be better placed looking for something that can tackle more than soft fruit and protein powder without extra encouragement.