Blender Bottle is a great smoothie cup for those thick fruit smoothies. On their website it’s called the world’s best selling shaker cup. Intentionally designed for mixing powders with liquids, such as almond mild with whey protein powder, I’ve found that this container is a perfect economical choice as a smoothie container by removing the shaker ball.
Flip Top Lid
A flip top lid is the best design for the wide openings we need for smoothie cups and for a to-go travel container. If you’ve ever used a twist off cap from a water bottle, you understand. While driving or at the office, those little plastic tops have a way of slipping out of your fingers and ending up in inaccessible corners! That’s fine for a disposable container, but not fine for a smoothie cup you’ll be using over and over.
Leak Proof Seal
Blender Bottle is a screw on design. Sometimes that can be problematic requiring a gasket of some sort to maintain a leak proof seal. They’ve done a great job of not using a gasket (which tends to get lost over time and leak), and instead simply using screw torque to provide a leak proof seal. In nearly 3 years and hundreds of shakes with the ball inside, it hasn’t once leaked nor is showing any sign of leaking. Great reliable design!
Dishwasher Safe
Blender Bottle states that it is indeed dishwasher safe. I haven’t done it once, instead I prefer to fill the container with water, shake it, empty it, then rinse it out one more time. A couple of times a week I wash it with a soap and sponge and that’s kept it clean for years.
Double Insulated
The bottle is not double insulated or insulated at all. This is one area that is a downside for the type of smoothies I make. Mine are made with frozen fruits mainly, and results in a thick icy smoothie like a milkshake. Not having it double insulated or insulated at all, requires consuming the smoothie shortly after making it. As such, I don’t use my Blender Bottle often as a smoothie cup, instead I prefer to use the Vitamix Smoothie Container. If you don’t make icy smoothies but more like juices, the Blender Bottle may be a perfectly fine option.
Safety
Blender Bottle is BPA and Phthalate free.
Warranty
There is a good warranty with the Blender Bottle. It provides a lifetime warranty good for one replacement. For a bottle that has a street price under $10, that’s a fantastic warranty. The one gotcha with alot of warranties is two way shipping. The cost of packing and shipping can exceed the cost to buy a new one, which in effect makes the warranty useless. I’ve never had to personally go thru the warranty process, but others have stated that the warranty process is painless, done thru their website, and part’s or bottle’s, are shipped directly to you at no charge.
Made
Blender Bottle is manufactured in China.
Specs
From the manufacturer’s website
- Patent-pending carrying loop
- Ergonomic flip cap and spout design
- BlenderBall® wire whisk
- Leak proof guarantee
- Wide mouth makes it easy to add ingredients
- StayOpen flip cap™ won’t close on your nose
- GripperBars™ make it easy to hold
- Embossed ounce and milliliter markings
- Fits in most car drink holders
- BPA and Phthalate free
Sizes
I recommend the Blender Bottle Classic as a smoothie cup. It comes in 3 sizes and a variety of colors. The 20 oz is too small, so I suggest the 28 oz or the 32 oz. For colors, I suggest Black as it tends to hide the color of your smoothie and the glaring stares or comments of “yuck” when others see your green smoothie.
Our Conclusion
With the personally tested leak-proof design of the lid and screw-on seal, I recommend the Blender Bottle Classic as a good alternative for a smoothie cup. The warranty is good which shows the manufacturer stands behind the product, and most likely you’ll never use it. The biggest reason not to use it as your primary smoothie cup is if you tend to mostly make icy smoothies as there is no insulation provided by this smoothie cup.
Remember, if using for smoothies, remove the ball. There’s no need for it since the blender does all of the blending of your ingredients.