Magic Bullet Personal Blender, 17-Piece Set and Upgrade Kit

Magic Bullet calls this one the original, and its description is chatty. The facts underneath are plain. The brand gives the footprint as 4.5 inches deep, 4 inches wide and 11.8 inches tall, and the weight as 3.3 pounds.

The spec table lists a 250-watt corded motor at 120 volts, a stainless steel blade, plastic cups and a BPA-free label. The title names a 22 oz cup.

The brand lists a motor base, a cross-blade, a tall cup, a short cup, a party mug, two lip rings, two Stay-Fresh resealable lids and a to-go lid. Magic Bullet describes the routine in three moves: load the cup, twist on the blade, line up the tabs and set it on the base.

To clean it, the brand says to twist off the blade and rinse it with soap and water. The cups go in the top rack of the dishwasher.

The brand calls the motor high torque, and buyers describe what that means at the counter. One reviewer in Canada moved up from a cheap portable blender and calls this a huge step up, but not as powerful as hoped, with chunks of ginger still left.

Another reviewer says it does well with frozen fruit and frozen drinks. A third, on their third unit, uses it for smoothies, frothy hot chocolate, whipped cream, salsas, wet spice pastes and dry spices.

That third reviewer also names the limits. The blades are thick and act like blender blades, not like a food processor's slicing blades. The motor can't cope with dense foods such as nut butters.

The weak spot in the reviews is time. The same reviewer replaced a base after about five years and traced the failure to liquid that got in through degraded o-rings inside the cup. Another Canadian reviewer, four years in, says it still works with only a little leakage.

Two reviews are not a failure rate, but both point at the cup seal. That is the part we would watch.

The product page also disagrees with itself on the warranty. One bullet says a one year limited warranty, while the spec table says five years. Plan on the shorter one until the brand says otherwise.

On parts fit, the brand treats the cups, blade and lids as part of this set. It says nothing about whether they fit any other Magic Bullet base, or whether another set's cups fit this one.

One reviewer also notes that this kit has no flat blade for whipping cream.

Who should buy something else? Anyone who wants nut butter, even chopping or a big batch. The tall cup is the biggest vessel here, at 22 ounces, so a pitcher-sized job needs a different type of blender.

The 17-piece set is the same idea scaled up. The brand lists a power base, two blades, two cups, four mugs, four colored lip rings, two sealed lids, two vented lids and a recipe book. It says the cups are high-impact plastic.

It calls the cups and mugs microwave and freezer safe, and the parts dishwasher safe. It also says to press down for results in 10 seconds or less.

The spec table is where this product page gets messy. It lists 200 watts, below the 250 watts on the MBR-1101, plus a single speed, a capacity of 2 cups and 230 volts.

It also gives the weight as 27 g, which cannot be right for a base and cups. A bullet on the same page says the product is built to North American electrical standards.

One buyer in Australia needed an adapter plug on arrival. For a US kitchen, we would confirm the plug and voltage on the box before trusting the table.

Many of the reviews are years old, from 2010 to 2019, with a few recent ones. A reviewer whose family blends every morning says the motor handled berries, frozen fruit and ice cubes with no trouble, and felt stronger than a unit from another company.

Another says it works more like a blender than a mini chopper because the blade is thicker. They like slushies from frozen bananas, mangoes and raspberries, and salsa verde.

They don't like it for chopping nuts or grinding coffee or cheese, because the pieces come out uneven. The same reviewer doubts it would handle tough kale or rock-hard frozen strawberries.

The one-star review, with three photos, says the parts in the box were dirty, used and smelly and the item had been sold as new. That is a single buyer in Canada, and only about 6 percent of the ratings are one star.

It is still a reason to open the box and check the parts the day it arrives.

On parts fit, the brand gives no model numbers for the cups or blades, and does not say whether they fit the MBR-1101 base. Two blades are included, but the brand does not say what kind they are.

One reviewer of the MBR-1101 notes that a flat whipping blade came with an older kit, so ask before you assume one is in here.

Who should skip it? Anyone who needs nut butters or fine chopping, and anyone who needs the plug and voltage settled before ordering. For a household that wants four mugs and a second cup ready in the cupboard, the count is hard to beat at this size.

This is the odd one in the group, because it is not a blender at all. The brand lists a cross blade, two tall cups, one short cup and three Stay-Fresh resealable lids, and says it is compatible with Magic Bullet.

It does not list a base. One buyer's entire review is the complaint that this does not include the blender, so read the contents line twice before you order.

The spec table lists 400 watts, 220 volts, a 12-ounce capacity and a weight of 0.53 kg, and says the materials are PTFE and PFOA free. With no base in the contents, we would not read the watts or volts as a motor you are buying. They sit in the table as spec lines and nothing more.

The most detailed review, from the US in October 2024, used the kit to expand a basic 200-watt blender from another brand. The reviewer found two more medium cups without handles but with ridges outside, which are easy to grip.

They also found a small cup about half the volume, handy for a bit of sauce or a smaller shake. That is the short cup in the brand's list.

The three flat lids screw on, with no grooves, holes or gaskets to trap dirt. The reviewer says they seal tightly enough to carry blended coffee and smoothies in a lunchbox or backpack.

That review also refers to a base in the kit that seems sturdier than the original. The contents line does not list one, so we would not count on it.

Two other buyers are short. One says the pieces work great with the Magic Bullet blender, and the other says the kit is good for extras and replacements. Neither names a model.

Only 37 ratings back the product page, so the picture is thin. About 68 percent of them are five stars, and about 9 percent are one star.

Parts fit is the open question. The brand says compatible with Magic Bullet and stops there. It does not say whether the cups and blade sit on the MBR-1101 base or the MBR-1701 base.

Buyers who report that it works do not name their base either. If the model matters to you, treat the fit as unconfirmed.

Who should buy something else? Anyone without a base, and anyone who needs a specific model confirmed. For replacement cups and lids, it is a reasonable spare set.

We cover the single cross blade and the party cups in a separate parts review, if you only need one of those.