Breville Blend Active Personal Blender & Smoothie Maker | 350W | 1 Portable Blend Active Bottle (600ml) | Leak Proof Lid | Black & Gold [VBL251]

The media could not be loaded. I bought this for breakfast smoothies and to avoid having to lug my big jug blender out every day. It's been great, and has been a hit with my children too.It's compact: I can keep the base unit out without cluttering my counters. The bottles fit easily in cupboards.It's easy & simple to use - screw cap shut, click into place press one button, unclick from unit, unscrew cap, screw on lid.For those with strength/mobility issues: it's not at all difficult to twist/click the bottle into the base unit and the button only requires a gentle pressure. The most resistance is in screwing/unscrewing the various caps, as they have a rubber seal, but it's very little resistance, the same as your average juice screw cap I'd say.That said, it is still a pulse blender, so you have to keep the button pushed in for as long as you want it to blend. It really doesn't need long at all, though; the instructions say not to run it continuously for longer than 30 seconds to prevent overheating but I've never yet approached that length of time. I have been using this every morning for 2 weeks now (and my kids every other day or so on top of that) and I've never yet needed to press it for longer than 10 seconds. My smoothies are banana, frozen berries (including chunky strawberries), powder and liquid, so maybe if you're crushing ice you might need to, but it really is remarkably quick and efficient.The spout is nice and wide and easy to drink from.It's powerful - frozen berries get chopped up with ease (something my old-but-expensive jug blender couldn't manage). I've not tried it with ice yet.It's easy to clean (see video) - a drop of washing up liquid and some hot water, cap on, blitz for a few seconds and rinse! If there's stuff stuck to the sides then a quick scrub with a bottle brush is all you need. I'd definitely recommend a bottle brush as the bottles are long and narrow and might be tricky with a normal washing up brush.I know many reviews have mentioned the cap getting in the way when drinking, but I've not found this to be the case. The cap is free to move but you can push it a little further and it stays open and out of the way.The catch on the lid cap could be an issue - it's solid moulded plastic clicking onto a solid triangular 'lip' on the lid, which means you have to lift a loop of plastic up to disengage the catch. This means it could potentially bend and snap over repeated usage, but I've personally not felt it was weak or at risk of breaking. That said, I'm conscious of not being too rough with it.I'm not sure how long the rubber loop will last - I can imagine if you're regularly carrying a full bottle from the strap it won't last forever, but I carry mine by the body.All in all, this is an excellent, powerful little blender at a great price.

The media could not be loaded. I bought this blender on April 3, 2023, and as of today (Feb 19, 2025), it's still going strong! I mainly use it for making banana milkshakes and, being Indian, for grinding onion, garlic, and tomato into a smooth paste for curries. It does the job perfectly every time.It's super easy to use, and the material quality feels solid—no issues at all. Cleaning is a breeze, which is a big plus. Overall, definitely worth the money! If you're looking for a reliable blender, go for it.

This is the only kitchen appliance I've ever used that should be subjected to The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (the Vibration Regulations), but I will get to that in a minute.This is my 4th Breville blender, but when I bought my first, it didn't vibrate and shake around the worktop. It was controlled, albeit ridiculously slow.Number 3 was returned a few weeks ago as it started sparking and smelling like a burnt out motor. Literally after no more than 6/8 shakes. The bushes had become dislodged after burning out.The machine itself is poorly designed. Firstly, the motor for the size of the bottles is undersized. The motor labours though every single shake, barely breaking up the frozen fruit.Secondly, the blades are designed so poorly, there is a minimalist vortex affect in the bottles. Unless you add alot of fluid to the bottles, don't expect the blades to create much of a vortex, as two blades point upwards at 45°/135° and two downwards at 225°/315° , with a slight angler placement on the blades if a few degrees.The machine itself is so poorly balanced, I would claim that in using the machine, you are exposed to more than the acceptable limit of vibration. The momentary power button, means you've to keep hold of the machine whilst pushing the power button to get the machine to blend. This in turn transfers the vibrations from the poorly balanced machine into your hands, with the tingling apparent after use.You could make the argument that it is only £20 "what do you expect?" but I would rather spend £60 on something else that actually works than waste my time with this.I initially purchased this because I have a Breville kettle, toaster and sandwich maker, but I'll happily admit, they work as they are ment to. Unfortunately this blending contraption falls way short of my other appliances.I would in no terms recommend this machine. Sort it out Breville!Update* number 4 is gone but not before making a mess of my kitchen. Never again will I own a Breville appliance.

Great little blender - exactly what i needed, but the clip on the lid snapped off after only a week, which was very disappointing , so possibly a quality issue or manufacturing issue.

This Breville portable blender is an excellent choice for making smoothies, protein drinks, and frozen juices with ease. The 350W motor is powerful enough to blend frozen berries and ice smoothly, delivering great results in seconds. I love the one-touch blending function, which makes it super quick and convenient for busy mornings or post-gym drinks.The 600ml blending bottle is durable, shatter-proof, and BPA-free, and the added carry strap makes it easy to take on the go. Cleaning is effortless since the blades and bottle are dishwasher-safe. The compact design with cord storage is a great bonus, keeping my kitchen counter neat. Overall, this is a fantastic blender for anyone who wants a fast, efficient, and portable way to enjoy fresh drinks!

This is absolutely brilliant and a bargain!I use it for my fruit smoothies and my kids use it to make delicious milkshakes. It doesn’t take up much room, is really easy to use and clean and I love it!!