The blender market splits neatly in two: machines that cost as much as a small appliance budget and machines that cannot crush ice. The BN701 sits in the gap, and it is the one we point people towards when they want frozen drinks without a four-figure receipt.
Power and the stacked blades
1400 peak watts drives a stacked blade assembly — blades at several heights on a central shaft rather than a single set at the bottom. It is a different approach from the high-end machines, which use one very sharp blade and enormous speed. The Ninja design chops rather than vortexes, and the practical result is that it destroys ice and frozen fruit without needing much liquid.
Where the stacked blades lose is the last ten per cent of smoothness. A green smoothie with kale comes out good but not silky; a Vitamix will get it glassy. For most people that gap is not worth the price difference.
What it does well, and what it is not for
| Job | How it goes |
|---|---|
| Ice, frozen fruit, frozen drinks | What it is built for; needs little liquid |
| Smoothies with soft fruit and yoghurt | Very good, thirty to sixty seconds |
| Leafy greens | Good, not silky; specks of kale survive |
| Soups, blended cold or reheated after | Fine, in batches, with the pitcher not full |
| Hot soup blended from friction | No. Pitcher is not rated for it, and steam builds pressure |
| Nut butter | Possible but slow; the stacked blades throw it to the walls |
| Milling grain, coffee, dry spices | No. It is a wet blender |
| Dough or thick batter | No. That is a food processor job |
Auto-iQ
Three programmes: smoothie, frozen drink and ice cream. Each is a pattern of pulses, blends and pauses rather than a fixed speed, and the pauses are what stop the mixture from cavitating around the blades. Press the button and walk away. There are also three manual speeds and a pulse for when you want control.
Loading it so it actually blends
Most blender complaints are loading complaints. Liquid goes in first, against the blades, because the blades need something to move. Then soft fresh ingredients, then leaves, then frozen fruit and ice on top, where their weight pushes everything down. Roughly one part liquid to two parts solids gives a drinkable smoothie; less liquid than that and the mixture spins a hole around the blades and stops touching them, which is the churning noise with nothing happening that people mistake for a weak motor. If that happens, stop, push the ingredients down with a spoon, add a splash of liquid and pulse twice before running the programme.
The pitcher
Seventy-two ounces of total capacity, sixty-four of usable liquid, which is enough for four large smoothies at once. Two sixteen-ounce to-go cups come in the box, and they are genuinely useful for single servings. Everything except the motor base is dishwasher safe.
The pitcher is tall. Measure your cabinet clearance, because on a standard counter the assembled machine will not fit underneath.
Cleaning it in thirty seconds
The dishwasher works, but it is rarely worth the trip. Fill the pitcher a third with warm water, add one drop of washing-up liquid, run the machine for thirty seconds and rinse. That clears everything short of dried-on nut butter, and it keeps your hands away from the blade stack. Do it immediately: a smoothie left to dry in the pitcher takes ten times as long to shift, and dried fruit sugar around the blade base is what starts the smell people blame on the machine.
The noise and the blades
It is very loud. Not unusual for this power, but worth knowing if you make smoothies while other people are asleep. The stacked blade assembly lifts out for cleaning and it is sharp in a way that demands attention — wash it with a brush, not a hand in a sink full of suds.
Full-size pitcher against a personal blender
If you make one drink at a time and take it with you, a personal blender is smaller, quieter, cheaper and washes in seconds; its limit is ice and anything fibrous. The BN701 earns its counter space when you are making two or more drinks, crushing ice regularly, or blending something a small motor would stall on. Owning both is not absurd, and plenty of people end up there.
Should you buy it?
Buy the BN701 if you want ice crushed reliably, make smoothies for more than one person, and would rather not spend three times as much. Skip it if you need absolute silk in green smoothies, if counter height is tight, or if noise is a deciding factor.
Key features
1400 peak-watt motor
Enough torque to break down ice without added liquid.
Stacked Total Crushing blades
Blades at several heights rather than one set at the bottom.
Three Auto-iQ programmes
Smoothie, frozen drink and ice cream, each a timed pulse pattern.
72 oz pitcher
64 oz of usable liquid capacity.
Two 16 oz to-go cups
For single servings, with lids.
Dishwasher-safe parts
Pitcher, lid, blades and cups all go in the machine.
Pros & cons
What we like
- Destroys ice and frozen fruit with little liquid
- Three Auto-iQ programmes you can walk away from
- 72 oz pitcher does four large smoothies at once
- Two 16 oz to-go cups included
- Everything but the base is dishwasher safe
- Far cheaper than premium blenders
What could be better
- Very loud at full power
- Not as silky as high-end machines on leafy greens
- Tall pitcher will not fit under standard cabinets
Specifications
Frequently asked questions
Yes, and with very little added liquid. The stacked blades are the reason; they chop through a frozen block rather than relying on a vortex.
For ice, frozen fruit and everyday smoothies it is close. For a perfectly silky green smoothie or hot soup from friction, the premium machines still win.
Loud. It is normal for this power level, but it is not a machine to use early in the morning in a flat with thin walls.
Often not. The assembled machine is tall, so measure counter-to-cabinet clearance before you order.
Yes, everything except the motor base. Handle the blade assembly with a brush rather than by hand in the sink.
Liquid first, against the blades, then soft fresh ingredients, then leaves, then frozen fruit and ice on top. About one part liquid to two parts solids. Loading it the other way round is why a blender spins loudly without blending.
The mixture has opened a hole around the blades and stopped touching them. Stop the machine, push everything down with a spoon, add a splash of liquid and pulse twice before running the programme again.
Fill the pitcher a third with warm water, add one drop of washing-up liquid and run it for thirty seconds, then rinse. Do it straight away; dried smoothie around the blade base is what causes the smell people blame on the machine.
No to both. The pitcher is not made for blending soup hot from friction, and steam builds pressure under the lid. It is a wet blender, so dry grinding for coffee, grain or spices belongs to a different machine.
Final verdict
Crushes ice and frozen fruit without a four-figure price. It loses the last ten per cent of silkiness to the premium machines, and most people will not miss it.
What owners report
Gathered from what long-term owners consistently say, not from a single test.
It is loud, and waking the household with an early smoothie is reported regularly. The jug is plastic, so it scratches and clouds over time without affecting performance. The blades are sharp enough that washing by hand needs care, which owners warn about most often. Handling ice and frozen fruit better than the price suggests is the observation that repeats most.
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