00:00I have had my hands on the Ninja Slushy for a couple of weeks now. I know it's
00:07like the most coveted viral gadget on the internet right now. It's been going
00:11in and out of stock so right off the bat I'll tell you check the link in the
00:15description to see if it's available. But that said, do I think it's worth $270
00:22coming from someone who will always order the slushy drink if it's on the
00:26menu at a restaurant or bar? Let's start with setup and controls. I posted the
00:31unboxing back on TikTok when I first got it in for testing and I'll say I am no
00:36stranger to Ninja appliances so unboxing and getting the Ninja Slushy set up was
00:40familiarly straightforward. I always figured that those fancy slushy machines
00:45at Tiki bars were super pricey and expensive so I didn't expect to have it
00:49up and running in just a few minutes. There are a few parts to know here. There
00:53is the vessel which is basically the main container and the pouring spout is
00:59attached here to it. The auger here, this is how the magic happens. It keeps
01:04turning and eventually the liquid turns to slush. This part comes out here, it's
01:09the condensation tray and it catches any drips as the machine gets cold. But how
01:14does it actually get cold? It gets cold thanks to this 360 degree chilling
01:22cylinder that's attached to the main base. It uses what Ninja calls rapid
01:27chill technology. When it comes to the controls there's not very much going on
01:32here. We have the power button, our five presets, slush, spike slush, frap, milkshake,
01:37frozen juice. We have the rinse cycle button and here we have the meter that
01:42lets you control how slushy you want your slush to be. Kind of like these
01:45volume buttons here let you determine how much you want it to be. Even if you
01:49don't read the instruction book you'd probably be able to figure it out. I
01:52would however recommend the instructions. The quick start guide here comes with
01:57two Kickstarter recipes, one of which is gonna be the fan favorite. It's the one
02:04ingredient soda slush. You can use any full sugar soda. I've already done this a
02:09few times so today we're gonna be using Pepsi Wild Cherry. You're gonna see just
02:14how easy this is to get started. The options for drinks with the Ninja
02:19Slushy are pretty endless though. You can follow the recipe book. I've also looked
02:23up some stuff online and I've also gotten a little creative. I tried frozen
02:26espresso martinis and frozen margaritas as well as a frozen coffee frappuccino
02:31type thing that was just way too early in the morning for me to film. But you
02:35can use you know lemonade mixes, juices, milkshake ingredients. If it's liquid and
02:39it has a high enough sugar content it can be turned into a slushy. The thing
02:43that surprised me most about the Ninja Slushy is how quiet it is when it's
02:47actually in use. My current collection of countertop appliances include my manual
02:52espresso maker, the Breville Infiz, both of which are quite loud when they're
02:57actually being used. I'm sitting literally right next to it and I have
03:01the noise app open on my Apple Watch. I'm going to stop talking and show you what
03:06the sound is like.
03:12It does make some noise, don't get me wrong, but it's very low and it's
03:15consistent enough that it's not so much of a nuisance. Okay it's been about a
03:22half hour and that's looking pretty slushy to me. I'm not sure what's up with
03:26the indicator light but usually that would blink. I like how this looks. I want
03:30to move on with my day so we are going to open up the pour spout. That's really
03:37awkward.
03:40There we go.
03:44I got my Wild Cherry Pepsi slushy. I went ahead and turned the machine off. Now my
03:49biggest concern with any appliance, especially something like the Ninja
03:53Slushy, was that it was gonna be just a major pain in the ass to clean. But I am
03:58pleased to report that the cleaning process isn't as intensive or time
04:02consuming as you might think. First, to empty the vessel of any leftover slush
04:07lodged around the edges, you pour water inside and press the rinse button. You
04:12open the spout, let the water out. I usually use a medium-sized measuring
04:16cup like this one. Turn the machine off and disassemble it by pulling the bail
04:20handle forward. The vessel and auger come off and I rinse those out in the sink
04:24with some water and dish soap. I take a damp paper towel and wipe down the
04:28chilling cylinder and the condensation tray so that everything is dry. And
04:31that's all there really is to it. It's just a few minutes of cleanup. Nothing
04:36out of the ordinary compared to my other appliances. But since there is a lot of
04:40sugar involved, you definitely want to keep it clean. I would not let this sit
04:43out overnight. I would just make sure it's rinsed properly after you're done
04:47so you don't have to worry about it. Now let's talk about some of the things I
04:51don't really like about the Ninja Slushie, starting with the fact that it's
04:55not very ideal for single servings. I'm lucky to live in a household of slushie
05:00lovers, but if you were hoping to go solo on your slushie adventures, the Ninja
05:05Slushie seems like a very big commitment. Not only is it pretty bulky, taking up a
05:10lot of precious counter space on my already crowded counters, but you need a
05:15minimum amount of liquid for the machine to actually work. Recipes max out at six
05:20to eight servings, but bottom out at two to three servings. Meaning even if you
05:24just want one drink, you'll have to use enough ingredients to make multiple
05:29drinks. Or at least to hit that minimum indicator line here on the vessel. Of
05:33course there is nothing that stops you from having seconds and thirds, but at
05:37that point I would probably just go get a Slurpee for less than three dollars at
05:417-Eleven. Something I didn't consider beforehand and has actually been kind of
05:45a pain point for me, is how much sugar you need to have in the Ninja Slushie in
05:51order for it to work. So if you're trying to watch your sugar intake, the Ninja
05:55Slushie is not for you. I'm no scientist, but a very quick Google search taught me
06:00that the syrupy sugars circulating constantly throughout the mixture keep
06:06it from freezing solid. That means if you want to put your favorite diet soda in
06:11the machine, it won't get the results you're looking for. Similarly, you can't
06:15just dump in a bottle of wine and get a wine slushie. You need to add some juice
06:19to it if you want to make, say, a frosé. Ninja's recipe book does do a good job
06:23at breaking down the standard sugar requirements, but as someone who doesn't
06:27like to drink too many of their calories, this is the type of thing that's
06:31definitely a treat. I wouldn't make it more than once or twice a week, which has
06:36been a challenge since I've been wanting to test it as much as I can for this
06:40review. That's compared to something like the Ninja Creamy, where you get kind of
06:44the best of both worlds. You can enjoy the full-fat ice creams, but then also make
06:48something healthier like a low-cal protein ice cream. Overall, if you do like
06:54slushie drinks as a treat, maybe you have kids or people in your household and
06:58you're constantly looking for fun appliances to switch things up, the Ninja
07:02Slushie makes a lot of sense. Again, I know it's hard to get your hands on, so
07:05the link in description if you're interested is down below. The couple of
07:10pain points I mentioned are not deal-breakers. However, they are things
07:13that I think people should keep in mind so they know whether it's actually
07:17something they want to buy or if they just saw it online and thought, oh that
07:20looks cool. Be sure to let me know what you think though in the comments of this
07:24video. I've posted plenty of videos of the Ninja Slushie in action on social, so
07:29be sure to check us out everywhere at Tom's Guide and catch up with what I'm
07:33doing at Kate Kozich. Thanks for watching, I'll catch you next time.
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