I bought the Ninja Pulse BL204 based on the very positive reviews here and would like to add one more:
PROs:
- Small footprint makes the Ninja Pulse suitable for smaller kitchens, too.
- Strong: So far I have not had difficulties blending various ingredients when filling the cups/bowl smartly. The only time I had to let it run longer and abandon Pulse mode for holding it down continuously was when I had filled a single serve cup with milk, followed by thick yogurt and then added banana. The banana tended to stick to the bottom (which becomes the top when blending). Now I make sure to put the banana (and other soft ingredients like it) in last and it works well this way.
- A lot of thought-out accessories makes it versatile: From single-serve smoothies to dips to cookie dough, this machine does it all.
- Tightly closing: No leaking at all if one sticks with the instructions to not overfill. On occasion I have not done so and then had to put up with some spillage (not the Ninja's fault). But even then cleanup was easy and quick due to the design that avoids as many "nooks and crannies" as possible.
- Straight-forward operation: What is not to love here? No lengthy manuals to read, no overwhelming number of buttons and choices one doesn't really need most of the time anyway. Just the pulse function and that's it. To me this is perfect.
- Clean design: This might not be the most important point, but I for one appreciate a kitchen appliance which blends in (no pun intended) and doesn't draw the eye. The Ninja Pulse delivers in that department. It does not look massive on the counter-top and the lack of buttons only adds to that clean, sleek look.
- While I am not fond of plastics in general, the Ninja materials all feel like high quality, especially the single serve cups as well as the respective lids and the blade. Very, very sturdy and designed with practicality in mind (The lids on the single serve cups open and close much like a travel tumbler's lid).
CONs:
Really none. Apart from my personal preference that I would like to see as much glass as possible for items that come into contact with food, this little machine is perfect.
NOTE:
One thing that would be great would be the possibility to buy additional single serve cups. The BL204 comes only with 3 cups, the BL205 apparently with 4. I have checked here on Amazon as well as on the manufacturer's website but came up empty.
I recommend this machine to anyone who wants a powerful, versatile blender that doesn't hog counter-top space and looks great.