BlenderBottle is a company dedicated to creating convenient solutions for keeping your nutrition with you when you need it the most. Their SportMixer is one such item I have been using for the last few months to mix my protein shakes and other drink mixes.
The SportMixer is a regular sports drink bottle with a few added features to make it stand out, not the least of which is its signature BlenderBall. The BlenderBall is a wire whisk in the shape of a ball that goes into the bottle when you are ready to mix your drink. As you shake the bottle, the whisk flies around inside to improve the mixing ability.
I found the BlenderBall to be a cool addition, and it effectively helped mix my drinks until I really put it to the test. I tried using it on a vegetable protein powder mix, which tend to be notoriously hard to mix, and it didn’t mix the shake any better than I could without the whisk. The BlenderBall seemed to get gummed up in the works against the protein powder. However, the SportMixer worked well with all the other powders I used. Nothing will replace good old-fashioned elbow grease (or an actual electric blender) for mixing your drinks, but the ball does help with easy-to-mix products.
However, BlenderBottle acknowledges the necessity of said elbow grease by adding a rubber overmolding to the center portion of the bottle to enhance grip even when the bottle is wet. Even when you’re sweaty, the bottle is in no danger of being dropped, thanks to the rubber grip. I need to mention that I have heard of the grip coming loose and spinning on the bottle, which can make opening the lid difficult, but this has not been my experience. My own overmolding stayed in place, despite my ogre-like use of such products.
Much like all of the BlenderBottle items I have used, the SportMixer is a durable product. It's made of high-grade plastic that is resistant to my use and abuse. The plastic itself is free of both BPA and phthalates, which are chemicals that affect your endocrine system and may negatively impact your workout and your health.
I’m not sure how they do it, but the bottle is odor-resistant as well. Personally, the smell made by many of the bottles I’ve used in the past is, well, let’s just say unpleasant. As a guy, I’m not the best at cleaning my stuff out, and even if I were, getting to every crevice in a sport bottle is pretty much impossible. The SportMixer doesn’t smell, even when I’m not particularly attentive to cleaning it thoroughly, and is machine washable for those who are more fastidious about bottle cleaning than I am.
There is a plastic loop attached to the cap that can be used to easily clip the bottle to things. My only issue with the bottle's design is its flip cap. Now this was perhaps my own fault, but if you forget to hold the cap down when you shake the bottle, the cap will come open and the contents of the bottle will spray everywhere. This only happened to me once, mind you, but will happen to you if you forget too.
As far as bottles go, the features that make this one a cut above the rest are the rubberized grip and the composition of the bottle. The SportMixer is free of known harmful chemicals, durable, and odor-resistant. If you’re concerned about what your bottles are made out of, and know that you’re likely to abuse the stuff you use, this is an excellent bottle for you. Just don’t forget to hold the lid shut!
The BlenderBottle SportMixer is available for$14.99 at BlenderBottle.com.
