27 November 2014
Melbourne Australia
Loren W
Well there are two firsts for me here.
I never review kitchen appliances and I never review copied / or such heavily inspired products.
- I have seen and tested a couple of other similar bullet type blenders all suspect in their quality and with no warranty. I opted to review a model that was available on the high street made by a company called Smith and Noble as well as the branded Magic Bullet.
- To be honest I am not sure the legal logistics here. The Magic Bullet is made in China by Homeland Housewares out of the USA and the Smith and Nobel Rocket Multi-Purpose Blender is made in China by Smith & Noble, a subsidiary of GSM International Limited out of Hong Kong. These blenders are of the small personal variety, and are about the size of a regular size travel mug with their cups in place.
- There are slight but significant design differences between them that make the machines slightly unique.
- There has been so much press over juicers, and blenders etc. that the original magic bullet started to get some bad press here in Australia. This is largely because in the USA the magic bullet is sold for around $50 AUD, and has a 300W motor.
- However in Australia the unit sells for $120-140AUD. Almost 3 times the price. I believe there is some impact due to the USA model is of course 110V and the Australia version is 220-240V, but as a result it is no surprise that the market in Australia is seeing a lot of competition in personal blenders currently.
- Interestingly the Smith and Noble Rocket Blender Version has some improvements over the Magic Bullet.
- The motor on is more powerful at 350W, vs 300W on the bullet, the gasket attaches and removes easier, and the way the cups engage in the Rocket vs the Magic is better on the rocket.
- Other than that the devices seem almost identical and the Smith and Nobel Version is also $60 AUD.
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Though getting one for testing was a bit tough, due of course to the demand here in Australia. I contacted the Magic bullet people in the USA that deferred me to their distributor here in Australia who were not very helpful but eventually told me they were not longer selling the magic bullet direct to the public but as distributors did not know what shops actually sold the blenders. Even their website advertises the magic bullet but they do not sell it and did not know who did.
Accessories Galore
As with the Magic Bullet, the Rocket Blender offers a kit offering drinking cups, shaker lids, etc. all those available with the equal spec. magic bullet.
- I salute Smith and Noble (GSM International) and their pricing and product quality, they are worth a consideration if you are looking for a personal blender product this one is the best value in the market place.
- The rocket blender is available from suppliers per the GSM website listed here http://bit.ly/rocket-suppliers . Information all but limited on the magic bullet is available here.
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