Description
The Ninja BL642 is a blender that tries to be two appliances, and mostly succeeds. Ninja lists a 1200 watt Auto-iQ motor base that accepts either a 72 ounce Total Crushing pitcher for family batches or one of three single serve cups at 18, 24 and 32 ounces, each with a spout lid so a smoothie can be blended and carried without decanting. Pro Extractor Blades handle the single serve side, three speeds are offered, and every part is BPA free and dishwasher safe. The unit weighs 10.1 pounds and runs on 120 volts.
It carries more than 7,600 customer ratings at an average of 4.7 out of 5, and it has been listed since 2014, so this is a long established design rather than a new one.
Two Machines on One Base
The case for a duo blender is straightforward. Most households want a big pitcher sometimes and a single portion most of the time, and buying two appliances means two motor bases taking up two spaces on a counter. Sharing one base solves that.
The compromise is that neither container is quite what a dedicated machine would give. The 72 ounce pitcher is a genuine full size vessel with a 64 ounce maximum liquid capacity, so nothing is lost there against a standalone Ninja BL610. The single serve cups are the real advantage, because three sizes cover a small breakfast smoothie and a full post workout shake without either being the wrong vessel.
Blending directly in the cup is also better technically than blending in a big pitcher and pouring. A small quantity in a large vessel does not form a good vortex, so a dedicated small cup produces a better result on a single portion than any full size blender can.
The Blades and the Extraction Claim
The pitcher uses Ninja’s Total Crushing stacked blade column, which cuts ice and frozen fruit at multiple heights rather than only at the bottom. The single serve cups use the Pro Extractor Blade assembly, which is a different geometry designed for the narrower cup profile.
Ninja’s language around the Pro Extractor Blades is worth reading carefully. Ninja states they break down whole fruits, vegetables, ice and seeds for nutrient and vitamin extraction, blending entire fruits and vegetables and minimizing nutrients that go to waste. What that describes physically is thorough mechanical breakdown of whole produce including skins and seeds, which does mean fiber and the nutrients in those parts stay in the drink rather than being discarded. It does not mean the machine adds or concentrates anything. Read as a description of blending whole rather than juicing, the claim is reasonable. Read as a health benefit claim, it is Ninja’s marketing rather than a measured result.
Power, Speeds and Cleaning
At 1200 watts this sits above the 1000 watt BL610 and below the peak wattage figures Ninja quotes on newer machines. Ninja publishes 1200 watts here as a straight motor rating rather than a peak figure, which makes it directly comparable to the BL610’s 1000 watts.
Three speeds is a short list, and there is no timer or variable speed control. Auto-iQ programs handle the automated side with timed pulsing, blending and pausing patterns, which produces consistent results without technique.
All parts are BPA free and dishwasher safe, including the blade assemblies, which are removable. That makes cleaning more thorough than working around a fixed blade and also means two very sharp loose components to handle carefully. A 75 recipe inspiration guide is included.
Highlights
- 1200 watt Auto-iQ motor base.
- 72 ounce Total Crushing pitcher, 64 ounce maximum liquid capacity.
- Three single serve cups at 18, 24 and 32 ounces with spout lids.
- Pro Extractor Blade assembly for the single serve cups.
- Three speeds with Auto-iQ timed pulsing programs.
- All parts BPA free and dishwasher safe.
- 75 recipe inspiration guide included.
- 10.1 pounds, 120 volts.
- Over 7,600 customer ratings averaging 4.7 out of 5.
Things To Consider
The published dimensions are given as 10 inches wide, 17.5 inches deep and 7 inches high, and that ordering cannot be right for a blender with a 72 ounce pitcher standing on a base. The 17.5 inch figure is almost certainly the height. Anyone checking whether the machine will stand under a wall cabinet with the standard 18 inch gap should plan on the 17.5 inch figure being vertical, which leaves almost no clearance to lift the lid.
Three speeds is fewer than the four on the BL610 and far fewer than the ten variable speeds on a Vitamix A3300. For crushing ice that hardly matters. For working a sauce up gradually it does.
Storing a duo blender means storing five containers and two blade assemblies. That is more cupboard space than a single pitcher blender needs, and the parts do not nest neatly.
The warranty is described only as “Limited” with no duration published, which compares poorly against the ten year full warranty Vitamix states and the ten year limited warranty on the Breville Super Q.
No amperage or noise rating is published, and blenders of this type are loud.
One further point about the single serve side. Blending in a cup with an extractor blade means the drink is thicker and more fibrous than juice, because nothing is strained out. That is the intended result rather than a shortcoming, but anyone expecting a clear juice from whole produce will be surprised by the texture. A blender is not a juicer, whatever the marketing on either appliance suggests.
Who It Suits and Who Should Look Elsewhere
This is the right blender for a household with mixed needs: one person making a daily single serve smoothie and the whole family wanting frozen drinks at the weekend. Three cup sizes is unusually generous, blending directly in the cup produces a better single portion than any full size pitcher can, and 1200 watts is enough power for anything a home kitchen throws at it.
It is the wrong blender for someone who only ever blends single portions, where a smaller and cheaper unit from the personal size blender range makes more sense, and the wrong blender for fine purées, hot soups or nut butters, where variable speed control matters. The full set of alternatives sits in the countertop blender category.
