Yeah how long will “Ninja” brand will keep producing these proprietary refills? If you remember when James did the water bottle with the flavor refills and was discontinued after about a year, so the water bottle was completely useless.
I was thinking of buying, but now I won’t. $180 + $35 for the Co2 canister, plus the flavours is way too much for a soft drink. The canister is only good for 100 drinks. That is four cases of pop. Good review. Thanks for helping me with my decision.
On the CO2 lasting 100 drinks, that is also likely dependant on both the size of the drink made (6oz/12oz/18oz/32oz) PLUS the fizz level. I mean, I doubt the cannister will make 100 of the largest drinks, at the highest fizz level. Plus, with how it seems to 'Laurel the carbonated water, flavor, carbonated water,, you looze *some* CO2 when you stir, to mix it together so you don't get hit with straight carbonated/soda water. It seems to just be a variant of the sodastream, with different flavor options, that you out into a cup as opposed to directly into a bottle. IT mixes the flavors for you, while the SS *you* flavor it manually. N-? Drops of *this*, x-* drops of /that/, add water, choose carbonation level (hope it doesn't spurt out afterwards)
I wonder if ninja has a recycle program like soda stream. Their full priced canisters are similarly priced but you get them 50% off when you turn in an old one. All in all this looks to just complicate the soda stream concept with more things that can go wrong but not really changing the end product. Just dropping the flavor drops in afterwards like soda stream works fine. Having the water already in the bottle and carbonating it works fine and is healthier. This is sending water through tubes that I would think could have mold etc if not cleaned enough. Anyone thinking about this should look closely at soda stream first. You don't set carbonation levels you control that just by how long and how many times you push the button. They sell flavors too but honestly lime or lemon juice is cheaper and what I prefer. But if you want fancy flavors they have that, you just drop them in afterwards, the same result as this machine.
I love the concept of these machines but at the same time I greatly fear the loss of support once the product is dropped and out of production alongside the flavors. The flavor selection is also huge as this thing would need to either pump out good quality sodas or energy drinks for me to be able to justify the cost and the rather long ROI.
It's a Shark/Ninja. I don't see it being discontinued outside of a new model, and even then, Shark/Ninja is very consumer friendly. They use a lot of the same parts between model generations, especially if it's a consumable part
I made a longer post breaking down the numbers, but it's not a good ROI when matched up against the price of sodas/flavored waters. Just the refills will cost your $0.71 per drink.
You can get a machine that doesn't connect to the power supply, then you just need the CO2 containers which are standardised as well. That's what I have and it's way more compact and convenient compared to an electronic machine. Also, these CO2 canisters are HEAVY, please take them to refill/exchange (there are loads of retailers offering this) and don't just throw them out!
For those worried about loss of support or limited flavorings - you can always just dispense the carbonated water and add your own flavoring after the fact, then stir them in like he did for the first test. That's what I'd usually do with my soda stream after I got tired of their sugary syrups and other flavorings they offered. I'd add a single serving of crystal light or some other powdered drink mix to my carbonated water and that would give me endless drink flavors and possibilities. The Jolly Rancher drink packets are extremely flavorful, and the A&W root beer drink packets make it taste exactly like a glass of A&W root beer. I never tried the flavored liquid water drops, but I bet you could add those as well.
also it looks like the pods just hold the flavor, if so then it would be possible to refill them, and not need to get new pods. it would take some tinkering to find the best way to fill them and what concentration to make your new stuff at so it matches what the machine is expecting. but I think that would be possible. might be handy in cases where you got kids or other situations where manually measuring the stuff out isn't an option, but also getting new pods isn't.
Personally, I'd rather just go with the Drinkmate carbonator. You can carbonate any beverage you want. I've carbonated wine, milk, juices, etc., and It works perfectly.
@@JP-iz7sx Cold water will absorb more carbonation. Warm water would give you fewer bubbles out of the dispenser, which cooling it in the glass won't fix.
@@ae1582 Also, keep in mind that water temperature impacts the amount of sweetener that's needed. It's part of why warm soda tends to taste so disgusting to most people.
If I use room temp water with my soda steam I get a bad tasting drink with barely any carbonation. Adding ice helps a little with the flavor. But it’s not really fizzy.
To be consistent, you should have done all three sizes first without ice. And it would not hurt to add the ice afterwards, so there is no guesswork whether the contents of the glass might overflow.
Also it appears that it dispenses water first, then flavouring, then washes it through with more water. Which theoretically would stir it, the ice will not help that.
I actually just bought the Drinkmate Omnifizz, where you can carbonate any beverage. I've tried OJ, grapefuit juice, and even cranberry juice and it does a great job! And way cheaper too! :-)
A hacked sodastream is pretty amazing and super cheap to maintain too. While I love ninja products, I think this is just one more proprietary item to enter the drink market when it doesn't need to be like that. They make their money on the co2 and flavor pods, just as sodastream does. I have 2 hacked soda streams, both with 5lb co2 bottles and conversion hoses, I use all thrift store sodastream bottles (low cost, abundant supply) and then cheap store brand sugar free flavor and/or energy drops, or even the single serve sugar free drink mix packets. Your initial cost is that co2 tank, but after that, its super cheap to maintain it and buy flavors for it.
@@RS-fg5mf The tank I got from my local AirGas store, you can pick them up empty online, and have a local place fill them too. The conversion hose I got from Amzon.
@@Speakingnonverbalthe difference is its been altered to accept a refillable CO² canister and refillable syrup packs. Same as a hacked refillable ink cartridge.
70 cents per 6 oz drink. $1.40 for a reasonable size drink of 12 ounces. And that’s at lowest levels of both. Boldest and highest fizz would be what? Double even that. So $2.80 for that combination. And it’s still only 12 ounces. Plus you have to buy the machine. And wait for shipping and spend time making each drink. That’s a hard no for me. This thing is ridiculous.
I'm surprised you didn't cover what it's like to clean the unit afterwards. Looks like it could be a pain to clean the whole thing. Does this thing support any kind of syrup drinks such as coke?
Basic, bar napkin math tells me that I'd have to make ~225 drinks before I could get the average cost per drink below $1.50 (Cost of machine + operating cost). I know I'd lose interest long before I reached that number. So, thank you for the break down and saving me finding out the hard way!
seems like it's a glorified sodastream, except those are much cheaper. i think i paid maybe 60 for my sodastream on sale. this video kinda inspired me to take it back out lol. i'm a highly soda addicted person, so i quickly discovered the sodestream sodas are nothing as good as like a real pepsi, and put it away. however i need to cut out soda so just carbonated water with some flavorings is what i'd like to explore now. one difference i'm guessing the higher price buys you is more carbonation. sodastreams dont provide a super high carbonation level imo.
Uh. I see a major issue with this machine. looks like there is a small tank which holds the liquid before it drips down. I worry about residue left in there. I would also worry about the possibility of mold growing in there over time.
One drawback I didn't hear is that you have to buy their drops. Compared to for example a soda stream that works with any flavouring you want. I doubt this will be popular enough to get other brands of compatible flavouring. Worse might be if ninja discontinues the product and stops selling drops for these.
I’m guessing this is very new. If it does well, there could be other manufacturers putting in their own. Soda stream has been around for a very long time. I remember when I bought the 1st gen version, it was only flavors that soda stream was offering. So who knows what the future holds
For those asking about the canister, the CO2 canister is the exact same size as the Sodastream. Some reviewers have noted the sizes and indicated it's the same.
I'm wondering if it has the same thread, because you can buy an adapter that allows you to use a 5 lb CO2 tank that refills for the same price as the small SodaStream ones.
As someone that owns one of these systems here's what I can tell you, Amazon sells an adapter and hose that connects the ninja to an external CO2 tank. If you go to your local retailer and get a tank (I use a 5lb tank), you can refill it for about $10 with good grade CO2. One tank lasts us about 6 months, and we make at least 2ltr of carbonated drinks daily. That makes the CO2 definitely worth it, these syrups though.. that's what'll make you grit your teeth at the register when you're swiping them for $7 or $8 EACH. The packaging says about 20 beverages, but I can assure you, you won't get that many drinks from any of them. Realistically you'll get 9 - 12 depending on how light you set the flavor. I don't currently know of a drink packet hack (refillable cartridges, generic versions, etc..), so what we do is buy the flavored packs that come 8 in a box and are less than $1 at our local Neighborhood Market. It's not as good as a soda when you want one, but it's an efficient and cheap method for carbonated water over ice. If you would just rather have soda, buy the 12 packs on sale (or generic). It'll take a very long time to break even on cost just using this the way it comes right outta the box.
@@handythor Yes, Walmart Neighborhood Market. I forget the Walmart part when I'm talking about it sometimes, everyone here just refers to it as Neighborhood Market because we don't have real "neighborhood" markets around our area. Those flavor packs come in dozens of different flavors, and the Walmart brand are super cheap and still taste delicious (or some of them do, there's a lemonade flavor that is so bad lol).
Impressive how quickly you’ve been putting out videos, btw. Love it. I find the canisters being pretty pricey if youre someone who just cannot get enough of fizzy drinks. Maybe its not too crazy but it just feeels like a lot.
This would be great if they could bring the cost of the machine and the refills down quite a bit. 70c per drink isn't really much of a savings for all the extra hassle, when you can get a 44oz drink at Sam's Club or Mcdonalds for 80c-$1. So maybe it would be a good value if there is ever a 3rd party company that makes refills for way cheaper.
I see this kind of machines are pointless. How much drinks you have to make to break even if you were go out and buy a whole case vs this machines? Also it's a hassle for cleaning and such. I just don't see the need of this unnecessary machine in my house.
so relaxing to see someone spend the time and effort to look up interesting stuff, unbox them for us, read the manual and give their opinion. I wouldn't have known or tried most of this stuff. Keep it up, sir!
Pretty pricy option for some carbonated drinks. For me, it would just be another kitchen counter clutter-maker. Maybe don't put so much ice in your glass or put it in afterwards?😏
I use the Drinkmate, which can carbonate pretty much anything. It is able to use certain Sodastream CO2 cannisters, I presume the Ninja is the same. Just matters what the thread type is.
If it will actually use a Soda Stream tank you can cut your costs but buying the equipment and a 5 pound or larger C02 tank and refilling the tank yourself. The initial cost for the connection and filled 5 pound C02 tank was around $160. It costs me $37 to exchange the empty 5 pound tank for a full one.
Here in Finland you can replace the CO2 cans in many big stores, and the price can be as low as 2.99 euros (~$3) a pop. So making your own carbonated water costs virtually nothing. But I believe it is also possible to obtain a bigger CO2 canister (meant for other purposes), and refill the the Sodastream canisters yourself with an adapter.
@@fabianweber6937In Finland it's anything between 3-10 euros. Brand new canisters can cost 20 euros or so. A discount store called "Rusta" often has the 2.99 euro deal, so why pay more...
My question is how easy is it to clean? With the carbonated water and sweetener shooting into that small compartment before it comes out does that come out to clean? Thanks for the review 👍🏽
I'd really like something like this but not for $180 bucks plus having to replace the co2 canister and the drops. I just couldn't do it. Since I love high carbonation (my favorite sparkling water is Topo Chico) I'd need replacements often. And I don't have the funds for that sort of thing. Thanks for the honest review as usual James.😊
Looks to me sometimes when you do more than 6oz, for example 12oz. It adds flavors for both cycles and sometimes it only did it on the first cycle. That's why some of them were all CO2 water at the top.
It seemed that the second side never shot out flavor, which it seems it should have done on the second fill. Which is why you don’t get two flavors on the 6oz.
Great review. I came in a little lower on my average cost per use with taking advantage of all the subscribe and save benefits, etc...I also bought some Sodastream flavors to use and had excellent results.
Are you saying you used Sodastream flavors in this Ninja Thirsti? I have no experience with the Sodastream so I have no reference as far as size, shape, etc. I suspect that Sodastream would have more flavors since it's been around much longer.
@@zendasmom Not to promote my channel on James’s channel but I reviewed this product as well. Yes, I used Pepsi and Starry and I just dropped them into the plain carbonated water.
What I'd be interested in knowing is the price per oz. If it turns out to be way cheaper than buying soda, it would eventually pay for itself. If it's the same or more expensive, then what's the point?
I got a sparkel last year so we could save money on fizzy water. It's amazing, since it uses dry ingredients to make the carbonation you can put whatever you want in it. Love it.
I think if this goes on sale it could be a pretty good little thing. Nice that they offer some with or without sugar too. Gonna keep an eye out, thank you for another great review!
It's a neat idea, certainly a novelty than a must have, but still neat with all its features and the automation. At first I was concerned about support long term but the CO2 canisters are fairly common and standard (I use a similar one for a club soda maker) and you should probably hang onto the spent flavor canisters and reuse them with your own drops/flavor additives
I love Ninja products. I added this to my collection and love it! I bought a couple of soda stream syrups for when I want a cola, I love how easy it is, and you can make a 6oz serving if you want. Nothing to store in the fridge. No more carrying cases of soda from the store. I’m still trying the different flavors, then I will subscribe to my favorites for the discount . Since they are only good for a month after opening, I’m limiting my self to five flavors open at a time.
The problem with these things, is if your local water tastes bad, it tastes REALLY bad after being carbonated. I got okay results by filling a pot with water and letting it outgas overnight, then running it through a Brita type filter. But that's a lot of work for carbonated water, especially considering the cost of the CO2 tanks. I hear you can get an adaptor for refillable tank like for paintball or welding gas, but haven't personally used such a setup.
Coke is about $0.57 per can when bought in full retail 12-packs. The cans store conveniently in the fridge. You can recycle the can when finished. No dishes. This product is a waste of counter space, time, and money.
When you add up the total cost for the appliance, co2 and the flavors., that's a lot of$$ per drink, especially if you only like certain ones. It's not worth it, it's an expensive novelty! Sorry Charley:) Cheers, Rik Spector
Too much hassle. When I was a kid (back in prehistoric times), I had a friend who had a seltzer water bottle at her house and we'd put the seltzer water in a glass and then we could pick from many pump bottles of different flavored syrups. I always liked pineapple orange. It made great drinks for kids. Sometimes simple is better.
I just ordered my Ninja Thirsti Black Friday sale got it $120 with coupon. I am super excited! I got it so the kids can drink more water with flavor so we don’t have to purchase high price drinks.
I really like Ninja products, they always seem to hit the perfect price/compromise ratio. I use my foodi for pretty much everything that isn't boiling water. This is one product though that I would not buy, that price is pretty is not what I've come to expect from Ninja. That said, Ninja stuff always goes on super sales for like half price, so for $100, this would be great as I drink a ton of sparkling water. I wonder if you could reuse the flavor pods and fill them with your own stuff?
@@kiwisoupthe Creami is great, but it definitely has a place and I can see why many don't think it would fit their lifestyle/line of kitchen gadgets. Especially if you already have an ice cream maker
All drink "systems" are way too expensive alternatives with a lesser quality as the real deal. Got tricked in a beer system and Nespresso system and kicked both out after a few years, usually it is generic crap which i can make myself with a little more effort. More plastics, more CO2 canisters, more packaging waste and for what? When i make coffee i only need beans, water and a french press. Cost no more that 30 bucks initial, and after that only bags of beans. And it taste far better because i can choose any bean out there. Not a generic mass sale selection which is "pretty good" but perfect to my own taste. Only added benefit in this particular system is the CO2, but since Ninja charges 60 buck for 2 (normal price even higher) they can keep their golden laced compressed air. 180 bucks for the whole system, 7 per refill and you want to have a nice selection of flavours so those will cost more.
This is basically a Soda Stream except they are trying to get you locked into their flavors too. You could probably refill the syrups with other brands, like Miio or generics to save money.
Yeah, it's cool, but still costs more than an average 12oz can of soda until you've paid off the unit and I just don't drink enough soda to justify the $190 price tag and possible savings years down the road.
This reminds me of Big Clive's videos where he carbonates various drinks using his high pressure hand-held carbonator, sometimes with pleasing, and sometimes with devastating results, depending on the solubility of the beverage. It makes sense that the machine you are reviewing has different levels of carbonation 👍
its not a handheld carbonator, it is a countertop drink carbonator called Soda-Stream. Big Clive just has pretty big hands so in his hands the soda stream dispenser looks small and handheld lol i've had a soda stream dispenser for over 20 years (got it sometime in 2003 or 2004) and that thing is still carbonating drinks to this day, the best 50$ i've ever spent i'd say.
needing to stir a drink that dispenses out of a $180 machine is unacceptable. I'm sure those co2 canisters could be hacked and refilled with dry ice just like the soda stream canisters. and you could simply ignore the flavor pod things and add your own syrup or flavor. so... why bother with the machine?
I like how you really get into the Item/gadget you are reviewing and your initial opinion of it. It does look good, but I have a Soda Stream, which I must say the flavours are not great. I might considering getting this, when released in the UK, but will depend on price and flavours available.
I love my SodaStream but I gave up on their flavors long ago. I use real Coke syrup, and those drink enhancers you find in stores to flavor mine. You've not lived until you've carbonated koolaid and gatorade :D
Sodamistic was out many many years ago and was much better. They even delivered your syrups and CO2 canisters to your home. No need to go and run around looking for it. Much better service when it was running
I really love your reviews and your excellent on how the products go. I'm sorta interested in the soda machine but my wife can't have any drinks with "bubbles" because she had a stomach operation years ago and also too cold drink gives her extreme pain. Thank you for the review ❤😊
If you were saving time or saving money it might be a viable option but since you aren’t saving either I have no idea why someone would pay $180 for the Easy Bake Oven equivalent of a soda machine.
I mean...I get what it's trying to do...but it has the same problem with all appliances that carbonate water and add in some syrup: why can't I just buy seltzer and mix in some syrup (and even decant the "fancier" syrups from Foodi or wherever) and make an Italian soda? And save like $170 comparatively (which I'm not sure I need to pay for the ability to mildly adjust how fizzy the end result is).
The idea is not having to buy bottled seltzer and just making it at home from tap water. I use a carbonation device like sodastream, but it doesn't add any syrup. I can just add that on my own if I want to. $170 is too expensive though. Mine was like $60.
HOLY HELL! $30 for that much CO2? That container weights 2.5lb filled which means it's probably only holding around 1lb of CO2 at most and that's being generous. I can fill a 20lb container of CO2 for $30. That an absurd markup.
I feel like it’s good for someone that hosts allot of parties and such! Because then you have the fun gimmick of mixing drinks! But honestly for me I rather get the 12 pack of cans and they go on sale allot!
Any product that uses a printer based marketing is an immediate no for me. They can and will charge whatever they want for replacement cartridges and if you dont buy then you have a waste of plastic.
For people that are afraid that the cartridges won't be available at some point. Don't worry, you will lose interest in this machine in about 3 months.
I saw 12 packs of soda the other day at Kroger for $10 for 12ok of 12oz cans. That was shocking to me, and I have notice a steady rise is cost of sodas at the store for several years now. That really got me thinking about SodaStream and the Ninja Thirsti as a cheaper alternative to buying soda the old way. Here is my two cents . . . what I REALLY like about the Ninja Thirsti over the other carbonator machines is that it dispenses directly into the glass. I have tried sodastream before, but you always have to use a bottle attached to the machine. Then you have to keep those bottles clean. I nave not seen anyone else comment on this aspect. Anyone else feel the same way? Thanks for the great review! Keep up the good work. Oh, one more thing. I just saw that Walmart is now selling these for $140 USD. That might make the math work better now that it is much cheaper. 🤷♂
Yeah the soda stream is a pain in the a*s I got rid of mine after a year and moved to a different brand that cost more at start but was cheaper overall
Not trying to knock the people who use the product, but you can get like 5 two liter bottles of club soda for like 5 bucks and squirt your own flavors into a glass with it.
If i had a glass of ice water, some flavored drink mix, and a spoon, i could do the same thing as this machine but save a ton. Oh wait, I already do all that.
Because it takes a few mins to drink the whole cup, and he prefers slightly diluted colder drink to undiluted hotter drink. Could be an American/locale thing, likely pushed by restaurants that would much rather sell you 80% ice in your "extra large" cup.
He showed us the item at the start of the video but yet he still showed us the unboxing. What's the point?. Cool item tho it kinda reminds me of RC Cola.
My grandparents had an old coke fountain drink machine hooked up in their garage when I was a kid.. It was weird, it didn't use bags of syrup.. The syrup came in big stainless steel canisters that kind of looked like oxygen tanks with flat tops.. The coke truck used to stop by once a month and swap the empty canisters with new ones.. My grandparents owned a company that supplied C02 to restaurants and bars for their beer taps and fountain drink machines.. I don't know if they just had a hook up with coke because of their business or if anyone can just buy a fountain drink machine for their house and open an account with Coke.. That's always something I've wondered about.. I need to research that and find out..
