The Ninja BlendBoss just got its first-ever big discount — its icy drink-making skills are a lifesaver in my current heatwave, and I already loved it for making smoothies

This spring, as many are wont to do, I decided to use the power of shakes to get myself a bunch of nutrients that I’m assured will change my life. I settled on a concoction of oat milk, protein powder, cacao, chia seeds, and banana, and got myself a Ninja BlendBoss.

• Ninja BlendBoss US deal: was $129 now $109 at Amazon US
• Ninja BlendBoss UK deal: was £129 now £93 at Amazon US

I wanted something without too big a footprint on the surface. I liked the ‘tumbler blender’ design, meaning you can take your drink away with you instantly after blending without decanting into something else. Plus, our Ninja BlendBoss review was glowing, so it seemed like an ideal fit.

And for a while now, it’s done a perfect job for my morning routine. I get a nice smooth drink, with the chia seeds smashed into smaller bits so they don’t get stuck in my teeth and make me look a fool all day, and everything is fully mixed just using the ‘Blend IQ’ preset mode.

More recently, though, I’ve been living through a heatwave, and I’ve finally had reason to explore its ability to crush ice… and I’m so glad I happened to already have the BlendBoss at home, because the ability to summon a super-cold slushie-style drink in under two minutes feels like having a superpower right now.

It’s not quite the smoothness of a true slushie, of course — otherwise, what would anyone need the Ninja Slushi for? — but it can really pulp that ice to provide something with the ‘blended cocktail’ consistency.

Yes, obviously, I could (and regularly do) put regular ice in my drink, but that just provides a gentle cold spot near where the ice is. The BlendBoss gives me a way of delivering a tasty blizzard right to my insides. I’ve never had such easy access to ice cream headaches, and I’m over the moon about it.

It’s also convenient that you can easily buy a second tumbler to use with it, so that if I’m enjoying my quick slushie straight from the container, my partner doesn’t have to wait — she can have an ice schedule entirely of her own making.

Now that I’ve tested how well it works for ice crushing, I’ll probably end up using it for frozen margaritas during a lot more of the year. Maybe I’ll learn what’s in a daiquiri. For now, I’m avoiding alcohol during the heatwave — I’m just happy with it being my ultimate cold drink buddy.

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Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he’s in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It’s a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he’s also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He’s always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he’s explaining the offside rule.