Buy the Ninja BN301 Personal Blender.

It crushes ice the Hamilton Beach just grinds at, and it will still be working next year.

What was compared

1. Crushes ice where the HB just grinds
Direct head-to-head testing found the Ninja sturdier and much better at crushing ice than the Hamilton Beach, backed by 900 peak watts against 700. If ice or frozen fruit go in most days, that gap shows up in every single smoothie.
2. Lasts years, not the six-month life reviewers warn of
Owners call the Power Elite plasticky and cheap feeling, and one review flatly says it is a six-month machine, not a five-year one. The same head-to-head test names the Ninja the sturdier build.
3. Blend and drink from one cup, skip the extra wash
The Ninja's 20oz cups double as travel cups with spout lids, so you blend, cap it, and leave. The Hamilton Beach needs its 40oz glass jar hand washed separately every time, extra work the daily smoothie drinker feels every morning.
4. That bigger jar is for pitchers, not solo smoothies
The Hamilton Beach's 40oz glass jar holds more than a single smoothie needs, built for batch blending for a family. Unless you are regularly blending for three or four people at once, the Ninja's personal cups actually match how most people drink a smoothie.
5. Yes it costs twice as much. Buy it anyway.
The Hamilton Beach lists near $29.99 to $39.95 against the Ninja's $89.99, a real gap. But reviewers report the Power Elite failing within months, so buying cheap once can mean buying twice, while the Ninja's sturdier build is made to outlast it.