Best Portable Soda Maker for Camping and Travel
Photograph: Andrew Watman
This one’s for the sparkling-obsessed person who can’t leave the house without their bubbly beverage in hand. The Aer1 system from Aerflo is a nifty water bottle that allows you to carbonate on the go—and it works really well. Rather than the large CO2 canisters that most home soda makers require, the Aer1 comes with 15 mini capsules, which look almost like bullets, and screw easily into the compartment that’s attached underneath the bottle cap. You fill the water high enough so that it hits this tube. Once the lid is screwed back on, you lightly push on the top to release the CO2 to your preference. After each push, you’re supposed to shake the bottle. That’s it. It produces a really refreshing carbonation.
The bottle is partially stainless steel, which helps keep it cold longer. It holds up to 500 milliliters of water if you plan to carbonate, but otherwise, it holds a total of 650 milliliters of water (you need to leave room for the bubbles). The company also provides the option to engrave your initials on it. The package comes with a small silicon capsule holder that allows you to carry up to three capsules on the go. It’s almost like carrying your earbuds case. I probably wouldn’t carry these in my pocket, but if i had a bag with me then I’d definitely throw it in there. Twelve refill capsules are also included, as well as a prepaid shipping box to send the empty ones back. —Andrew Watman
| Electric: | No |
| Bottle included: | Yes, hard plastic |
| Flavors included: | No |
| CO2 refills available: | Yes, $25 for 12 mini capsules |
| Warranty: | One year |
Best Soda Maker for Flavored Sodas
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Photograph: Andrew Watman
The Ninja Thirsti is more than a water carbonator. It’s a full-on pod flavored soda machine, great for kids or those who just can’t stand a life that doesn’t taste like dragonfruit. This one’s an electric, requirting an outlet, but it backs this up with some added functionality. It’s one of the only machines to offer multiple preset levels of carbonation, with three bubble intensities or even an option not to carbonate. It offers a pod-style flavor infusion option for soda-fountain-style soda making. The Thirsti helpfully indicates when when your CO2 is running low, and when the water in the 48-ounce reservoir’s not cold enough (though it doesn’t cool your water.)
The device comes with a box of flavor pods, including flavors like lemonade, dragonfruit, watermelon lime, and strawberry kiwi. Some of these flavors are labeled with functional terms like “hydrate,” “vitamins,” or “energy.” Contributing reviewer Andrew Watman wasn’t sure he felt any particular way after drinking sweet B-vitamin-infused sodas, though the “energy” pods do contain some caffeine.
| Electric: | Yes |
| Bottle included: | No |
| Flavors included: | Yes |
| CO2 refills available: | Yes, $42 for 2 canisters |
| Warranty: | One year |
Is It Cheaper to Make Your Own Soda?
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Bubbling up your own water is convenient, it saves space, and it’s by far the most eco-friendly option, versus stacking up cases of sparkling bottles in your fridge. But it’s probably not cheaper. Aside from the initial cost of the machine, you’ll need to continue to replenish CO2 canisters. These can run anywhere from $20 to $30 for a 60-liter canister, depending on the brand, which adds up, so you’re not necessarily saving money. Note that “60 liters” refers to the theoretical amount of soda you’d make with each canister. If you’re a zealous carbonator who likes it fizzy, this may be more like 30 liters.
Some brands also have recycling programs where you send in your empty canister and get it replaced with a full one so that you don’t just toss out the metal canisters. These recycling programs were included in my testing.
Carbonators are a relatively simple technology. Generally, the gadgets just need a CO2 source and a means of pumping the gas into some water. But different makers have different abilities to infuse carbon dioxide into water and to keep it there.
For consistency in assessing the best soda makers, I and contributing reviewer Andrew Watman tested each maker with filtered water made with the Zero Water filter, and kept at a refrigerator temperature, testing fizz not just at the moment of carbonation but also after two hours and the next day to see how the bubbles held up. For makers that could carbonate more than just water, I tested wine, juice, and soda. And for makers with filtration, I tested of course with unfiltered water—and used chemical indicators to back up filtration claims.
I assessed each soda water maker for ease of use, quality of bubbles, duration of carbonation in the provided container, ease of swapping out CO2 cartridges, and simple intangibles: Did I love my soda maker? We’ll spend so much time together: It’s a shame not to love it.
Also Tested
Photograph: Andrew Watman
Breville InFizz Fusion for $250: Like the Drinkmate Omnifizz, the Breville InFizz Fusion allows you to infuse kinda whatever liquid you’d like with carbon dioxide. It’s also got a much more durable-seeming construction than our top pick Omnifizz, and contributing reviewer Andrew Watman noted the nice haptics on the carbonation button and attractive die-cast metal colors. But he also found the device’s “Fusion Cap” a bit difficult to use, requiring a bit of finagling each time to snap the bottle into the machine and get the cap on properly. These little frustrations kept the device out of our top picks.
Photograph: Chris Haslam
Smeg Soda Maker for $200: There’s a lot to like about this Smeg soda maker. In a world of utlitarian or plasticky carbonators, Smeg is the only soda maker not named “Aarke” that one could plausibly call sexy, matte-finished with a clever knob control integrated imperceptibly into its sleek form. UK contributing reviewer Chris Haslam loved it (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but there are a few issues. It is the only soda maker I’ve tested that doesn’t come with a canister to start you off, Smeg doesn’t run a canister exchange system in the US (you’ll have to use SodaStream’s), the instructions are maddening and sparse, and the fit of the Tritan bottle to the machine is a little janky. If you are a pro at soda-making and canister-exchanging, and you want one that looks prettier on your countertop, this might be for you. But it’s a funny place to start.
Photograph: Andrew Watman
Aarke Carbonator III for $229: The metallic, slim Aarke is stylish—maybe even sexy—noted contributing reviewer Andrew Watman. This may be reason enough to love it, and invite it to live on your countertop, and unlike many it’s a one-touch system. But the bubbles are finer and more faint than other entrants, Watman observed, and you need to flip the machine upside down to screw the canister in. Nice if you like delicate bubbles, though.
Photograph: Aarke
Aarke Carbonator Pro for $350: The “Pro” is an upgrade model of the Carbonator 3, but with lovely glass bottles instead of plastic ones. This is all quite pretty, but comes with a bit of a steep price hike.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Drinkmate Spritzer for $80: The portable version of the Drinkmate OmniFizz, shaped a bit like a nail gun, offers many of the same wonderful fizzing capabilities as the OmniFizz—but in a smaller and more portable package. So what’s not to love? It’s a bit jankier. The fizz infuser mechanism clunks awkwardly forward and back, with great difficulty, making you feel in danger of breaking the plastic. And at one point, the carbonation trigger stayed jammed in the “on” position and blasted carbonation into empty air until I removed the CO2 tank outright. This was an error I wasn’t able to replicate, but it made me forever a bit leery.
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