Joel J. Amaro
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2025
Its okay. It does what it says it will do. Its easy to use. It will save you some money if you use it consistently. Grabbing a can is more convenient though.
Maddy
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2018
READ THIS if you're evaluating overall price of using this unit. What I did not read ANYWHERE was about the CO2 cartridges as well as the rebate (thank you) offered with this starter kit. Pricing replacement cartridges kinda expensive for $30 - $40! I called mfgr - very professional rep explained how it all works. You take the starter CO2 that comes in package to Walmart (or Target) customer service & they will charge you $14.99 for a full size replacement CO2 cartridge (and you give them the "starter" CO2 cartridge). Apprehensive at first, but customer svc dept Walmart actually had a sign posted and plenty of cartridges in stock. I'm so glad for initial rebate & phone call because I was going to order couple CO2 cartridges, but I decided to just order 1 so when 1 runs out I have a spare until I can get to Walmart to swap again for $14.99. I was relieved that the cartridges are only $14.99 during trade-in process.I can actually do it myself and it's EASY. NO twisting, no individual cartridges, not too heavy or bulky. We've tried a couple different kinds of "bubble" water makers. Just don't over fill these bottles, really, or there will be a little water on the counter. Otherwise there is no dripping or any spillage whatsoever. Owned it about a month now & I use it daily. I ordered the 2 pack Sodastream Twin pack water bottles so I could have 3 bottles total so the water could get & stay cold in fridg. Thanks America's Test Kitchen as well as other reviewers for detail about this.
Jerry Saperstein
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2017
For decades, I’d been drinking two, three or four soft drinks a day. My doctor gave me a choice: adopt a low-carb lifestyle real quick or deal with the not pleasant consequences.SodaStream helped me break the soft-drink habit in with surprising ease. I discovered, to my surprise, that carbonated tap water was more than sufficient to quench whatever desire I had for soft-drinks. Not only did I kick the soft-drink habit with amazing ease, but my daily water consumption went up like a rocket.When we go out now for dinner, I carry a bottle of my SodaStream carbonated water with me.Laugh if you will, but my a1c level dropped like a rock since I started using SodaStream and following a low-carb diet.This model is one of SodaStream’s most strikingly designed. The carbonator bottle slides in from the bottom and attaches to a brass fitting. There are no valves or screws to fiddle with. Just screw the bottle into its fitting and you’re done. There is a penalty to be paid for this simplicity: there is no visual warning of when the CO2 bottle is almost empty. You literally have to guess a bit to determine if the cartridge is empty.Two plastic bottles are packed with the unit. We fill them with ordinary tap water and put them in the refrigerator until we want carbonated water. You simply place the bottle into a minimalist frame underneath the carbonator nozzle and press it back toward the unit.You then press down on the front top of the unit and the CO2 is released into the bottle. Three diodes indicate the level of carbonation. When the desired level of carbonation is reached, let go of the top and remove the bottle. You can use flavorings. We’ve used their diet cola and like it.No plumbing or electrical connections are required. No maintenance either, other than wiping it down from time to time. The one thing I am not clear on is what happens when the internal battery powering the diodes goes out. I hate to think of this as yert another “disposable” appliance.Overall, I love this machine. Drinking carbonated water is surprisingly refreshing and making that carbonated water couldn’t be easier.Jerry
Gérard
Reviewed in Canada on August 10, 2017
The product is broken and it is very difficult to obtain information and reimbursement.
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2017
Update: After using these somewhat frequently for two years, I've added a star to my original review because the device appears to be holding up. Still not convinced I'm saving money vs store bought water but it's worth it to reduce plastic waste and not having to lug water back and forth since I don't have a car.Jury is still out on this since I haven't had it very long. Wish Amazon would either wait longer to ask for a review or send a reminder for a follow up because, at least personally, I take a lot of reviews here with a grain of salt since 1) some people don't even appear to be providing a review for the correct product, 2) reviewers often complain about things that really have nothing to do with the product itself, 3) reviews aren't really about using the product...more just on quick delivery or good packaging, 4) reviews are left soon after receipt or only after a few uses which can't possibly speak to the products durability. Anyway, the one thing I would stress here is that this is not something you should buy primarily based on the idea that you will save money -- my local grocery in an expensive metro area almost always offers carbonated local spring water for around one dollar a bottle. I don't think I'm really going to save much on that price by using this sodastream. However, it is worth noting that, by using this, you will be saving the environment from more and more plastic waste and it is much more convenient than lugging the bottles back from the store especially if you don't have access to a car. Lastly, feel like store bought sparkling water is more carbonated even if is use the highest setting and that the carbonator barely fills the estimated amount per bottle...if it even hits that mark. The mini starter I got barely filled a few bottles so I think overall this doesn't really add up. If you want convenience and want to reduce waste then I'd recommend this. If you are looking to save $$ then I'd probably go with store bought as it tastes better and is likely no more expensive in the long run that owning this. Will update if I have reason to change my mind after longer use.
Customer
Reviewed in Canada on October 26, 2016
Works pretty good and as per the warning, carbonating water only, is highly recommended. The one time I tried to add more carbonation with some cream soda syrup already added did not turn out well; it pretty much fizzed 75% of it onto the counter. Have you ever tried to clean up crap like this? Everything is sticky. I suppose soap and water woulda helped to clean up and I almost considered just licking it off the counter if I wasn't so afraid of some kind of salmonella poisoning.