Portable ice makers are worth it if you hate slow ice

Portable ice makers are worth it if you go through more ice than your freezer can make in a day. If you’re a normal person who just wants a couple cubes in a drink after work, keep using trays.

The big selling point is speed. A countertop ice maker can drop a batch in about ten minutes, while a freezer tray takes anywhere from four hours to overnight. That’s also the catch: because they freeze fast, the ice is smaller, softer, and melts quicker. It’s fine for chilling a glass of water, but it’s not great for a whiskey you want to sip slowly.

Trays are basically free, never break down, and take up zero counter space. The only real downside is the wait. So the question is whether that wait actually bothers you. If you host parties, have kids who constantly steal ice, or just hate running out mid-summer, a portable machine is a genuinely useful appliance