The Pumpables Genie Advanced is a portable electric breast pump designed to provide breastfeeding mothers with flexibility and efficiency. Below is a comprehensive review to help you determine if it’s the right choice for your pumping needs. Use the code THEBFMAMA for 10% off.
The Pumpables Genie Advanced is one of the top three breast pumps moms ask me about. It is a popular option among breastfeeding moms as it’s touted for portability, power, and customizability, and it truly does boast all of those features.
In this review, I break down the main features of this pump, share my thoughts on the “Liquid Shield Kit,” and include reviews from real moms who use it. There are a lot of pumps out there, and I want to ensure you feel empowered to choose a pump that’s right for your body – not just because all the influencers out there make you think you need it.
I am an IBCLC who works with mothers who pump regularly. Although this review is not based on my personal experience pumping milk (as I am not currently lactating), I have made an effort to make it as thorough as possible, and I have handled the topic myself.
Overview of the Pumpables Genie Advanced
- Type: Electric Portable Breast Pump
- Best For: Exclusive Pumping, Working Moms, On-the-Go Use
- Price Range: $$ ($150-180)
- Where to Buy: Pumpables Website
- Coupon Code: THEBFMAMA
Pros and Cons:
As with any pump, the Pumpables has pros and cons to consider. While it’s a great option for some, there may be some features that are important to YOU that it may or may not have. Here’s my list of pros and cons:
Pros:
- Compact – you can easily hold it with one hand
- Lightweight – around 250 grams, so it’s not going to hurt you back carrying it around (plus it has a nice little lanyard so you can wear it around your neck)
- Strong suction with varying levels so you can adapt it to your needs
- You can adjust the cycle and speed for both the letdown and expression modes, which isn’t always the case with portable pumps
- It features a programmable option, where it will record your pump session and then do the same settings next time.
- Quieter operation (not silent) – around 45db
- You can choose to single or double pump easily
- Rechargeable battery with up to three hours of charge time.
- Their “Liquid Shield Kit” has a variety of sizes from 15mm-29mm
- You can easily pair it with other flange fits (such as Maymom) so you can have more flange types and sizes; including with wearable cups.
- High customer satisfaction
- Pretty affordable as far as breast pumps go.
- May be covered by insurance (check coverage here)
Cons:
- Some moms feel they have to use stronger settings to get the same impact as a Spectra
- Flange kit is not included with the initial cost (though in some ways this is nice, because if you don’t want to use the Liquid Flange Kit, you won’t be having to purchase something you don’t like)
- Takes 4.5 hours to fully charge
Key Features & Specs
- Suction Strength: 15-330 mmHg, surpassing many standard pumps. Provides a wide variety of power settings.
- Modes & Settings: Features letdown (stimulation) and expression modes with adjustable suction levels (up to level 10)
- Portability & Battery Life: Weighs approximately 250 grams (less than 1 lb); offers up to 4 hours of pumping time on a full charge.
- Noise Level: Operates quietly, allowing for discreet use in various settings.
- Flange Sizes Included: Liquid flange kit has sizes 15, 17, 19, 21, 25, and 29 are available at an additional cost – you can pair with many other flange kits and wearable cups.
- Ease of Cleaning: Contains multiple parts that require hand washing; not all components are dishwasher safe.
- Connectivity: Does not feature Bluetooth or app integration.
How to Use Pumpables with Other Flange Kits
Pumpables recognizes the importance of using a correctly sized flange with a breast pump, and that not everyone is going to want to use their Liquid Shields. They don’t make it difficult at all to pair their pump with other flange kits.
How you pair them will vary depending on what flange kit you use. I am going to show you how to use these with the Maymom flange kit, because that’s what I most often recommend for most people. However, you can easily pair it with your Spectra, Medela, and most other major pumps.
What You Need:
- Maymom Widemouth Adapter
- Backflow Protectors
- Duckbills
- Pumpables Tubing
- Optional – if you don’t like the Pumpables bottles, you can buy the Maymom collection bottles
Put together the backflower protectors and connect to the wide-mouth adapter.
Put the duckbills in place in the adapter.
Place the adapter on top of your bottles.
With the pumpables tubing, remove the white piece, and then connect the tubing from the backflow protector to the pump.
And you’re done!
What I Like About This Pump:
Overall, I think this is a very solid breast pump. I love that it offers portability without sacrificing the power. Here are some of the main features that stand out to me:
- The wide range of suction levels allows for a personalized pumping experience, closely mimicking natural breastfeeding patterns.
- I love the size of this pump. It’s very light weight, you can wear it around your neck.
- I love that you can easily use different sized flanges with it.
- Many exclusive pumpers rave about it, which I believe shows it is powerful enough to be used as your primary breast pump.
- I think it’s a good alternative to the Baby Buddha, especially if you don’t respond to the BB very well.
Potential Downsides
There’s really not a lot that I dislike about this pump! I have found that while some insurance companies will cover it, not all do – and sometimes it will be subject to an “upgrade” fee.
It sounds like if you do use the liquid shield kit, you will have to replace the inserts semi-regularly, which adds additional cost to the long-term used of the pump.
The screen is VERY bright, and there’s not dimming feature, which can make it a pain the middle of the night. However, most moms overcome this by just putting a blanket of it. I think I’ve seen that some people connect a dimmer of some type.
It seems hit or miss about who responds to this breast pump the best. Some moms have said it’s more effective than other pumps (such as the Spectra) and others say the opposite. I do think that if you don’t respond super well to the Spectra, it would be a good option. I’ve found some don’t like the vibration pattern of the Spectra (which can be a bit odd!).
What Real Moms Are Saying
It doesn’t take long to find many moms across the Internet praising the Pumpables Genie Advanced. While not everyone raves about it, I would say that’s the general consensus. Here are some reviews from my followers on Instagram, as well as from forums online:
“Love this pump – compact and quiet. It works so well!”
“I LOVE it!! Best output with their liquid shield kit and pump. Literally saved my EP journey.”
This same mom ended up private messaging me this:
“Okay continuing in the comments because I am SUCH a fangirl for Pumpables!!! I got it at 9mpp because I wanted something more portable as an exclusive pumper. Wearables do not work for me so I knew I need something with actual flanges, and PUmapbles was recommended to me as I have elastic nipples. Let me tell you I LOVE this dang pump. I get better output than my Spectra, I can sit on the floor and play with my babe while Ipump, and it’s so much easier to bring to and from work and on the go. I even went on a bachelorette trip this weekend and brought only Pumpables and the girls commented on how nice t was that I wasn’t hooked up to a wall and could sit by the pool while Ipumped! Forever raving about the PGA!”
“I have to jack the suction up to match what my Spectra does, but it’s quiet and I like it a lot!”
“Worked really well for me with my second. And love how portable it is!”
“Genie Advanced is a nice little worker. I used it for nine months with my last baby – I haven’t busted it out more than once for this baby I just had a couple days ago but it’s next in the queue (I’m suing my Spectra to start off.
I love the settings, size, and power of the GA. Wish it was a hair quieter, but I’m spoiled and used to my Spectra Gold being a mouse.
I’d skip their liquid kits unless you can afford to replace the inserts twice a month (for exclusive pumpers) it’s just too expensive. I used different flanges that are still silicone but didn’t require such frequent replacement, I like pumpin’ pals with standard duckbills and backflow protectors that get replaced about every month or so with 5+ppd)”
Here is a review from a mom who used both the Spectra and the Pumpables:
“I use the Spectra most of the time because I have multiple flange sets and only have one of the Pumpable (not a fan of the fridge hack) but:
- I don’t notice a difference in milk output between the two.
- The Pumpable is easier to carry and has a longer tube (pro and con of the tube) and seems to have a good battery life.
- You can record a program on the Pumpable so you can have sets as you want/need vs having to manually change from letdown mode to express mode like the Spectra.
- The liquid shields are really comfortable! Kind of hated to see through to make sure your nipple is aligned correctly (at least for me) but feels better than the hard flanges. The liquid shields suck around your boob and I’m 90% sure that ith helped unlclogged (sic) a clog I had that was on the lower side of my boob that was hard to massage.
- My Spectra is definitely quite than the Pumpable but it’s not crazy loud. I can stop pumping next to little man and he hasn’t been woken up.
- The pumpable collection cups don’t have super clear amount lines so it can be hard to read. But the Maymom wide mouth bottles still fit them so you can swap out if you want.
- The Liquid shield feels easier to clean because it’s 2 large parts (liquid shields and other shield) but it’s double the space if you use a counter top dryer/sanitzer.
So overall I’m happy with my Pumpable and don’t see a difference in the amount between my Spectra and Pumpable.”
“Pumpables Genie Advanced is awesome. You can use it with any flange setup you like. You can control suction and cycle speed. The only people who might like it are if you get better output with very fast cycling, then you might be a Zomee girl (their pumps give me the willies!) or if you need very high suction then maybe Baby Buddha would be better. Put the Pumpables has excellent suction strength. Before I regulated I only needed about a 2, then I went up to 3, now that Ihave my period back I’m at a 4.”
“I am 6 months into exclusively pumping and I now only use my GA. I am at 4 ppd now but when I was doing more I also used Legendairy Milk Cups sometimes when I had to pump on the go in public or if I had to rock my baby to sleep while pumping. Now I mainly just use the liquid shield kit. very early in my pumping journey I had a Spectra and I had a similar output but not being changed to the wall was huge for me.”
One user shared, “I love it. It’s been my primary for almost three months now and I pump around 40 oz. a day.”
“I really wanted to love the pumpables but I get about 1/2 the output with the GA vs my Spectra.”
And a mom respond to this, “Same!! I think it’s the vibration!”
However, some have noted that the silicone flanges, known as Liquid Kits, may not be suitable for everyone.
Another user mentioned “I also got the liquid shield kits and was not as much of a fan. Instead, I use the Medela flanges and bottles as I get the best output with them.”
“Absolutely LOVE my Pumpables GA! I get the same output as with my Spectra but I’m about 7 min less time per pump. It’s so portable I love it, love to clip it to my pants pocket or the belt of the robe. I love the comfort of the liquid shields but find them really annoying to put together for my first pump of the day when I’m sleepy. Also expensive to replace. I use my spectra parts with it usually. My Legendairy Collection Cups work way better with the Pumables GA than with my Spectra so I use those more. I’d recommend this pump to anyone, makes me less annoyed to pump so sometimes I”ll sneak in an extra pump or too (sic) during the day. Only complaints are the screen is bright as hell in the dark, I just cover it with a blanket and I think the side buttons are “touchy” meaning it can be easy for me to bump and pause the program. Not a big deal but annoying sometimes. As far as the brightness the Pumpables Facebook group has some kind of dimmer thing they loved, I loven’t bothered as I don’t care that much.”
How It Compares to Other Popular Pumps
| Feature | Pumpables Genie Advanced | Spectra S1 Plus | Medela Pump in Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suction Strength | Up to 330 mmHg | Up to 320 mmHg | Up to 270 mmHg |
| Portability | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Noise Level | Quiet | Quiet | Moderate |
| Price | $$ | $$$ | $$ |
| App Tracking | No | No | No |
Who This Pump Is Best For
Great for:
- Moms seeking a portable and powerful pumping solution.
- Those who require a discreet pump for use in various settings.
Not ideal for:
- Moms who prefer integrated app connectivity for tracking sessions.
- Those who desire a pump with fewer components for easier cleaning.
Where to Buy the Pumpables Genie Advanced
Final Verdict: Is It Worth It?
The Pumpables Genie Advanced offers a compelling blend of portability, powerful suction, and customizable settings, making it a strong contender for mothers seeking flexibility in their pumping routine. While the cleaning process may be more involved due to multiple parts, the overall performance and user satisfaction make it a worthwhile investment for many.
More Articles You May Enjoy:
- 12 Tips for Overcoming Bottle Refusal in Breastfed Babies
- Two Simple Ways to Scald Breast Milk to Fix High Lipase
- How to Increase Breast Milk Supply Fast: 11 Expert Tips
