Welcome to our favorite straw cups (and in one case, sippy) for kids from older toddlerhood through the pre-K years. These five drinking vessels are our highest recommendations for this age group, based on their ease of use and care, durability, eye appeal, and value. Let us know what you think of them in the comments if you've tried them!

Up next will be our Reader Rescue Poll, in which you can vote to have one of our Middle or Bottom Tier picks elevated to Top Pick status.

For cups for kids from ages one to twoish, check out our Baby and Toddler Division.

Contigo Autoseal

Design:A 9-oz. cup with a non-skid base, contoured body, and button-powered drinking spout.
Price: $9 | Shop for the Autoseal Kids Cup on Amazon | See all Contigo listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The simple button release of Contigo's Autoseal line give this product the best of both worlds when it comes to kids' cups: Total, unassailable leak-proof performance matched by a fast flow through a sizeable opening when its button-release is pressed. The non-skid base has a sneaker-like look and feel and this cup is sturdy, durable, and attractive. The button assembly contained in the lid could conceivably get dirty, but has enough holes to be easily flushed clean. It's hard to beat the features and "Aha!" functionality of this great cup, and we think it will be worth the price for a lot of families.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 10. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 7. Total points: 35/40.

Playtex Coolster Tumbler

Design: A 9-oz. insulated cup with Playtex's standard "figure-8" valve and a drinking slot much like an adult insulated mug.
Price: $5-$6 | Shop for the Playtex Coolster Tumbler on Amazon | See all Playtex listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Playtex's Coolster Tumbler offers an unbeatable package: A virtually indestructible insulated cup with Playtex's nearly-spill-proof, easy-to-clean valve. Playtex's astonishingly low price point for this product is certainly a factor of the manufacturing giant's economies of scale. But the ability to swap lids and valves across every cup in Playtex's line cannot be so easily dismissed: It is the sign of a company's belief in their full product line and their respect for consumers. Lids for newer Playtex sippys, like this one, also feature a tab that enables in-lid storage of the valve while washing and storing the cup. Like the Contigo, its size, look and functionality mean that this cup could last your child for several years without looking "too young." In sum, this is the kind of product that keeps a big name big.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 9. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 9. Total points: 35/40.

Nalgene Grip 'n' Gulp

Design: A 12-oz. translucent cup with a sippy-style spout and internal valve.
Price: $6-$9 | Shop for Nalgene Grip 'n' Gulp on Amazon | See all Nalgene listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Made of BPA-free Tritan copolyester, the industry-favored replacement for polycarbonate for its clarity and shatterproof strength, Nalgene's Grip 'n' Gulp is a worthy kids' version of the company's storied water bottles. We would have included this one in our Baby and Toddler Division due to its relatively slow flow - the Grip 'n' Gulp lacks any way for air to get in through a secondary route, so it "locks up" after moderate sips and requires the user to let go to allow more air back in - but its circumference and volume makes it more suitable for older children, and Z doesn't seem to mind the flow rate one bit. In fact, it's one of her favorite kids' cups, and it isn't hard to see why - Nalgene's Grip 'n' Gulp is a gorgeous sippy in hard candy colors. The internal silicone valve is chunky and easy to both install and to wash, and the cup is leakproof when left on its side, and leaks very little when shaken. Many parents will also appreciate the translucent body, which allows you to see how much liquid is left.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 8. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 9. Value: 6. Total points: 31/40.

Playtex Insulator Twist 'n Click Straw Cup

Design: A 9-oz. insulated cup with a two-piece straw and flip-top.
Price: $7 for two | Shop for the Playtex Insulator Twist 'n Click Straw Cup on Amazon.com | See all Playtex listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Built with the same insulated body as the Coolster Tumbler, Playtex's Insulator straw cup has one of the simplest and easiest to use straw assemblies we've seen. The two-part straw inserts more easily through the cup's lid because it does so through a straight hole, with the sliding top folding it down to create a leak-proof vessel when closed. The cup leaks only slightly when shaken upside down. Ultimately, we think Playtex's Insulator features the kind of straw assembly other straw cup manufactures have to design around, adding complexity to avoid getting into a patent war. After you take apart and put together this cup a few times, other, slightly more awkward straw and lid designs just seem to make a little less sense.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 10. Eye Appeal: 5. Value: 9. Total points: 30/40.

Sigg Kids' Water Bottle

Design:A .3 or .4 liter aluminum bottle with twist-to-open sport top and flip-top half-dome cover.
Price: $13-$20 | Shop for Sigg on Amazon.com | See all Sigg listings on the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Sigg's aluminum bottles are coated with an epoxy the company has demonstrated to be free of any BPA leaching, and in recent years they have made two improvements to one of the cutest kids' water bottles on the market: They've switched their flip-cap from a simple plastic loop to a hinge that helps keep it out of the user's face when drinking, and made their twist cap easier to open, which means little hands can do it themselves. We still think Sigg makes one of the best kids' bottles on the market, and it's hard to find something this sustainable and this cute at the same time.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 10. Value: 6. Total points: 31/40.

Have your kids used any of these cups? What do you, and they, think of them?

Welcome to the middle tier of our showdown! Yesterday we showed off five cups for kids from toddler to preschool age that were our least favorite. You may notice that the spread between yesterday's "best" and every one of the cups listed here is a single point - we found this division to have much tighter scores than those in our Baby and Toddler Division, so we encourage you to look at the ratings breakdowns to select cups that meet your own key criteria. This time there are some cups we really like even in the Bottom Tier - but the five cups below are, in our view, even better.

Thermos Funtainer/Foogo Straw Bottle

Design: Thermos' Foogo and Funtainer have gone through design changes over the last year that have brought their designs so close together they'd be indistinguishable except for their colors and graphics. Both feature a double-walled vacuum container with a plastic base and screw on lid with a three-part straw and button-powered flip top.
Price: $16 | Shop for Thermos straw bottles on Amazon | See all Thermos listings in the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products
Observations: Thermos' latest design is its easiest to put together, and is leak-proof when closed. The vacuum insulation keeps liquids cold for hours, even in a very hot car. ZRecs has had some reports of bases of these cups coming off in the dishwasher, posing serious laceration hazards, and have seen photos of the damaged bottles; however, our own use of Thermos' Foogo and Funtainer over time does not substantiate these claims directly, and we believe this cup should be safe if hand-washed - which we'd recommend for any plastic cup anyway. We strongly urge consumers interested in this bottle to hand wash it and to pay attention to the fit of the base, but believe it is a good investment and a great kids' straw bottle.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 9. Value: 7. Total points: 30/40.

Nuby No-Spill Flip n' Sip Cup

Design:A smaller, two-handled version of Nuby's No-Spill Flip It Straw Cup, which ranked at the top of this division's bottom tier. Note: This cup looks almost identical to a previous version of this cup, the 2-Handle Cup with Flip-It Straw Top, which contains BPA and is still on some store shelves and sold on Amazon.com. Only purchase this cup if it is labeled as "BPA-free," or you are probably buying the old, BPA-containing cup!
Price: $5 | View all Nuby listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The two-piece straw is compatible with Nuby's larger cup if you have the extension, and this one's a cinch to hand wash and has fewer parts to lose. Overall, we like this straw cup as an easy-to-use, early straw cup for older toddlers.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 8. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 6. Value: 8. Total points: 30/40.

Innate Me-Me

Design:The Me-Me is a stainless steel and plastic cup cup with a sippy lid which comes either with an indentation that fits a silicone band or without. Its lid has an interior silicone valve and an air vent with a small silicone plug.
Price: $20 ($15 for cup, $5 for sport lid)
Observations: The sippy-lidded Me-Me was the top-scoring contender in our Baby and Toddler division, thanks to its secure cap fit and its well-sculpted combination of stainless steel, plastic, and a silicone band that eliminates the problem of unmanageable silicone sleeves while offering the same functionality (grip and insulation for little hands). To be perfectly honest, Innate's Me-Me would be a Top Pick if it was sold with in this combination of the sport-top lid and cup body. Instead, consumers have to buy the Me-Me with the sippy lid and then buy the sport top separately. This means it makes great sense if you start with this cup when your toddler is in the sippy stage, but for those buying one for an older child now, the value is reduced.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 10. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 5. Total points: 30/40.

Munchkin 9 oz. Insulated Straw Cup

Design: A 9-oz. insulated cup with a flip-straw lid and one-piece silicone straw.
Price: $8 | View all Munchkin listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Munchkin's Big Kid Insulated Cups have gone through cup redesign, but they are still very durable, and the company stuck with their basic flip-straw design, which we'd argue is the best in the industry for all plastic straw cups. The straw-flipping mechanism detaches easily from the cup but fits firmly, making it easy to reach all parts for cleaning and easy to thread the straw back in, and the one-piece straw means fewer parts to lose. The straw is also made of a slightly more durable-feeling silicone than competitors' straw bottles or Munchkin's own Sport Bottle. Our only complaint about this cup is that Munchkin chose not to make its 9-oz. cup lids compatible with its other sippy and straw cups, diminishing the value of a relatively expensive plastic straw cup.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 8. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 6. Total points: 30/40.

Munchkin Mighty Grip Flip Straw Cup

Design: A 10-oz. cup with a flip-open straw.
Price: $5 | Shop for the Mighty Grip Flip Straw Cup on Amazon | View all Munchkin listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The Mighty Grip features the same basic flip-straw design we love in Munchkin's Insulated Straw Cup - the straw-flipping lever is easily removed to allow the straw to be removed and replaced, and for all parts to be cleaned easily. This cup's competitive price for its level of quality makes it one of the better inexpensive straw cups out there.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 7. Value: 7. Total points: 30/40.

Tomorrow, our Top Picks for sippy and straw cups in the Toddler to Pre-K Division. After that, we'll move on to youth and adult water bottles!

The five cups below are among our least favorite sippy and straw cups for kids ages two-point-fiveish to fiveish; elsewhere on Z Recommends you can see how we ranked 24 sippy cups for babies and early toddlers, or what we named the World's Worst Sippy Cup and the World's Worst Straw Cup. Yes, we are obsessed with this stuff! It's why you love us...

A reminder of the rules of engagement for this division:

• Look to the scores to see why we ranked a cup the way we did; sometimes there were things we really liked about a product, but another category killed its chances at a good ranking.


• We did not leak-test straw cups except when their lids were closed, and all the cups in this showdown passed that test without incident.


• We'd love to hear your impressions of a product, whether you agree or disagree with our assessment - we (and other readers) love to hear how these products fared in your own home, as no design is perfect for everyone, and each is sure to have its advocates.


• Last but not least, don't forget that you'll have the chance at the end of the week to vote up a cup you see here or in our upcoming Middle Tier that you believe deserves Top Pick status!

And now, on to the rankings! Our Middle Tier and Top Picks for this division will follow tomorrow and Thursday.

Nuby No-Spill Flip It Straw Cup

Design: A 12-oz hourglass cup with a flip lid and three-part straw (top portion, firm straw, and straw extension).
Price: $3.50 | Shop for Nuby's No-Spill Flip It Straw Cup on Amazon | View all Nuby listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Nuby's flip-top lid features a straw design that takes a bit more fiddling to thread through the opening than competing designs by Munchkin and cannot be completely disassembled, leaving some nooks and crannies that cannot be completely exposed for cleaning. The soft silicone straw tip will lose its shape over time and could lead to increased leaks, although the flip-it top offers a firm seal when closed. Our favorite thing about this cup is that the straw assembly's two sections make the components interoperable with a smaller Nuby straw cup, which made our Middle Tier of ratings (not yet published).
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 6. Value: 8. Total points: 29/40.

Zak! Designs Licensed Character Aluminum Bottle

Design: An aluminum bottle with a pop-up sport-style top and built-in cap with a flexible plastic loop to hold it on. Bright paints and popular licensed characters.
Price: $13. | View all Zak! listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The cap fits snugly but can take a bit of fussing to press into place, and the neck is narrow, which means ice is out of the question and cleaning can be a chore. Lid and bottle are interchangeable with Born Free's stainless steel bottle, but not with Sigg bottles.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 6. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 6. Total points: 27/40.

Munchkin Mighty Grip Sports Bottle

Design: A plastic bottle with a "sport" style lid.
Price: $4 | Shop for Munchkin's Mighty Grip Sports Bottle on Amazon | View all Munchkin listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: What can you say about this bottle? The narrowed gripping area of the bottle makes this a bit of a pain to clean, and the silicone straw-like spout won't stand for much wear and tear. Plus, it's pretty ugly. Decent for the youngest segment of our demographic here, as it encourages straw-like mouth formations that are developmentally friendly, but otherwise, meh.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 5. Eye Appeal: 5. Value: 5. Total points: 22/40.

Nuby Sports Sipper Cup

Design: A plastic bottle with a "sport" style lid.
Price: $3 | Shop for Nuby's Sports Sipper Cup on Amazon | View all Nuby listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Nuby's Sports Sipper doesn't have a lot to recommend it for young users other than its price tag. A "grippy" surface attached to the bottle's side doesn't add much for young users, and the super-soft spout deteriorates with use. See Munchkin's Mighty Grip listing above for more - these cups are functionally identical.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 5. Eye Appeal: 4. Value: 6. Total points: 22/40.

Born Free Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Design: A sturdy stainless-steel bottle in 9 or 12 ounces that has a sport style top opened by a front button, and a built-in cap with a flexible plastic loop to hold it on.
Price: $11/$14 | Shop for Born Free's stainless steel water bottle on Amazon | View all Born Free listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Born Free's bottle is heavy-duty and has a clean look, but the logo sticker begins peeling after a few uses. The lid has a complex tangle of parts "under the hood" that allow the button to function, but the result is that they are exposed to the elements when the bottle is in use; for any liquid other than water, this means limited access to parts that can require cleaning. The cap fits snugly but sometimes with a bit of difficulty. The narrow neck means no ice for the kiddos, and it can be a pain to clean. Bottle and lid are interchangeable with the Zak! aluminum bottle, above, but not with Sigg bottles; the failure to make parts interoperable with Born Free's own bottles is a missed opportunity.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 3. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 6. Value: 5. Total points: 21/40.

You might be tempted to toss a few Rubbermaid Litterless Juice Boxes in your cart at the grocery store, and we wouldn't blame you - they sort of creep up on you in the food storage aisle, while their closest price competitors, colorful $3 products by Nuby and Munchkin, are off somewhere with the baby stuff. The Litterless Juice Box also has a durable, hard plastic straw built into the lid, so in theory they should last longer than straw cups with silicone straws you have to occasionally separate from their cup lids. And if you're looking for a slim drink container to fit into a child's lunch box, this may be just the thing.

But for young children, the Litterless Juice Box has three problems, two minor, one major. First, it has a vent that is really just for show - it utterly fails to allow air into the container when drinking, which means suction builds up quickly and allows only for small drinks. Second, its straw is so flimsy, you'll think someone just cut a disposable straw a little short and dropped it in the package, yet the diameter does not match most standard straws, so you cannot easily replace it. But the worst infraction of this little cube is that, just like the juice boxes that are its namesake, the Litterless Juice Box can't hold it's juice: A gentle squeeze pushes liquid up through the straw, and a more forceful one ejects it like the world's best squirt gun. How long will it take your four-year-old to figure that out?

Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 5. Durability: 4. Eye Appeal: 3. Value: 4. Total points: 16/40.

It took us a couple weeks longer than planned, but we're ready to launch the BPA-Free Sippy and Straw Cup Showdown, Toddler to Pre-K Division tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for being patient while we put 17 kids' cups through their paces as life continued throwing life events our way.

We covered infant and toddler sippy cups in our Baby and Toddler Division, and we're moving on now to cups for kids you aren't sure you can call "toddlers" anymore - everything from two-year-olds wiser than their years up through five-year-olds who could still use a little help. Some of these cups are great for older kids, too, but we're focusing here on how well they perform for children in the "toddler to pre-K" age range. This is the demographic where straw cups, sports tops, larger volumes, and cooler designs start playing a bigger role. We nixed the spill testing, as it's almost impossible to make a straw cup that doesn't leak when fully opened, unless you make it difficult to drink from.

As in our Baby and Toddler Division, every cup we are including in this showdown meets the guidelines of the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products, meaning we've researched its chemical status with well-placed company officials at every brand and have given it a clean bill of health based on their published and verbal statements. Additionally, we've tested them all - we don't do armchair "reviewing" here at Z Recommends... everything we discuss has been thoroughly tested and evaluated here at the HQ.

Our first stop in this division of the showdown will, once again, be the crowning of a "Worst" - last time it was the World's Worst Sippy Cup; this time it's the Worst Straw Cup. We'll reveal it tomorrow morning and then step into the bottom of our three tiers of rankings tomorrow evening, with Middle Tier rankings revealed Tuesday and Top Picks announced on Wednesday or Thursday.

For those that may not have noticed, the Safe Sippy rocked the house in our Reader Rescue Poll from the Baby and Toddler Division, earning 41% of the nearly 200 votes cast. We've added the listing to the Top Picks post, and will be offering readers the same chance to raise an unjustly slighted cup in our Toddler to Pre-K Division to Top Pick status.

As always, we love to hear your own thoughts on the cups we rank and how they have worked - or haven't - for your family!

Here's a roundup of the rankings from the ZRecs 2009 Sippy Cup Showdown's Baby and Toddler Division.

Top Picks

• Innate Me-Me


• Playtex Insulator


• Tilty


• Philips AVENT Insulated Cup


• Thinkbaby Trainer Cup


• Munchkin Cupsicle


• Playtex Sipster Spill-Proof Cup


• Reader Pick: Kid Basix Safe Sippy

Middle Tier

• Boon Fluid


• Klean Kanteen Sippy


• Playtex First Sipster Spill-Proof Cup


• Philips AVENT Magic Cup Sportster


• Munchkin Mighty Grip Spill-Proof Cup


• Munchkin Trainer Cup


• Nuby No-Spill Gripper Cup


• Nuby No-Spill Cup with Soft Spout and Handles


• Born Free Training Cup/Drinking Cup


• Thermos Foogo Sippy

Bottom Tier

• Kid Basix Safe Sippy


• Philips AVENT Magic Cup


• Munchkin 9-oz Sippy Cup


• Learning Curve/First Years Sesame Street Spill-proof Cup


• First Years Take 'n Toss


• World's Worst Sippy Cup Award: Gerber Graduates Tossables