It was surprising to see the discipline with which many readers avoided naming a favorite sippy cup that hadn't appeared in the Middle or Bottom Tier of this showdown, and we've really enjoyed the engaged discussion among readers about those they felt deserved more or less acclaim than we'd doled out to them. We've even learned a few things we should be looking for when assessing sippys, and we suspect that if you've spent any time reading the comments on those posts, which we highly recommend, that you've learned a thing or two from other ZRecs readers as well. We are proud to have some gifted reviewers among our audience - published and non - and we really appreciate it when so many of you take the time to share your observations about products with us. It also makes us feel less crazy when we sit and talk for hours (in developing ZRecs posts, of course!) about the merits and demerits of this or that product. Those we spend time with may occasionally roll their eyes at our deliberations, but not you!

The list of seven sippy cups that follows consists of ones we believe are the best sippy cups for infants and young toddlers that money can buy, based on some combination of ease of use and care, durability, eye appeal, and value for their price. These products are all now ZRecs Top Picks, which means they are the kind of product we can recommend quickly and casually to anyone we meet, without knowing much about them or their children, and feel confident that when we see them a week or a month later they will still be using it, and will be happy with it.

This slate of seven fantastic sippy cups reflects a variety of approaches to the design challenges inherent in creating durable, functional drinking vessels for the little savages frolicking in the shallow end of human civilization, and we think each of them is an outrageous success. With that said, we'd like to offer this list with a few very important caveats.

• The points tell the story. All sippy cup designs have strengths and weaknesses, and while we try to explain all of this in our Observations, it's the Ratings that really tell the full story. Since our rankings are based on the total points across four categories, a cup that may not appeal to you (or, overall, to us) might still be a Top Pick because it performs so exceptionally well in other categories. Comments that are most helpful to other readers will debate whether a cup deserved their score in a particular category, not protest the outcome of the equation.


• If your favorite sippy (including all straw cups) hasn't been covered in this showdown at all, we may be saving it for our Toddler to Pre-K Division, which we'll launch next week. There were a lot of cups that could be used by early sippers but which we felt were best saved for older children, and we've saved those for that round of our Sippy Cup Showdown in order to give them the best hearing possible. That Division includes some of our all-time favorite sippy cups, so we can hardly wait!


• We will be opening a "Reader Rescue" poll somewhere on ZRecs tomorrow, which offers you the chance to vote on the single cup you feel was most deserving of being a Top Pick but was overlooked based on our own ignorance, bias, or sheer silliness. Readers who wrote in to sing the praises of a cup we panned, this means you! We'll post a note when this poll is live on the site so that none of our RSS or email subscribers miss it.

Now, on to the sippys!

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: $14-18 | Shop for the Me-Me on Amazon.com
Observations: Consumers would rather pay more for a couple of sippys, and then habituate themselves to keeping track of them, are often also those who would prefer to be providing their child with a metal sippy cup than a plastic one. For consumers with these priorities (and we can empathize, because we count ourselves among them) the Me-Me is the best stainless steel cup we've ever tested. The cap screws on securely but smoothly with no overtightening required, and the cup's sculpted "hip" area and matching silicone band eliminate the problem of unmanageable silicone sleeves while offering the same functionality (grip and insulation for little hands). The cup doesn't leak on its side or when turned upside down, and only very slightly when shaken. We like the plastic "bumper" base, which is similar to the Foogo's, and the sturdy removable handles. Best of all, this sippy is compatible with a sold-separately Innate sport top, which means this durable cup could be getting several years of use. Our one complaint about this cup, but one that significantly impacts its ease of care, is the design of the secondary air valve, which uses a small silicone plug that is easy to lose and takes concentration to set firmly in the lid. Despite this chink in its armor, the Me-Me came out at the top of our rankings and is one of the seven sippys we'd highly recommend for infants and young toddlers.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 5. Durability: 10. Eye Appeal: 10. Value: 8. Total points: 33/40.

Playtex Insulator

Design: A 6 or 9 oz. insulated cup with printed characters and hard plastic Playtex lid with standard Playtex silicone spout and air lock. Newer stock features Twist 'n Click lids that are supposed to provide you with an additional indicator that your sippy is closed tightly.
Price: $5 for one or $9 for two | Shop for Playtex Insulator sippy cups on Amazon.com | View Playtex listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Overall, we were surprised to see such a seemingly modest cup at the top of the heap, but the more we thought about it, the more sense it made. The Playtex Insulator is thin-walled and pliable for an insulated cup, which means it's lightweight; it's also small in stature, making it easy for the youngest sippy users to handle. Like other Playtex sippys, the flow is moderate, which means it will be relevant to your child for a while, and the hard spout means it won't get chewed up or have its flow altered by mouth mashing. Playtex spouts are easy to put in and take out, don't fall out easily inside the cup, and can be stored in a notch in the lid for top-rack dishwashing. We appreciate the company's commitment to cross-model compatibility of parts - Unlike some of their biggest competitors, Playtex's lids that are interchangeable across styles, and their valves are interchangeable, too; even the new Twist 'n Click lids were designed for complete compatibility with older cups. All of this means that a bin or drawer full of Playtex cups won't require lots of fiddling to match the proper cup with its lid, and that the loss of a lid or weakening of a silicone valve won't render any cup obsolete. The use of non-licensed characters is also welcome, and the designs are cute and imaginative. Like other Playtex cups, the Insulator is leak-resistant but does leak slightly if shaken. Overall, for $5 we think it's hard to find a better buy than this sippy cup.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 6. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 10. Total points: 33/40.

Tilty

Design: A seven-ounce cup with a tilted "floor" that allows children to drink more easily with less tipping of the cup. Comes with a snap-on plastic lid with a molded plastic spout that fits in one position due to a notch-and-tab design.
Price: $6-10 for two | Shop for Tilty sippy cups on Amazon.com | View the Tilty's listing in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The angle of this cup's "floor" does allow liquid to flow more freely with a smaller overall weight and quantity of liquid. The lid snaps easily into position, and the cup's wide mouth makes it easy to clean despite its angled interior. We love the Tilty because it transitions easily and naturally to an open-lip cup, and rivals the Steadycup for its toddler-friendly, first-cup design. The heads of this bootstrap start-up have done one other thing very right: Priced their product to compete well against companies with much better economies of scale and distribution channels to ensure that their product can take hold. At prices as low as $6 for two Tilty cups, this is one brand it's easy to take a chance on - and, as long as you can live with cups that don't stack, one you won't regret.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 10. Durability: 6. Eye Appeal: 9. Value: 8. Total points: 33/40.

Philips Avent Insulated Cup

Design: Avent's new Insulated Cup uses an air layer to insulate cool liquids and a flip-top cap shared by the Sportser, featured in this showdown's Middle Tier, but paired with a soft-tipped sippy spout.
Price: $7-9 | Shop for the Avent Insulated Cup | View Philips Avent listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Avent's Insulated Cup has a great combination of features for an early sippy. Its flip cap is difficult for an infant to operate during the period when parents are closest at hand, and when it's closed, the cup is as leak-proof as a submarine; toddlers may be able to flip the cap open themselves, but are less likely to wildly attempt to spill their own drink by shaking it. We haven't tested insulated cups' relative ability to keep cold liquids cool (that's a test for another day), but most of them rely on a simple air cavity between two layers of plastic, and this cup's is clearly the gappiest. Combine that with really cute styling, graphics, and durability and you have a great sippy cup.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 8. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 9. Value: 6. Total points: 31/40.

Thinkbaby Trainer Cup

Design: Thinkbaby's 9-oz. Trainer Cup features a silicone spout in a baby-bottle-style ring, removable handles, and a PES plastic body.
Price: $9 | Shop for Thinkbaby Trainer Cups at Amazon.com | View Thinkbaby listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: We consider this cup to be the best buy in the bottle-to-sippy conversion market, with a conversion kit of two nipples and a handle ring selling for $7 to turn a Thinkbaby 9-oz. bottle into a starter sippy cup, and for users of Thinkbaby's bottles, it may be a no-brainer. At $9, the sippy itself is more expensive than some, but the availability of replacement spouts (via the conversion kit) helps improve this cup's longevity over other cups with silicone spouts, many of which don't offer replacement parts. This cup is best suited for infants and young toddlers, as use by older toddlers and preschoolers may begin triggering comments by others (as they did with our daughter) asking why they are "drinking from a bottle."
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 7. Value: 7. Total points: 31/40.

Munchkin Cupsicle

Design: This 10 oz. insulated cup keeps liquids cold after it has been chilled in the freezer. Loud colors and patterns, bordering on neon.
Price: $8 for two | Shop for the Munchkin Cupsicle | View Munchkin listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: On the large side of the sippy spectrum, this cup is not very attractive but basically indestructible, not only failing to dent or scratch when dropped, but actually bouncing about 50% of the distance back up off the ground. Flow is moderate (the cup uses Munchkin's standard triangular silicone valve) and it does not leak when left on its side, but does when shaken upside down. No other sippy we've seen can keep liquids this cold for this long, and we still use ours with our four-year-old, Z, without the valve, now that she's old enough not to need "spill protection." This cup is a tank, which makes its low price that much more remarkable.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 9. Eye Appeal: 3. Value: 9. Total points: 30/40.

Playtex Sipster Spill-Proof Cup

Design: A 6- or 9-oz (Stage 2/Stage 3) printed sippy with a hard molded spout and no handles.
Price: $7 for two | Shop for Sipster Spill-Proof Cups on Amazon.com | View Playtex listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: This cup offers all the features of the Playtex Insulated Cup described above, except the insulation. The flow rate, ease of use, sizing, and compatible parts make this another sensible, durable cup we'd recommend over any competitor in our Middle or Bottom Tier.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 4. Value: 9. Total points: 30/40.

If you haven't read our Middle or Bottom Tier selections yet, or haven't seen the many insightful reader comments we've received, now's your chance! And stay tuned for our Toddler to Pre-K Division next week. We'll have daily reviews, projects, and commentary until then, plus the opening of our Baby and Toddler Sippy Reader Rescue poll, so stick around!

Two days ago we published the Bottom Tier of the Baby and Toddler Division. On Tuesday (we'd said Monday, but Monday's Memorial Day!) we'll publish our Top Picks for baby and toddler sippy cups. Today, read on to find out what sippys held their own in our Middle Tier.

We're excited to share this division's Top Picks with you - we think some of them will surprise you, because they surprised us (amazing what a good scoring rubric can do to one's preconceptions). We've also decided to ask you to help select a Reader's Pick sippy to be pulled up from the bottom or middle tier and awarded honorary Top Pick status by reader acclaim, so stay tuned for the poll - we have a feeling there's a strong candidate already (reading the comments in our Bottom Tier post should give you a clue) but there may be a sippy that scored poorly in this tier that you also think deserves to be counted among the best.

Thanks for your input and feedback throughout this fun project - and don't be shy to comment to tell everyone which of these sippys have worked (or not worked) for you! We just love discussing the finer points of highly-engineered, high-stakes children's products...

Boon Fluid

Design: A unique O-shaped cup with a snap-on plastic lid and a slit opening with a secondary membrane to reduce spills.
Price: $6 | Shop for the Boon Fluid on Amazon | View Boon listings in the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products
Observations: Although appearing to be made of a single piece of plastic, this sippy's spout is actually formed in two layers, closely joined: a hard plastic outer shell with a gentle curve, and a softer plastic inner lining with a rubbery give that is sealed seamlessly into the shell. This membrane helps keep the Fluid's slit opening from leaking in the way that the World's Worst Sippy Cup does (come on, you know you want to watch that video again), but it does leak, a slow drip-drip-drip before stopping. A patient child could empty a cup this way by tipping it over repeatedly, even without shaking it; on the other hand, a child old enough to not do this will also want to drink faster than this cup's opening will allow.
Z's Take: The round cup was surprisingly ergonomic during Z's two-fisted toddler stage, with the sides functioning as twin handles built into the cup itself.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 5. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 10. Value: 6. Total points: 29/40.

Klean Kanteen Sippy

Design: The extruded stainless steel Klean Kanteen's design, shape, and industrial sensibilities has grown on us over the years, and Klean Kanteens have gotten much cuter than the one we have, above; the logo has been updated, and they also come in several powder-coated colors. The toddler size is 12 oz. (sizes go up from there for adults) and lids come in three main parts which fit together solidly, if somewhat squeakily. Klean Kanteens outfitted for sippin' use Avent sippy inserts.
Price: $18 | Shop for Klean Kanteen sippy cups on Amazon.com | View Klean Kanteen listings in the ZRecs Guide
Z's Take: Z seems comfortable with the sippy lid, and the bottle's neck makes for a comfortable grip with no need for handles.
Observations: The Klean Kanteen's single-walled construction means the bottle can get quite chilly if you put cold water in it. The bottle also dents very easily, leaving pea-sized dents in the bottom edge when dropped at both 45- and 90-degree angles. The bottle leaks a bit when shaken upside down, but passed side-rest leak tests with no problems. The bottle is difficult to clean well without a bottle brush due to its narrow neck, and the Avent spout has several parts (one soft and one hard disc which clip together and attach to the hard spout lid), making it time-consuming to clean and with small parts that are easy to lose or separate from the set. Value is improved by the fact that the durable bottle can be used with additional caps for older children and even adults.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 5. Durability: 9. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 7. Total points: 29/40.

Playtex First Sipster Spill-Proof Cup

Design: A 7-oz translucent sippy with slightly flexible molded handles in the lid and a flexible built-in spout.
Price: $4 for one, $7 for two | Shop for First Sipster Spill-Proof Cups on Amazon.com | View Playtex listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Simple, easy to use first stage sippy cup for the youngest of sippers. Leak resistant but does leak a little if shaken. Moderate flow. Playtex's line of cups have lids that are interchangeable across styles. Most of the color combinations are a little cuter than the one we have, but none of them are real lookers.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 4. Value: 8. Total points: 29/40.

Philips AVENT Magic Cup Sportster

Design: The Sportster features a durable 12 oz. cup with a thick screw-on lid and a modified sippy spout that is down to two pieces instead of three (a hard plastic upper and a silicone disc that buttons on inside) with a pop-open spout lid inset in a small flat cap that fits on the lid but can be removed for washing. The Sportster also features an o-ring with a clip for hanging the sippy on a stroller, car seat pocket, or child's pants, a reasonable toddler equivalent to the PDA.
Price: $6 | Shop for the Avent Sportster on Amazon.com | View Avent listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Virtually indestructible, and even the clip's design feels built to last. The hard spout portion requires a firm hand to fit into the ring lid, but does not always need to be removed for washing. The spout cap is just hard enough to open that young toddlers will be at their parents' mercy, and around the time they are able to open it themselves, they (may) be trustworthy enough to handle a cup that does leak from its spout when shaken upside down. Overall, this cup is a nice surprise and a worthy update to the standard Magic Cup, which hasn't stood up well to new competition and landed in the bottom tier of the Baby and Toddler Division.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 6. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 7. Total points: 29/40.

Munchkin Mighty Grip Spill-Proof Cup

Design: Ridged curved plastic body (10 oz) with soft silicone spout. Lid interchangable between 7-oz and 10-oz Spill-Proof cups.
Price: $4 | Shop for Mighty Grip Spill-Proof Cups on Amazon.com | View Munchkin listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Strong curves make this sippy easy to handle and perhaps less likely to tip. Valveless design means fewer parts to clean. Leak resistant but does leak a little if shaken.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 8. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 5. Value: 8. Total points: 28/40.

Munchkin Trainer Cup

Design: An 8-oz cup with a soft silicone sippy spout and with molded handles built into the lid.
Price: $8 for two | Shop for Munchkin Trainer Cups on Amazon.com | View Munchkin listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Ridges and hourglass shape give this cup a durable body but make hand cleaning without a bottle brush difficult. Leak resistant but does leak a little if shaken.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 5. Value: 7. Total points: 27/40.

Nuby No-Spill Gripper Cup

Design: A 10 oz. cup with a contoured bottle with a molded grip area. Bottle features a screw-ring lid with silicone spout and cross-cut air valve. Available in a variety of colors.
Price: $3-4 | Shop for Nuby No-Spill Gripper Cups on Amazon.com | View Nuby listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Nuby's No-Spill Gripper comes with a hard plastic cap that fits over the sippy spout; this is great for stopping diaper-bag leaks, but is also easy to lose. A bottle brush is needed to clean this cup well, but the bright, translucent plastic helps make hand-washing easier. The silicone spout features notches that align with tiny tabs on the O-ring to indicate proper orientation, but the screw lid then fits on the cup in four positions, only one of which works with the ergonomic grip of the bottle. Nuby's latest spout design makes firmer use of silicone than competitors, and may survive a bit more chewing. Lids are interchangable among other narrow-necked Nuby bottles, sippys, and even straw cups, boosting this inexpensive product's value considerably. Does not leak when tipped, but does a little when shaken.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 5. Value: 8. Total points: 27/40.

Nuby No-Spill Cup with Soft Spout and Handles

Design: A squat, wide-mouthed 10 oz. cup with a screw-ring lid with built-in handles and a silicone spout and cross-cut air valve. Available in a variety of colors.
Price: $3-4 | Shop for Nuby No-Spill Cups on Amazon.com | View Nuby listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: This cup can be hand-washed with hands alone - no bottle brush required. Nuby's latest spout design makes firmer use of silicone than competitors, and may survive a bit more chewing, but this cup's walls are very weak, and could probably be crushed under the weight of an energetic toddler. Does not leak when tipped, but does slightly when shaken. Also comes with a hard plastic cap that is easy to misplace.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 9. Durability: 5. Eye Appeal: 6. Value: 7. Total points: 27/40.

Born Free Training Cup/Drinking Cup

Design: Simple plastic sippy with soft, nipple-like sippy spout or hard plastic spout and removable handle ring.
Price: $10-$11 | Shop for the Born Free Training or Drinking Cup | View Born Free product listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The Training Cup leaks slightly when shaken upside down, and may drip a bit when left on its side, but comes with a cap that snaps on snugly for transport. The real problem with the Training Cup, which offers a slow flow of liquid for early sippy users, is that it is often introduced at the same time that infants are teething, and even very young children will enjoy chewing on (and destroying) the Training Cup's soft, pliable spout. The Drinking Cup, in contrast, lets out a steady stream of water when it is turned upside down, no shaking required. The chunky air vents on these cups, which fit into the rim under the screw lid, seem to perform no real function other than keeping water from leaking profusely from the underside of the lid, which makes them necessary for use of the cup but non-contributing members of your small-pieces-of-plastic-and-silicone-needing-to-be-washed society. Overall, although we question the general utility of sippy cups which leak heavily when tipped over, the value of this set is inflated by the fact that the lids can be purchased alone to upgrade Born Free bottles to sippy cup status, saving on plastic waste and some expense.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 5. Durability: 6. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 7. Total points: 26/40.

Thermos Foogo Sippy

Design: This 7 oz. sippy cup has a soft plastic spout and is sold with or without non-removable handles attached to the screw lid. Sold in pink/purple and blue/yellow color combinations.
Price: $10-$18 | Shop for the Foogo on Amazon.com | View Thermos listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: This sippy is a great size for little hands, and the vacuum-insulated design makes it comfortable to hold with cold liquids. But the plastic screw lid is difficult to open and close tightly without considerable effort. The Foogo sippy performed well in drop tests, receiving only minor scuffs due to its tough plastic base (we dropped each cup from 45- and 90-degree angles from a height of about three feet onto a brick patio). But the "Leak Proof" cup performed poorly in our leak tests, leaking water when left on its side for a few minutes. Spout components are moderately easy to take apart and clean.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 4. Durability: 10. Eye Appeal: 7. Value: 5. Total points: 26/40.

Regular readers may remember our recent thumbs down to the Green Toys Tool Set, which offered a lot of tools but not many uses for them. One reader commented to ask if we had experience with a kids' tool set we do like, and that got us looking. Before long we'd come around to a brand we've had frequent success with over the past year, Plan Toys - they make high-quality wooden toys from spent rubber trees and non-toxic paints, and their stuff often feels modern and classic in the way it seems only a German toy company can pull off. Anyway, they make a Construction Set in 30 or 60 pieces ($35 and $55, respectively), and they agreed to send us the 60-piece set for review; both it and the 30-piece set come with a screwdriver, but you have to get the 60-piece set to get a wrench. There are no hammer and nails (I'll pass on the saw until Leighann makes everyone Velcroed lumber) but this is close enough for us.

The set is lovely, if you can't tell from product photo, and I'm pretty sure that image doesn't show all of the pieces - sixty pieces is a lot to work with. More importantly, all of the pieces are well-machined and fit together smoothly, which is saying something when you're making nuts, bolts, and matching counter-threads in rubber wood. The screwdriver is a nice bit of functional design in itself; the shaft's diameter is the proper width for a small hand, so it's just a straight stick with a flat head for screwing.

Sixty pieces is a lot, and you can really build with this thing. Not sure it meets that call for a tool set, but we really like it. Z is still figuring out how some of the parts work, and tends to treat them more as blocks than construction toys. She's not yet five, and my guess would be this would be perfect for her at about six, and quite appropriate for your average five-year-old boy, as they tend to dive a bit more quickly into building toys where kids like Z (often, but not always girls) get easily absorbed in pretend play instead.

A hint to parents (of boys or girls) when introducing a toy like this: Don't look to instructions to help you make anything in particular, even if they are there in the box. Just engage your kids in the process of building. Z had been playing with this set for all of five minutes when she screwed a plank to a cube and started crowing in amazement that she had built a helicopter. And sure enough, that rotor spun!

This video shows us using the screwdriver and wrench and Z "making a building" by stacking stuff. It's also the first time Z has picked up our Flip video camera to use it herself.



You can pick up the Plan Toys Construction Set on Amazon.com.

Welcome to the ranks of the poorest performers in the 2009 Sippy Cup Showdown's Baby and Toddler Division. These sippys designed for those moving beyond the bottle and breast just didn't make the grade, despite having some nice features and in some cases offering new ideas others then borrowed with greater success. The sippys below are roughly the bottom 25% in scoring for all the baby and early toddler cups we tested.

Before we dive in, let's all get clear on the scoring system that led to these rankings. Cups were rated in four areas, with ten points possible in each. The four areas are:

• Ease of use and care: How easy is the cup for a new sippy user to master? How consistently can they use it properly when they do? Can the cup be cleaned without any special tools? Are there a bunch of small parts that are easy to misplace or difficult to put back together? How well do the basic parts of the cup fit and stay together?


• Durability: Is this cup likely to last through one child and perhaps on to a second, or are there parts that are likely to break or lose functionality over time? How easily could this cup be damaged or broken? Is it built for the long haul, or designed only for short-term use?


• Eye Appeal: Is the cup fun for kids and parents to look at? Does it avoid polluting your visual environment with one more piece of junky kid stuff?


• Value: How does the overall quality compare with the price? Does this product make use of parts which can be used again in other products, or which are interchangeable between multiple product styles? Are replacement parts available without spending your child's fledgling college fund on shipping and handling?

With that in mind, say hello to the poorest performers in the bunch (along with the World's Worst Sippy Cup, which merited its own post). Cups are listed from the highest to lowest scoring within the group.

Kid Basix Safe Sippy

Design: A stainless steel bottle with a silicone sheath, removable O-ring handles and a screw-on lid with a built-in tube-shaped spout and one-piece silicone valve. The cup underwent a valve redesign after its initial launch.
Price: $11-14 | Shop for the Safe Sippy on Amazon.com | View the Safe Sippy's listing in the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products
Observations: The Safe Sippy leaks very little - none at all when left on its side, and not much when shaken hard upside down - and the seal on the screw lid is very good. Flow is moderate, and encourages mouth formations that better support speech development than traditional sippys. The angle of the straw, however, requires the cup to be held with the straw angled away from the user, which is counter-intuitive, or be tipped waaaaay up. We like the insulation provided by the silicone sheath, but it is exceedingly difficult to put on the bottle, and this cup also requires a bottle brush to clean well; ultimately, it's the ease of care that doomed this sippy to be the best performer in this division's bottom tier. Update: The Safe Sippy was selected as the Reader Pick in the ZRecs Reader Rescue Poll. We've added it to the Top Picks for this division by popular demand!
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 4. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 7. Value: 7. Total points: 25/40.

Avent Magic Cup

Design: A no-frills plastic sippy cup with a removable handle ring and an O-ring lid that fits a standard Avent sippy spout. Spout consists of three parts: A hard plastic exterior, hard plastic interior disc and silicone disc. Cups now come with cute, non-licensed character designs (cuter than the logo-based one we have here).
Price: $12 for two, $8 for two without handles | Buy BPA-free Magic Cup | View Avent product info in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The Magic Cup first failed our side-rest leak test with flying colors, but then we realized we had screwed on the lid incorrectly and managed to seal it tight but off its threading. It passed a retest but we are newly aware of its persnickitiness. The Avent spout also requires careful, forceful sealing, and its several parts are easy to separate and misplace.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 4. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 5. Value: 7. Total points: 24/40.

Munchkin 9-oz Sippy Cup

Design: Simple, sturdy plastic cup with screw-on lid and standard Munchkin valve.
Price: $1-2 | View Munchkin listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: The cup widens towards the top and has a bulky, relatively heavy lid, so this cup is very top heavy and thus prone to tipping over. Very slow flow. Lids are not interchangeable with any other style of Munchkin cup we've found, simply because of cup lip diameter or threading.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 5. Durability: 8. Eye Appeal: 2. Value: 5. Total points: 20/40.

Learning Curve/First Years Sesame Street Spill-proof Cup

Design: 10-oz polypropylene cup with screw-on lid and built in soft plastic spout in a one-piece lid design. Licensed character designs.
Price: $7 | View Learning Curve/The First Years listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: This cup is leak-resistant when left on side, but any pressure on its soft spout (likely in any carrying situation) makes this cup leak heavily. Similar cups by Nuby come with hard plastic lids to prevent this. Molded hand-grip in cup body is designed for one orientation but screw lid allows for two orientations. Hard to clean without bottle brush.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 5. Durability: 7. Eye Appeal: 4. Value: 3. Total points: 19/40.

First Years Take 'n Toss

Design: A lightweight, weak-walled plastic cup with snap-on lid and valveless molded spout.
Price: $5 for three | View Learning Curve/The First Years listings in the ZRecs Guide
Observations: Easily squished in carry bags. Leaks when shaken; surprisingly, it does not leak when rested gently on its side (the spout has small holes, rather than the slit in Gerber's Tossables line, so water's surface tension can do a bit of work), but because its walls are so thin it is very easy to cause leaks with only gentle pressure on the cup itself, which is quite likely in diaper bags, car seats, and other places you don't want two cups of water. Inexpensive, but not recyclable in most areas. Lid fits tightly and can be difficult to remove.
Ratings: Ease of Use and Care: 7. Durability: 2. Eye Appeal: 3. Value: 5. Total points: 17/40.

Next we'll move up to the middle tier performers in our Baby and Toddler Division, followed by a handful of Top Picks. Stay tuned!

I'd like to introduce you to the world's worst sippy cup. Don't let it's smile fool you - it's a menace.

Gerber Graduates Tossables Sippy Cup

Design: A thin-walled, 10-oz. polypropylene cup with screw-on lid featuring one of three animal faces.
Price: $5 for three | Shop for Gerber Tossables cups on Amazon.com | View Gerber listings in the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products
Observations: Cute graphics and lids, but Gerber's claims of being "spill-resistant" are ludicrous. The spout is a slit cut in hard plastic and leaks like crazy when tipped over, which is quite likely given the cups narrow base and wide top. If that wasn't enough, the lid's shallow threading makes the lid's molded ears the perfect lever for easily popping off the cup lid. It's also hard to sympathize with a company's production of a "tossable" cup involving this much plastic, all of it non-recyclable in most areas.
Z's Take: Wow, a hippo!
Ratings (on ten-point scales): Ease of Use and Care: 3. Durability: 4. Eye Appeal: 8. Value: 1. Total points: 16/40.

Still doubting whether this is truly the worst sippy cup the world has to offer?



Tomorrow, see the rest of the bottom tier in this showdown's Baby and Toddler Division.

Read about the 2009 BPA-Free Sippy Cup Showdown

Green Toys' new Tool Set didn't impress us as much as their new line of vehicles, due largely to shortcomings common to this type of toy that the company could have improved on. They may sound like minor quibbles, but they add up and make this a toy Z won't be spending much time with. Here's the rundown:

• Too few pieces, and the Phillips/flathead disappointment. Two bolts, two nuts, two nails, and two connectors for a tool box with 12 holes to screw or nail into? This is pretty standard for play tool sets, but we want this one to be different. We'd rather see a more expensive tool set with five or six nut/bolt sets and some longer connectors, so kids could actually, you know, connect them. Also, we were really excited to see two types of screwdrivers, but there is only one type of bolt (Phillips) which can be tightened/loosened with either one. Adding some flathead screws/bolts would have made the inclusion of these two tools relevant and instructive, as well as adding a lot more complexity (and thus interest) for little tool-users.


• Bad hammer and nail designs. The slightly wedge-shaped nails get stuck in the holes and require, at least for our four-year-old, adult assistance to remove. They can't be hammered out easily from the back because the tool box is too narrow, and the hammer's claw doesn't work, which is a big miss - a bigger head on the nail could have made prying them out with the hammer's claw possible.


• Tools without functions. The set comes with a saw, but there's nothing to cut. Add a plank of wood with Velcro or skip the saw entirely - it's the only tool here a child can't "use."

The best thing about this set is the way the nuts and bolts are used - kids can tighten them using a screwdriver and a hand to hold the nut on the inside but there are a wrench and pair of pliers that both fit the nut and can encourage them to use two hands to remove them. This is actually "handy" considering how easily a child can over-tighten them when they put them on.

In other words, this is an unfortunate case of a new toy design that introduces variations on existing plastic tool sets or wooden tool sets, but these variations do not contribute to play, may cause some additional frustration, and can't compete on price. Ultimately, we think play tools should help a child understand the functions of real tools, and Green Toys' tool set fails that test on more than one count.


You can buy Green Toys' Play Tool Set on Amazon.com for $25. But we'd recommend one of the new Green Toys toy vehicles instead.