I hadn’t really thought of it, but I was trying to avoid giving my favorite out.  I guess I didn’t want to take anything away from what you are doing. 

I saw the Innate ones at REI recently and was sort of sad I shouldn’t be investing any more money in that style of sippy, because it looked great.  I want to see how their others did. 

We love all of our Playtex sippys.  They have been the big winners for us.  My husband only complaint is they are a bit hard to suck on, which can be an issue for kids with ear issues.  That being said, they are still the ones my daughter goes back to time and again.

I just bought a half dozen more Playtex Insulator cups on clearance. The store was no doubt making room for the newer version. Those and the Playtex Sipster have served us well. They fit nicely in our little soft-sided cooler that we take everywhere. They have stood up to hundreds of washings and countless times being dropped or thrown. And they work for both of our kids (2 and almost 5).

I like that the valves and lids are interchangeable. They even fit the First Sipster. I also love that they only hold 6 ounces. We give our kids 4 ounces of beverage at a time (our diabetic child only gets 1/2 cup milk for a serving). Most other cups for this age group are 9 ounces. I just wish that they had tick marks for ounces. But most cups do not.

I haven’t tried the others on your list, but the Me-Me looks interesting and maybe worth a try.

We used the Playtex sippy cups as soon as I realized that our daughter was ready to move from a soft spout. She was just over a year, and I was sick of those darn Nuby cups!

I have been very pleased with the Playtex cups for all of the reasons that you have mentioned.  If you leave them out too long and the milk curdles in them, you can toss the spout and replace it, as the spouts are easily found at retailers.  (Sometimes I didn’t feel like I could get it clean enough.)

She’s 3 1/2 now, so she doesn’t use a sippy cup too often anymore. When she does, it’s usually a Playtex Coolster Tumbler, the spoutless version of the insulator.

We have some Playtex sippy cups and although they are not the exact ones listed here, they perform about the same as your observations.  I love that the lids are interchangable, that the valves go on and off easily (and I had no idea there was a notch in the lid - I’ve always used the silverware basket in the dishwasher).  We’ve had them for quite some time, I think I would even rate their durability a bit higher than you did.  I like that the hard plastic is resistant to chewing and we’ve never had a cup break either.  Since my kids are a bit older, we usually use these without the valves now, but when I really want a sippy that’s spillproof, I look to the Playtex cups.

Thanks so much for all the recommendations, I may have to try out the Me-Me as I’ve been wanting a stainless steel sippy for some time now!

Thanks for all the great info.  I’m wondering what ages you’re using for each group - Baby/Toddler and Toddler to Pre-K.  I’m thinking my 2yo might be in the middle.

I knew the Thinkbaby would be in the Top Tier! :) That’s the one I was referencing that made transitioning easier.  But yes, I do wonder about the “why is he still drinking from a bottle” question...even though he’s only 13 months.  He doesn’t use them as often anymore, but for a while it’s all he would use because the spouts are so soft.  I have been eyeing the other Thinkbaby products myself…

I’ve never heard of this Me-Me cup.  It sounds interesting.  Now I’m looking forward to seeing your toddler-preK results!

I don’t see the Learning Curve hard spout cups anywhere on your list?  It’s my favorite of the sippys we have for ease of use and cleaning.  It’s insulated, doesn’t leak, takes little effort to suck from, and doesn’t have any little parts to lose or tough grooves to scrub.  It’s a winner, in my opinion!

We have the Tilty after I saw it on ZRecs.  Here are my thoughts:

Pros:
-lightweight
-only 2 pieces, and no small parts!
-transparent so you can see how much is left (I personally don’t understand why there aren’t more transparent cups out there.  don’t they think parents need to be able to see how much is left?)
-easy on the wallet, compared to the Sigg and Foogoo that I had also purchased
-of course the “green” composition
- sort of leaks, but not a flood, just enough to teach my daughter to not turn it upside down.

Cons:
- no cap so we can’t take it out of the house!  that is probably my biggest pet peeve.  it’s also not shaped in a way to fit well into the compartment for drinks in diaper bags
- the tip of the angle part of the underside of the cup is difficult to clean and yes, does get kinda of nasty if you don’t really make an effort to clean it. 
- looks and at first felt kind of flimsy, but really durable (really a pro). 

I gave this to my daughter when she was about 1.5. Wish I had seen it earlier before I tested out about 5 other cups.

I would also suggest to teach the kiddos to simply learn to drink from a simple cup!!! After all, we all have those at home :-) Why buy a sippy? From a speech perspective, they do the same damage as a baby bottle! And you have to eventually transition to an open cup, so why not do it right away? My sippy cups are still in their packaging, wish I had never registered for any!

I love the cute designs of the Avent Insulated Cups and the fact that it insulates and has a cap. As much as it doesn’t really matter in terms of function, the cute design is really what makes me think about possibly purchasing this one.

I wish I was in the business of designing these things because I still think there isn’t one that would qualify as the ultimate top choice.

Thanks for testing all of these!

We have the Tilty cups and love them, for the reasons you and commenter Pam said.  I love how my 1 year old son doesn’t need to tilt his head all the way back when drinking, like he does with the Safe Sippy cup.  He does have a habit of shaking the cup and sprinkling water all over, but we just have to monitor his drinking.  All in all, it’s a great cup.

We went out and bought the me-me based on this review.  We loved it the first day.  But since then the valve has been constantly falling out.  This, consequently, means that it leaks a lot.  We’ve examined carefully to make sure we are putting it in right, and we believe we are.

Estelle says why not transition to an open cup right away?  Because sometimes you’re on the go and want to be able to give your child a drink of water in the car.  Or because sometimes your kid wants a drink at home and you’re in the middle of unloading the dishwasher and can’t sit down to help her drink without spilling.  That said whenever we CAN use an open cup at home (e.g. sitting at the dinner table), we do.  My just-2yo doesn’t spill from her open cup very often now.  But she does spill or play often enough that I can’t give her a drink of milk in a cup and not directly supervise her.

Is there going to be a review of straw-based sippy cups?  My ds loves to drink milk out of straw sippy cups - but the ones we have leak and I would love to know which BPA free ones don’t leak.

thanks for these reviews!

I really want to try the Tilty for my almost 11 month old son, does anyone have any thoughts about using the cup for an older baby?  In the picture it looks like the lid just snaps on and it has a little flap for easier removal so would it be easy for a baby to pop off?  My son is really strong and he loves taking things apart but he also has a hard time tilting his sippy cups up far enough for him to get a drink so if the lid is pretty hard to remove, this might be the perfect cup for him!  Any advice is greatly appreciated! :-)

The Tilty’s lid attaches to the cup with a plastic lip and has the same feel and tightness as First Years Take & Toss Cups. If you’ve ever used those, you’ll know how strong that seal can be. However, for a child who actively likes to try taking off lids, it is easier, because the tab provides leverage.

I was reading a review of the Innate Me-Me on another blog and they found that both of their test subject children had trouble drinking from the sippy cup because the loop on the top of the sippy bumped into the kids’ noses! They also mentioned that the air valve leaks quite a bit of water. I’m surprised that the two findings would be so different.

Shannon, your comment is very timely. Z has been using her Me-Me for months now, and just yesterday she complained that the sport top lid (which she had used intermittently for a few weeks, and which we just ranked in the Middle Tier of our Toddler to Pre-K Division) “bumped her nose.”

A lot of multi-party demonstrations followed, proving that one COULD drink from this cup without such “bumping,” even with an adult size nose - in fact, we have an adult Innate water bottle, and it uses the same design of sport top lid, which never bothered us adults - but it does indicate a design problem, as kids are prone to rougher handling and looser motor movements.

And now that she has noticed this for the sport top, she also won’t use it with the sippy lid anymore! I’m not sure what to say about it except that it never bothered her until very recently, and now she has had a strong change of heart. She still likes using the Me-Me as an open top cup. But I’m inclined to take a hacksaw to the sport top so she’ll use it again - in all other respects, the cup is just that good!

Whoops, also meant to say, my guess about the valve was that it wasn’t installed well. The air vent has a silicone part you have to press into the lid but then it helps to grab its little nub from the outside and make sure it’s snug.

Our demo of the cup is on YouTube here - you can see from it that it did leak slightly when shaken, but that’s often a trade-off for good flow.

We very consciously and deliberately put the valve in place for several days afterwards, but it continues to fall out with almost every use.  We’ve stopped using the Me Me because of this.  My husband and I are both engineers.  The valve seems secure and snug each time we put it in.

I’m not saying we couldn’t have made a mistake, But I am saying that if we repeatedly made a mistake specifically when we were really trying Not to make a mistake, then the cup does not have much “Ease of Use” (if any).  Right?

My problem with the Me Me is that the silicone gasket on the lid can’t be removed. So if you use the cups for anything other than water, you get crud buildup beneath that gasket. I bought one of these thinking it’d be a great on-the-go cup for milk, but then I noticed the mildew growing. Yuck.

We bought the Me-Me recently for our daughter and love it.  Both silicone gaskets come out easy for cleaning, so I’m not sure what other users are talking about, we’ve had no problems with it and even found it on sale at REI for $12.

We have twin granddaughters who have been using the Tilty cup exclusively since they were about 10 months old. They are now nearing two years and transitioning to “regular” cups (topless).

We all love the Tilty! It is lightweight and so easy for the girls to use, especially when they were younger and still breastfed. We take the cups everywhere and add the water, juice, or milk when they are thirsty instead of having them carry the cups around. At first the lack of a valve to prevent spilling worried us, but the girls quickly learned not to spill!

The Tilty’s are priced just right and we have been including them with every baby gift we give!

we baught our son his first “Tilty” cup at age 6 months, we love this thing… he doesnt have to break his neck trying to get the last bit or even first bit of juice/milk out. he is now 13 months old and still uses it daily, i love it because he can’t open it and spill it like other cups, but it’s still very easy for us to open.it’s light weight and we got 2 for under $9.00 i would tell u all to buy this Cup above all others, and you’ll see whey when you buy one 4 your child.

The Tilty is NOT a good cup for young children.  The cup leaks like crazy because the holes at the top are too big.  Thus, if your child puts the cup upside down or shakes it, you will have water everywhere.  In fact, when my child was twelve months old, she would take the cup with her arm in the there and tilt it to the side.  Water would pour out as freely as from a sink faucet.  I bought six sets and gave them all out to friends, and they all have the same problem.  It is a cup that could be an option for older kids, but the thing is that if they can correctly drink out of a Tilty, they can drink out of a normal cup.

After using the Thinkbaby for a month, I have to say that I don’t think it was worth the $. No matter what I do, it leaks, and when I contacted the company via email to ask their advice, they never replied. Given the great response of other companies, their lack of response really stands out. Plus, my 12-month-old’s favorite game is to press on the soft spout and then turn it upside down to pour the milk out. After being less than thrilled with the Born Free Trainer, it is now my his favorite, and it doesn’t leak when he’s drinking or playing with it! Yippee!

Jeremiah,
Thanks for providing the information on sippys and a place to voice opinions on features, likes and dislikes.

Fortunately, Michelle notified us of her opinion on TILTY Cup several months ago and we took her suggestions very seriously, as we do with all of the suggestions we receive.

We have designed and tested a new lid with smaller holes for children that can benefit from it.  We still follow the ADA recommendation of “snap on lid” and “without a valve.”

The official launch is September, 09.