Sigg, Sigg, Sigg, Sigg!  Yeah!  We have a bunch of these things (based on your earlier recommendations, actually, so thank you!) We’ve been using them for about a year and half now, and our son is just over three.  Just can’t say enough how awesome they are.  He loves the looks- thank you to Sigg for actually having BOY themes like cars, lions and zebras, airplanes, that aren’t just licensed products- and they’ve proved very sturdy.  While they have a few dents by now, the finish is intact and the dents are small and don’t bother us (needless to say, they don’t bother a 3 year old boy).  The cup is very easy to clean, as is the spout, and it’s virtually impossible to mess it up.  We’ve had a few lids break, though, due to unfortunate drops, and the run on non-BPA cups has made them hard to find occasionally.  Totally worth it though- and I agree on the new lid design being better.  We actually loved them so much my husband and I have the “grownup” ones, and we haven’t bought a bottle of water anywhere but in an airport for a long time now! They also fit just perfect in the cupholder of his Britax Frontier carseat- another big winner thanks to you (we really need a carseat that will harness far longer than normal since he’s so tall for his age- outgrew his Marathon by 2.5...)

Feel like I have been waiting for these “top tier” results for weeks! Low and behold my two favorite sippy cups made the list, couldn’t agree more - am off to replenish our supply. Thank you so much for your time, feels good to know I’m not missing anything.

We have the Coolster, an older version of the Playtex straw cup and the Sigg (though our top broke off, but we don’t mind so much)

M is two and the Playtex ones are still our favorite.  I love the interchangeability, and with the older model’s insulated cups, we can sort of see what is left in them.  I am interested in the new straw design, but since we only use cups for water, there is little need to replace any. 

The Sigg is definitely for slightly older kids because of the twist cap, but she is maybe ready to get it.  The biggest challenge is to remember to close when she is done.  I think eventually we will be down to that one and maybe we’ll get an Nalgene for car trips when leaking just can’t happen.

Can the Contigo’s button be accidentally pressed if stored in a book bag, for example?  We have the Sigg and have been using it since my little one was about 18 months old (with the old loop lid) and it’s a great cup!

Yvonne, you probably have… we have had an intense couple of weeks off the blog and that has slowed us down a bit. Glad you enjoyed the reading!

Michelle, I don’t believe it could easily be pressed by other objects in a bag. It is slightly “countersunk” against the edge (sorry, too early in the a.m. to think of the right word) and you have to press it firmly to open the little door. If anyone has had different experiences with this, let us know!

Thanks to everyone else, as always, for sharing your own experiences.

I’m glad to see this list - I agree that the Playtex Insulator Twist ‘n Click Straw Cup is a great straw cup.  I wish there had been more straw cups in the top tier.  Have to say the Take & Toss straw cups are pretty good also.  Cheap, reusable - although they don’t claim to be leak-proof.

Thanks for doing this!

Curses, Z Recs team!  I now must explain to Jim why I’m buying more kid travel cups.

Love the Contigo video.

We just got one of the Coolster Tumblers (orange even) for “cup training” our little one.  We LOVE Playtex and all of the cups we have loved have been Playtex so far.

For this one, though, I’m deliberately leaving the valve off.  So he can start practicing drinking with the whole flow coming at him.  I like the lip because it helps with this process—small spills often go into the top of the cup instead of onto the floor.

I have been on the edge of my seat waiting for this! I just spent a week away and on both sets of flights I had either a leaky cup in an airplane seat, and open topped cup thrown on the floor or a leaky straw flip top dripping on my back. I can’t wait to try out the top picks!
Thanks!!

I just bought the Nalgene bottle yesterday after not being able to wait any longer for this list.  So far I love it, my daughter loves to shake her sippies upside down and just a few drops come out of this one.  She’s on the younger side, 15 months, but she has no problem getting water out.

I’m confused about the Contigo. Does the child push the button with their middle-ring fingers to open the spout?  Is it easy to press?  (Nice video though!)

My gal loves the playtex coolsters.  She thinks they look like “Mama’s Coffee Mug”!  And yes, we also really like the Sigg bottles too, though they don’t keep drinks cool nearly as long as the Playtex cups do.

I must comment on the Nalgene sippy...my 3 year old could not generate enough suction to get liquid out of this cup with the valve in place. With the valve removed, it’s still a trickle. I went so far as to take a drill to the microscopic sippy holes and it did not improve the product much. During a summer this hot, I need him to drink a lot of water so this one was a no-go.

We’re currently using a Thermos brand stainless-steel straw sippy, which I’m very happy with so far. It keeps the water cold, has a high flow and is leakproof when closed. I suspect the only weakness in the steel one is the push-button mechanism in the lid, but we’re four months in and no problems!

Love the reviws by the way. I’ll try some of these other ones if my Thermos fails!

We have a Sigg (the older lid design, though) and I have to say it drives me a little crazy not to be able to fit standard ice-maker-sized ice cubes in there without first melting them a bit under running water. For this reason I much prefer our Klean Kanteens, but I am in the market for a faster-flow option for my almost-4 year old. I’ll have to try some of these others. Wish they weren’t all plastic. I wish Kleen Kanteen would make a straw spout to fit their stainless bases!

PS I did find one of Sigg’s special ice cube trays at a thrift store once. I went ahead and grabbed it but that thing is very big so we ended up not keeping it. It would have taken up a big chunk of our freezer space.

Re. the icemaker and Sigg bottles- a lot of newer fridges have more than one size setting.  My fridge actually has 3- we just keep it at the smallest size and they fit great.

We have Platyex Coolster cups and love them.  My da. is almost 5 and this is the cup we take in the car.  With a “coozie” on the ouside it fits perfectly in her cup holder and keeps water cool even after being in the car through tumbling classes.  I don’t put the valve in them anymore so it’s easier for her to drink.  Thanks for your reviews!

Ikea carries the long and thin ice cube trays that are needed for Sigg bottles.  @Tiffany, thanks for the suggestion about setting the cubes to a smaller size...I’m going to try that.  I hadn’t thought of it!

I’m glad to see the Contigo made the list. I scored a deal at Costco 4 cups for $15.99! They are leak proof and insulated which is great in Arizona! We also have the Playtex tumblers, but I always dislike cups with a removable valve.

Thanks for the list!

I love this list, I do wish that you would include information about where the products are made.  It means a lot to me for environmental reasons (carbon footprint of shipping goods) and human rights/ labor standards.  Any chance you would include the country of manufacture in the future?

That’s a great question, Marija. At the most basic level, we can try to incorporate in statements about products when we identify that they are made in the U.S.; the next level of challenge would be for us to note any country of manufacture.

One thing that would help us do that effectively would be to understand how different countries rated regarding their general human rights, labor rights, and environmental standards. Have you seen a good scorecard for this somewhere that we could use as a guide?

My only hesitation for leaning hard on that kind of data would be that we know of some companies that work very hard to find shops overseas that they can monitor for human rights as well as production quality, making regular visits to the facilities and getting a meaningful understanding of working conditions at a particular site. Do you think country of origin notes could obscure any meaningful differences in human rights, labor rights, or other standards that matter to you?

I had been purchasing, for my 2 year old, the World’s Worst Sippy cup (the Rubbermaid Litterless) but have now happily moved over to Playtex’s Coolster (have removed the valve because the flow was slow) and the Insulator twist ‘n click straw cup.  We’ve only had them for a week but, so far, so good.

Thanks for taking the time to do these reviews--they’re a great help!!!

I was just wondering what the insalated status is on the Contigo and Sigg cups. My daughter is a big-time milk drinker and I need a cup that will keep the liquid cold as long as possible. Thanks

Sue, the Contigo is insulated by an air layer between two layers of plastic. It should keep milk cool for a moderate period of time under normal conditions. (Don’t leave it in a hot car.)

The Sigg is uninsulated. Liquids left in it will warm up quickly, and very cold liquids might also be cold on a young child’s hands. Early on in Z’s usage of a Sigg bottle we covered it with a “coozy” (insulating sheath like they make for soda/beer cans) which helped keep stuff cool as well as keeping her hands from the cold.

Personally, I like the CamelBak kids bottles.  BPA free, great colors and prints and my kids like the bite valve.