I should mention that my son used one of the Theromos Funtainer straw cups for the better part of the school year this year. By mid-May, the hinge on the lid broke. I haven’t had a chance to contact Thermos to see if they could replace it. I’m hoping I can get a replacement lid - otherwise it seems rather wasteful to have to throw the whole thing away when the cup itself is still in great condition and will certainly last many more years.

Can someone tell me what’s the difference between this smaller nuby straw cup that makes it into the middle tier and the larger nuby straw cup that was in the bottom tier?  The review says the smaller cup is easy to hand wash, but I don’t see how the larger cup wouldn’t have the same ease?

We had Thermos (two of each) and even though I hand washed them, the bottoms fell off-- two for no apparent reason, two when my son dropped them and the bottom shattered.  At that point, due to the cost, I chose a different cup.

I am very glad to see our two favorite cups mentioned - the Thermos Funtainer and the Nuby Flip cup. They might not be the best out there, but we were happy with our choice of these cups, before there was a “Showdown” to guide us. Yes, the plastic bottom of the Funtainer cracked, but we attributed that to our 18 month old daughter throwing the Thermos onto our hard Mexican tile floor. We continued to use it, no one was injured by the damaged plastic, and we bought another one.

Lynn - The smaller cup is a bit easier to clean, as it’s shorter, and has one less straw part. Ultimately, there was only a one-point difference in our ranking - which in this case equated to one being in the Top Picks and the other in the middle tier of our rankings. Both are good cups - in fact, we likke many of those even in the lower tier of this division!

Thanks for including straw cups! I know this says “Toddler to Pre-K” division, but my daughter (now 14mo) has been using the munchkin mighty grip in this category and the playtex one in the top category since she was about 8mo, and the nuby 2-handled cup since they came out with the BPA-free version a few months ago. We love them!!

Why did you choose to review the MeMe with adaptor, rather than the vite water bottle from innate?  http://www.innate-gear.com/c8-atheltic-water-bottles/p25-vite-v2/product_info.html

At $11.50, the price of the vite seems low enough, so . . . is there some evil flaw that I’m not seeing?

Bookwyrm, we would have loved to review the Vite, but we had asked for the Me Me and were interested in the potential long lifespan of the cup using the second lid. The one thing I’d say about the Vite or any other single-walled stainless steel cup is that they get VERY cold when you put cold liquids in them - our Klean Kanteen was always paired with an old coozy (neoprene or other like slipcover, originally designed for a beer can) and I’m guessing the Vite wouldn’t fit one, although I’d love to be told otherwise. We will definitely check out that cup in the future, along with several others we weren’t able to get together for our Showdown!

Great points here about leaving out the valve when kids are ready for it - extends the use of cups a lot.

We love our Thermos Foogo straw cups. My son used one for over a year before we purchased a second one. The original is pretty beat up (bottom edge that goes up side is off due to much dropping on tile floor, but other wise bottom is intact and we have not had any issues with broken bits.) My one complaint with that one, now fixed in the new design, is that the straw in the bottle often detaches and we have to reattach it for our son. We have not had that issue with the new design.

Unfortunately my son threw the new bottle in a fit of three year old anger and broke the top in three (it is no match for the hard tile). I have contacted Thermos so see if we can get a replacement part. As another poster mentioned it would be a shame to have to replace the whole thing as everything else is in great condition.

We both hand wash and dishwasher our cups and have not had any issues. Our old bottle is at least a year and a half old, and the new one 6 + months old.

As a follow-up to my note above, I got a reply from Thermos:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding your Thermos Brand product. Replacement Foogo and Funtainer straws are $1.00 and the lids are available for $2.00 each plus a shipping and handling charge. We are limited to black, royal
blue and pink lids at this time.

We offer several methods of payment for your replacement straw sets. We accept VISA, MasterCard, and Discover, check or money order.  If you would like to place an order for this part, please feel free to contact our consumer service department at 1-800-831-9242 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday.

You may also place your order via email by sending your request to and providing your name, mailing address, phone number and credit card number along with the expiration date. You may also mail a money order or check for your replacement lid to:
Thermos LLC
355 Thermos Rd
Batesville, MS 38606

Please include the Foogo or Funtainer product number, which is located on the base of the product; along with your name, mailing address and telephone number for all email or mail orders. There are two different styles of
bottles, so this product number is critical in assuring you receive the correct replacement lid.

Cordially,
Thermos LLC Consumer Service

We use the Munchkin Mighty grip and my son LOVES it!  It’s easy to clean, and never drips.  The center is just the right size for small hands to get around.  We found the resistance on the straw to be just enough that it doesn’t leak, but not so much that he has to suck too hard to get it out (we don’t use our Nalgene that is rated one of your best for that reason).

I love the Nuby cup. My main issue is that my toddler bites the tips off the straws. I cannot find replacement straws for this cup.