About a month ago I was at my local drug store picking up some necessities and I saw a huge display of Rubbermaid TakeAlong sipper cups and couldn’t resist picking up a few packs since they were on sale. To be completely honest I have no use for these since my boys are well beyond the stage of needed a sipper / sippy cup but I knew a few little people that could benefit from them. Tossing them in the cart I didn’t really think much about them until a few days later when my neighbors daughter came over for a visit. Normally her mom packs up some of her favorite items for her little trip [teddy bear, blanket, juice boxes etc] but this was a spur of the moment visit. She spotted the packages of sipper cups on the counter and started to giggle at the funny shapes and cute colors. Tossing them in the sink to wash them, she stood right next to me anxiously awaiting a cup of apple juice.

If you have never seen these cups in the stores there is a good reason – they are pretty new to the market [or so I thought] – at least that is what the sales person told me when I went back to get a few more packages. On the bottom of the package it shows that these were made in 2001 - so they aren't as new as I initially thought. Why I've never seen them in stores before now is just another of lifes mysteries. I’ve always known the Rubbermaid name to mean quality when it comes to home storage containers, laundry baskets and kitchen products and I’m happy to say that these sippers pass the ‘freak test’ with flying colors. These are great for households with lots of kids too since you can allow them to pick a color and have it as their very own. To avoid confusion, you can write on these with permanent markers [I prefer the Sharpie brand] so you can avoid fights if one child decides that he or she like blue instead of yellow.

Rubbermaid TakeAlongs

These 9 ounce [266 ml] sipper cups come with four colored tops [yellow, red, green and blue] and are the perfect size for juice, milk or water. These are not spill proof / leak proof if tipped or knocked over so if you still require this type of sipper – hold off on purchasing these. The three holed drinking spout allows a good amount of liquid to come out but not so much that a small child will end up with too much in their mouth. There is a small hole across from the top of the drinking spout that allows air to pass through so the container doesn’t collapse as a child is drinking. My neighbors daughter fell in love with these sippers and has since managed to ‘walk away’ with several of them. She had no trouble drinking from them and they were a little less messy than her regular sippy sups – a blessing in disguise [no more wet shirts or messy hands]. She normally uses the expensive Playtex brand sippers that her mother guards like they are gold, now that she has started to use these she isn’t as uptight about them getting lost or left behind at the mall, grocery store or restaurant.

The shape is pretty cool and allows a child to get a firm grasp on it. The cups have three ridged bubbles [for lack of a better term] at the bottom so when you pick it up there’s no chance of it slipping out of your hand. Cleaning these is easy providing that you have the correct tool. Using grape juice in them requires that you clean it as soon as possible to avoid a slight purple stain on the inside. I have an old bottle brush from years ago that works great to get inside of the cup and clean the textured parts. I haven’t used these in the dishwasher but the package says that these are dishwasher safe on the top rack. Make sure that you secure the lids inside of a top rack dishwasher container or they might end up getting tossed around – again – I have never cleaned these in the dishwasher but previous experiences have taught me to secure anything that is plastic, small and could end up at the bottom of the dishwasher.

Things To Know

The manufacture states that these are not to be microwaved or frozen. I don’t suggest these for hot drinks such as cocoa even though the plastic seems thick and sturdy enough to handle it. As with all sippy cups, make sure that you wash them before you use them because you never know where these have been. Since they are packaged in a very simple cardboard sleeve it is possible to the tops to be removed without any evidence of tampering. Make sure you check the holes after you wash them to make sure all the soap has been rinsed and there aren’t and food particles inside that could dry and block the flow of the liquid.

One annoying thing is that the lids pop off rather than screw off. When you first purchase these you have to either rip the packaging apart to get the cups out of it or remove the tops from each of them. I’d rather have a screw off lid than a pop off lid to make sure that it is firmly attached to avoid leaks. Make sure that the lid is completely snapped on to the cup before you give it to a child or you will end up with a mess. You should head a loud “pop” or “snap” when it is correctly placed on top of the cup. On the plus side, the plastic body of the sipper is strong. It is made of a soft plastic but you can’t squeeze it, dent it [unless you really try] or break it. When I first saw these I thought they were made of the flimsy thin plastic that would dent or rip after a few uses but these are tough little buggers. I tried with all my mite to squeeze one of these to see if I could get a dent in it or collapse the sides and couldn’t do any damage to it. If you have a kid that tosses, kicks, bangs or uses their sipper cup as a toy – these will hold up to whatever they can dish out.

While these aren’t marketed as being spill proof they are a little less messy than other cups if they happen to get knocked over. I took a full sipper cup, laid it on its side and left it on the counter for ten minutes. When I checked on it there was a small puddle of water but it wasn’t a huge mess. Since the airflow hole was blocked with water it prevented a majority of the contents from leaking out. This doesn’t mean that you will get the same results – especially if the airflow hole isn’t blocked by liquid. If you need something with a lid or that is spill proof, this isn’t exactly the best choice for your needs. However, if you have a “biter” [a child that loves to bite or chew while drinking] these are a great pick. The plastic used on the lid is thick, strong and sturdy and there is little chance that a child will be able to chew through this unless they are part beaver. The solid one piece lid also means that there aren’t any parts to lose or cause a potential choking hazard.

As far as price is concerned, these were originally marked at $2.99 each but were on sale 2 for $3.00. Since then they have been on sale for .99 cents at the drug store as well as Big Lots. When you break that down you are paying .25 to .45 cents a piece for each of them [depending on the package price of course], which is a pretty good bargain for the quality that you get. You can use these when you are on the run and if you lose one its no big deal. I wish these would have been out when my boys could have taken advantage of them. Since there are four colors in the pack I could have let each of them pick one color to avoid bickering and less than friendly squabbles over who gets which cup.

The Bottom Line

My neighbors daughter fell in love with these so I stocked up on tons of these while they were on sale. These are great for preparing drinks for the day and a great way to get kids into a routine of drinking water instead of soda. If they have access to cold water in a sipper cup – ready to go in the refrigerator – they are less apt to stroll over and ask for soda.

I decide to give this a try myself and found it pretty easy to use but not exactly practical since you don’t get a tremendous amount of liquid from it [perfect for kids, not so perfect for adults]. Sure I felt a little strange drinking from a sippy cup but hey, I aim to give a well-rounded review. One thing that really separates this from other inexpensive sipper / sippy cups is the textured grips on the outside. Small hands will have no trouble grasping these and holding on the them – even if they are knee deep in food and have messy hands. If you have a child that has outgrown sipper cups but still needs something with a contained spout or you are worried about huge spills I highly recommend the Rubbermaid TakeAlongs. They are inexpensive, sturdy, have different colored lids and won’t collapse when a child is drinking from them.


As always, thanks for the visit!

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2003 Freak369


Other Rubbermaid product reviews…

• Rubbermaid Laundry Basket • Rubbermaid Blue Ice Mini Freezer Pack • Rubbermaid Take-Alongs 9 Ounce Sip Cup • Rubbermaid Servin’ Saver Egg Keeper • Rubbermaid Take-Alongs Rectangle • Rubbermaid Ice Cube Bin • Rubbermaid Take-Alongs Chug Bottle 17 Ounce • Rubbermaid Take-Alongs Deep Square • Rubbermaid Snap Case Series •





Recommended: Yes