The TV commercials were shown constantly.  And my husband fell for it hook, line, and sinker.  From the minute he first saw the Bottle Tops product, he had to have it.  So, the very first time we found this product discounted below its standard $9.99 for a set of 12 (but wait, there's more!!!) we purchased it.

This product claims to turn your ordinary soda can into a bottle, by snapping on a top which can be closed tightly.  The advertising touts many advantages over ordinary cans such as the ability to save half a can of soda without it going flat.  And, when you close the bottle's cap, your can of soda is now spill-proof.  And, since the top is closed, you don't have to worry about anything getting into the soda.

Frankly, this product does all of that.  The top snaps extremely tightly to the can, and the bottle's top closes tightly.  The result is, indeed, spill-proof.   And, yes, half-filled cans of soda can be kept at least a couple of days in the refrigerator without losing their fizz.  So, overall, the product does exactly what it was designed to do.

However, it's not without a few design flaws that make the product a bit more difficult to use than I would like.

The first problem is attaching the top to the can.  You must line up the bottle top's ridges directly with the can's lip.  Make sure the bottle top is perfectly straight, then apply force from the top, straight down.  And I mean a LOT of force.  Attaching this thing is not easy.  I dare say that kids won't be able to do it.  In fact, half the time I can't do it, and I have to ask my husband to do it.  Bear in mind that the can of soda must be open at this point since it would be difficult to open, once the bottle top is in place.  So, when faced with a full, open can of soda, I'm just not comfortable applying as much downward pressure as is necessary to get this bottle top to snap into place.  I have visions in my mind of the can just crumpling under the force, and soda going everywhere.  Of course, that doesn't really happen, but it's definitely not a simple matter to attach this thing.

Later, there's a similar problem removing the top.  But in this case, it was a matter of reading the directions that solved this problem.  You see, we didn't actually read the directions the first time we tried the product.  Thus we struggled immensely to remove the top from the can.  Finally we read the directions and the solution was simple: you must crush the can, in order to remove the top.  Crushing the can breaks the bottle top's seal, allowing it to pop off.  And it does "pop off".  If you're not holding it at the time that seal is broken, you'd better duck.  The top has gone flying a few times in my house.  So, once you know the "secret", removal is a simple matter.  But I would prefer a built-in method to break the seal, such as a tab that could be lifted, or a button that could be pressed.

Finally, there's the bottle top's cap.  This is a black snap-on cap, that is attached to the bottle top by a small piece of plastic just over 1/2" long.  Why do I mention its length?  Because it's not long enough, in my opinion.  When you drink from the bottle top, the cap is always approximately 1/2" away from your mouth.  This means it's hitting you in the cheek, in the nose, or on your chin, depending on how you're holding the bottle.  The holding strap should be longer, so the cap can dangle freely, away from your face while you're drinking.  Don't get me wrong - it's very nice that the caps are attached, otherwise they'd easily get lost, but I have to wonder whether anyone actually used this product before they settled on the 1/2" attachment strap.

The set of 12 includes two each of blue, green, orange, red, yellow, and purple bottle tops.  Which reminds me of another advantage of using these tops - helping to keep people's drinks separate.  So if three people are all drinking Diet Coke, let them each take a different color.  We hand-wash them after each use (they're not dishwasher-safe).  And, although the standard price is $9.99, we found them in a mall's kiosk for $7.99. 

This is a decent product that does exactly what it's supposed to do.  Hence my hesitant recommendation. But a few design tweaks would go a long way to making it a better product.  Perhaps there will be a "new & improved" model out, soon.  But for now, there are some flaws making this a less than ideal product.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 8