Thinksport & Thinkbaby Healthy Sport Bottles

Be it heading out to play, going on a trip, or just running errands – we tote water with us everywhere we go.

And then came the BPA scare.  Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical suspected to disrupt the endocrine system, which was being used for many plastic baby and water bottles.

For the first time, we realized we should be cautious about the containers we use to store liquids for our family.

Thinksport & Thinkbaby ~ Their Safe Consumer Products Mission

Thinksport & thinkbaby employs a team of physicians and scientists to develop safe materials to use for consumers.  They design products to meet three criteria:

•  Safe – They insist on using safe materials

• Functional – With plenty of single-walled sports bottles on the market, they strive to improve functionality. Their dual-walled stainless steel offers many additional benefits (hot fill, cold fill, maintains temps for hours, no exterior dripping condensation)
• Sustainable – Their products must have an extremely long life, or be recyclable.  They shoot for both.

My family and I tried out two of their products.  Here’s what we thought.

Thinksport – The 25 oz Insulated Sports Bottle Review

I received a 25 oz thinksport Insulated Sports Bottle for this review.  This bottle is double-walled and vacuum-sealed stainless steel, and can keep your contents hot or cold for hours.

There were two things of note that I experienced while using the thinksport Insulated Sports Bottle, which have made me a fan of this product.

The day I received it, I washed it and filled it with ice water.  This was around 5:30 PM.  The next morning, I went to re-fill it with ice water … but heard a clunking noise when I picked it up?  It was still filled with my ice from the previous evening!  That’s some effective insulation.

Secondly, when used for iced drinks (water, in my case) – no condensation forms on the outside.  This is a big advantage in my book.  Especially at my office job, I have a bottle filled with ice water at my desk all day.  They sweat like crazy, and when I’m not careful to place paper towels underneath… I end up with nearby wet folders and legal pads.

I recommend this product to avid sports bottle users.  It offers something different, and while not completely replacing all uses of a standard, plastic water bottle – it definitely has some advantages over them.  It has become something that I now use on a daily basis.

The thinksport Insulated Sports Bottle comes in a variety of cool metallic colors, the 25 oz is available for $19.99., 12 oz for $15.99.

Thinksport insulated sports bottle Review Summary

What I Loved:

• Healthy,  chemical-free Stainless Steel Material
• Hot and Cold option adds value – can use as both a water bottle or even as thermos (can’t do that with plastic!)
• Insulated design that keeps ice intact for hours, and doesn’t sweat with condensation.
• Curved body makes it easy to grip
• Fun, eye catching look
• Not unlike the metal flashlight I keep in my car, as my husband used to remind me … “it can also be used as a weapon”.   🙂

What I Didn’t Love as Much

• It’s a bit heavier than a plastic water bottle.
•  Didn’t quite fit in my car cup holder – the bottom does partially, but only an inch or two.
• It comes with a removable filter that sits just inside the neck of the bottle (for brewing tea, or for keeping ice away from the drinking spout).  This didn’t work for me, but it’s no big deal – it’s easily removable. 

Thinkbaby – The 9 oz Thinkster Review

The thinkbaby line is also designed using only safe materials.

Making sure my kids’ eating and drinking containers are safe and free from harmful chemicals is an even higher priority to me than worrying about my own.

Another neat aspect of thinkbaby is that they have interchangeable pieces, to grow with your child and prolong the life of the product.  Start with BPA-free baby bottles, then for a reduced price you can purchase a conversion kit to continue using the same containers … now as a sippy cup, or a thinkster.

My 23 month old tested out a thinkster.  The use of a straw, versus tipping up a sippy cup to drink, was a little confusing to him at first.  Nothing he couldn’t figure out quickly, though.  (I do the same thing sometimes … not paying attention to what container I’m using, and tipping up a water bottle with a straw)

The straw is extra soft and pliable.  It has a little slide lid that closes down and completely covers the top, for transport or just keeping that straw clean.  I was skeptical about being leak-proof, but it did not leak at all when closed.

I really like that the handles are on a separate piece, and can completely rotate any direction – regardless of whether you lined up the drinking lid perfectly, or not.  (Moms of toddlers know what I’m talking about on this one.)

All in all, I’m happy with it because it’s a fun, unique design that doesn’t leak and gives me peace of mind knowing it’s completely chemical safe.

And my son certainly seems to gravitate towards using it – it seems to be his new favorite.  Perhaps it’s just enough of a transition (over a sippy cup style) that he feels like a big boy using it?  He does seem to really like the handles, too.

If it’s clean, this is now the cup that we reach for the most often for him.

The thinkbaby Thinkster is available for $9.99.

Thinkster Review Summary

What I Loved:

• Rotating, free handles
• Made of safe materials
• Design:  the soft straw, and flip-close, leak proof lid
• Conversion Option:  Had we started with thinkbaby products earlier, I love the idea of re-using baby bottle containers with the available conversion kits

What I Didn’t Love as Much:

• Can be tricky to clean the lid, the top portion of the straw where it’s closely wedged in with the flip close lid (think “stuck pea”).  There is perhaps a way to disassemble all that, but I was unsure and didn’t want to break it.

 The thinkbaby Giveaway!

Thinksport and thinkbaby have offered to giveaway the 9 oz thinkster to one of my readers.

Please use the form below to enter.

Open to US Residents only.

I was provided the products described at no charge for the purposes of this review.  But all opinions are honest and my own.

 

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