If you've been trying to decide whether dropping $45 on a Stanley cup is worth it, there's good reason to take the plunge. Since I've been looking at Stanley cups, I've never seen them drop in price, so sales are likely few and far between. While the 40-ounce mugs are $45, smaller tumblers for cheaper.
Right now, you can get the 14-ounce tumbler in black for $20, thanks to a $5 discount during Amazon's Labor Day sale. While I've seen additional color options on sale in the past, black goes with just about anything, and it's still a good deal for a great tumbler I can't recommend enough.
Here's what my experience has been with the Stanley cups. Are you looking for a nice koozie heading into the fall? This Brumate Hopsulator Trio drink holder is my favorite, and it keeps drinks ice cold for hours.
My favorite size Stanley cup
Over the years, I've tried multiple trendy water bottles to encourage myself to drink more water. I tried an hourly motivational bottle, which got me to drink more water for maybe three days, and I've tried using only disposable water bottles to better keep count (I know, bad for the environment). Nothing ever sticks, and I'm back to chugging water at night to catch up. The cup that I've stuck with because it makes it easy to gulp water on the go, is the 30-ounce Stanley tumbler.
Here's what I thought about each size of Stanley cups
I bought three different sizes of Stanley tumblers to try from Amazon -- the 14-ounce in stone ($20), 30-ounce in cream ($35) and 40-ounce in lilac ($45) -- and there's a clear winner. Though the 40-ounce would probably be my cup of choice, I regularly have to lug around my 23-pound, energetic toddler, which means I need something lighter to put my water in. That same child is always following me around, so constantly refilling the 14-ounce tumbler is also out of the question -- plus it doesn't have a handle, which is inconvenient. The handle is definitely a game-changer.
That leaves the Goldilocks of the group: the 30-ounce Stanley tumbler. It's light, fits in my car's cup holder and is insulated with stainless steel, so I can use it to keep my water cold or my coffee hot. I once left my Stanley tumbler, filled with ice water, in the car during an 89-degree day, and the water was still cold when I got back hours later.
What I don't like about the Stanley tumblers
The only downside I've found is that when the straw is in the cup, there's no way to make it leak-proof. So when my 1-year-old gets ahold of my cup, he spills water all over himself. The straw is removable, but I prefer to use it because it makes drinking water easier (in my opinion).
For more, check out my favorite espresso machine that keeps me out of coffee shops and Jeff Carlson's favorite coffee scale.