Customer Reviews

Born Free Drinking Cup, Colors May Vary

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

We were originally drawn to this cup because of the environmental aspect and the fact that children my family knows love theirs'. My daughter has been using traditional plastic cups for years, but my son was having trouble making the transition from bottles. We thought we'd try these for him and get the added benefit of less chemicals.

It was obvious as soon as I opened the package that it was going to leak. The opening in the spout was too large not to. Sure enough, some milk came out when I held the bottle upside down. To my surprise, the flow stopped after only a couple of drops. I realized that they would be no good for my son, but I gave it to my daughter to use and she LOVED it.

Because I was confused that people would make the claim that these bottles do not leak, I did some more research (which I should have done in the first place.) It turns out that BornFree makes Drinking Cups AND Training Cups. What distinguishes the two is the volume of the bottle and the spouts, hard spout for the drinking and soft for the training. I bought a Training Cup. The soft spout has a much smaller opening. When I held a full bottle upside down it did not leak. I gave it to my son and he LOVED it. It is by far his favorite sippy cup. His bottles are going in the recycling bin this weekend.

If you child can be relied on to keep his/her cup upright, the drinking cup is great. If she/he cannot, try to the training cup or get the drinking cup, a package of the soft spout and save the hard ones for when he/she is bigger.

This IS NOT a sippy cup and DOES NOT claim to be leak-proof! It specifically says it has "free flow of liquids." This cup is great for my 22mo old because it teaches him what is like to drink from a regular cup but minimizes the mess. There is no sucking needed for this cup. Great for toddlers!

Interchangeable with Klean Kanteen!

I was about to give up trying to transition my 13 month-old son to a sippy cup, off the bottle. At 12 months, we'd tried and failed miserably, but we at least made a small step: I found that he would take his milk in his Klean Kanteen sippy cup (love them!) if I took the sippy spout off and inserted a Phillips Avent nipple. He would only do the slow flow nipples, as we'd only ever used slow flow nipples (I nursed/provided expressed milk exclusively for 12 months). Once he was taking the Avent slow flow nipple off the KK cup, I hoped we could eventually transition to a sippy spout. I was happy with KK because he liked them for water--he had no problems using the sippy spout, either the white younger version (Avent) or the green older version (also Avent). He also did well with water and the KK sports cap, as he loved sharing from my KK bottle, too.

I tried all sorts of options for him with the sippy cup transition for milk--open cup, sports cap, Avent spouts (both kinds) on the KK, other sippy spouts, and various straws. He refused it all. I would not give in to him, but he'd simply boycott the milk and go without, just eating more and sooner at meal times. After three days where he was seriously down on his milk (we still did nipples for bedtime), I knew we either had to give in and accept that he wasn't ready to transition and wait a bit longer. I was about to give up when a friend had the Born Free trainer cup with the soft spout. I could see that it was similar to a nipple, but at least it was a step in the right direction. I immediately ordered a Born Free cup to try.

Immediately, my son took the Born Free spout...wonderful news! But also good news was that I discovered that the Born Free spout is interchangeable with the Klean Kanteen sippy cup! Just like the Avent nipples and spouts are interchangeable, the Born Free spout fits snugly and without leaking! This was great news as I didn't need to buy entirely new cups, just a few Born Free spouts to change out with the Avent nipples and spouts.

I really love the Klean Kanteen sippy cup because it is so versatile--you can use the Avent nipples, same as you would use for Avent nipples. You can also use the Avent sippy spouts, as well as the Klean Kanteen sports caps or the regular, secure close Klean Kanteen lid. You have options that grow with your child, so as his needs change, you can just change the top, and because its stainless steel, it should last awhile, especially if your child is like mine and loves to toss the cup around. The Klean Kanteen sippy cup hasn't leaked for me, either with the spouts (Avent and Born Free) or nipples. The sports cap does leak. Sometimes, with the sippy spout, a drop or two of liquid will spill out of the air gap, but it's minimal. And if whatever was drawn up into the valve isn't cleared (drank), then that will spill out.

I looked for other reviews of the Born Free spout, to see if it was interchangeable, but I couldn't find any other reviews on this. Either Klean Kanteen must have a deal with Avent, or it hasn't been tried, or at least it hasn't been reported. This is one happy customer though, for Born Free spouts AND the Klean Kanteen sippy cups.

For cleaning the Klean Kanteen Avent sippy spouts, you have to remove the clear no-spill valve and the two black rings for a thorough clean. This seems simpler to me than the valve system in the Born Free cups, but you don't need that valve system if you use the Born Free spout in the Klean Kanteen, and it's still no-spill. I haven't tried the Born Free nipples, so I don't know if they're interchangeable with the Klean Kanteen, but maybe, if they are interchangeable with the Born Free Trainer cups.

The steel cup is heavier, but my son has no problem feeding himself, and he hasn't had any problem for many months now. The smaller neck is easy for him to hold, and he manages just fine.

I wish I'd known about the interchangeability of Klean Kanteen and Avent earlier...I would have invested in Avent bottles instead of Medela (which I liked fine, but I like double use) or the Dr. Brown (which I hated for all the parts). Or Born Free, for that matter, assuming the nipples are interchangeable. I like versatility and quality, which I seem to find here, not to mention something that works for finally making the transition from bottle to sippy and ditching the bottle!

I have owned my sippys for about a year now and just love them. We first used them to transition from the bottle which was plain easy with the soft spouts. The handles made it easy for my son to hold and the lids helped me not have a wet diaper bag.

We have washed all parts in the dishwasher many, many, many times and not one piece has failed. Yes, the top drips a little. But it was worth it for my piece of mind to switch to a non-BPA sippy. In truth, in my 6 years of parenting, I have found only 2 that have not leaked.

I recommend these for piece of mind.

I've been using these cups for about a year now and I think they are great. I used the training cups to ween my daughter from breast feeding at 18 months. They were tougher to suck from so I eventually switched her to the drinking nipples and she has loved them ever since and she in now 2 1/2. If you want a cup that does not spill easy you will need to purchase the Training Cup. The Drinking Cups do leak if your child dumps it upside down, but I taught my daughter with in the first 5 weeks to not dump it anymore and to set it on the table or give it to me when she is finished and she has done great with it ever since. I wish they had these cups when my 10 year old daughter was a baby, because I used regular bottles with her and she had a lot more health problems than my 2 year old ever has. I think having the cup be BPA Free is worth the price and working with your child to learn how to use it correctly. To clarify the 4 or 5 top parts complaint I read on another review there is the nipple that inserts into the cap (just like a regular bottle), a removable handle (which my daughter likes when a mix the colors of the handles and the bottles), and a two-piece vent that easily snaps together and insert in to the cup, it really is simple and I do not understand what all the complaints are about.

NOT a Big fan of Born-free sippy cups!!!
If you want the liquid that you put in these cups to end up on your child, floor, car seat, all over the car, dog, sofa etc. you get the point, go ahed and spend your money on these cups.
If you want a truly leak-proof cup, get someting else.
I'm going to purchase Gerber Fun grips or Avent Magic cups and give those a try. The Born-Free Cups are going to become new bath toys, as one reviewer suggested.

Not only did we buy the soft spout, which is supposed to be smaller, but I also made sure the assembly was properly attached. It still leaked immediately any time the kids drank from it, and later even when they just held the cups upside down. This was the same day we bought them.

My kids absolutely loved the soft spout and it was sad to take that away from them, but they were getting drenched with these cups!!

I wanted to get away from the bad plastic and was prepared to like these cups very much. What a waste of money.

So...awfully...worthless! I loved the idea of the safe plastic but it leaks worse than those cheap valveless cups! Save your money for organic food instead!

Okay, here is the biggest problem I see with 80% of the negative reviews-- this cup is SUPPOSED to "leak." In no uncertain terms, the product is billed as "free-flowing." Which, to me, and I think my English teachers would all agree, means drip, drip, drip. If you are looking for a leak-free sipper, keep looking. If you are angry that the sipper leaks, I would suggest that you read the full product description before you buy. These sippers are basically identical in appearance to the Born Free TRAINER cup, which does not leak. As an aside, I will also offer up this bit of information-- it takes nothing short of a commercial vacuum to get liquid out of those spouts, but my son is very fond of the shape, hence I bought one of these, and everyone is more or less pleased.

The reason these get one star reduction is that the cost of the cup is highway robbery-- if, like me, you have invested a small fortune in sippers, trying to find one your child will accept, $10+ is really too much. Yes, you can purchase the replacement spouts, but here I will let you in on another bit of interesting information-- the collar and spout do not make the fantastic seal that they do when you buy the pre-packaged cup-- why?!? I do not mind leaking from the spout tip, where liquid is supposed to come from, but around the collar is unacceptable. My other minor complaint is that the handles are cheaply made-- they are quite flimsy and after a few uses/washes, they "spin" around the sipper as they please. When baby picks up the sipper with one hand (which they will eventually do), the sipper may come crashing down at their face. Ah yes, it is only a light bottle filled with a few oz. of liquid, but it's enough to make even the bravest toddler cry for their mommy.

Note: Unless your child has a VERY strong suck, I would recommend bypassing the trainer spout and going directly to these-- yes, they will leak, but baby won't get blue in the face from sucking or throw it down in disgust (because they aren't able to get anything out).

I have twin boys who just turned 10 months old. They have been using these Born Free "Drinking Cups" for over 2 months for water and juice,since they get so little and it was practice. We have started switching out one feeding at a time and adding these for their formula. We want to try to avoid traditional sippy cups. They do pretty well with them. They don't leak...what they do do is have a freeer flow so your baby does not have to suck so hard to get fluid. closer to a "real" cup feel. Sure some gets on my kids, and couch/an or floor, but really who cares? I have two boys! lol :)..never going to be pristine clean! I will say my kids are on a nice schedule and so only get drinks at certain times and therfore I can supervise and limit some messes. This is one way to limit the spillage. These are a nice way to avoid traditional sippy cups if you want to go that way, but if spilling really is a problem, the "training cups" by Born Free are a better choice. The valves and handles will fit any born free cup or bottle so that is nice as well.