Customer Reviews

Born Free Twin Pack Wide Neck Bottles, 9-Ounce

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

I was searching for a bottle that didn't leak (all of my Avent and Breast Flow leaked terribly). These bottles are fantastic - as long as you figure out the venting trick (it's so silly that they just don't tell you this). The "venting system" has a little, rubbery insert that goes under the nipple and protrudes into the bottle. this protuberance as an air venting slit that keeps the nipple from collapsing. this slit needs to be facing towards the ceiling when you are feeding baby. I'm guessing it's because the air your baby is causing isn't forceful enough to really push the bubbles out- but if you let the bubbles RISE, as they do naturally, you will see a continuous stream of bubbles popping up inside the bottle as your baby drinks. it's really no big deal. when i make a bottle, i always make sure this little slit is situated where the words on the bottle are. if you don't place the slit anywhere particular, you can always twist the bottle while baby is drinking - you will eventually see bubbles.
my little girl is a voracious eater. she will take down an entire 9 oz bottle without coming off the nipple once- as long as that slit is where it's supposed to be. these bottles DO NO LEAK (i have three i bought at separate times). It's so ridiculous that no one tells you to twist the bottle if it's not venting. fantastic product- if you don't mind the price.

I have tried just about every bottle on the market, hoping to find one that my breastfeeding baby would accept. Finally, I happened upon this one. I love it, and so does my son! The vent system keeps the baby from having to let go of the nipple every so often to keep it from collapsing. And no matter what, this bottle doesn't leak! Furthermore, I really like knowing that there are no chemicals leaching from the plastic into my baby's milk. And my son likes the nipple much better than the firmer Avent nipple. A great product!

We bought these bottles for our six month old solely because they are free of bisphenol-A. As it turns out, they're great bottles in their own right.

Pros:

* They don't leak (unlike Dr. Brown's), even when resting upside down in a bag.
* Easy to hold. I was put off by the large circumference but as it turns out our son has an easier time gripping the BornFree than smaller bottles.
* Easy to clean.
* Venting system actually works.

Cons:

* Price. If concern over bisphenol-A someday turns out to be a false alarm, I'm going to feel pretty silly spending this much per bottle (nearly $10).
* Size. The large circumference is a trade off. While it does make the bottle easier to hold, it means you can store fewer bottles in a small bag.

Also, be aware that the nipple is very large. It's fine for a six month old, but for an infant who's still learning to breast feed you might need to look elsewhere.

Overall we're very happy with the BornFree bottles.

I bought these bottles, kind of begrudingly. I had tons of AVENT bottles left over from my son when he was a baby just 2 years ago, but with all the press over the danger of BPA bottles, I decided I should not risk it and go with new ones. We had sterilized and microwaved our AVENT bottles A LOT and even though they weren't cloudy, I would never forgive myself if my daughter ended up with problems. So, I bought a whole set of these Born Free bottles. So glad I did. The bottles have a unique air vent system and my daughter has literally had very little gas. We even find it hard to get her to burp after feeding. They seem to be a much better product and something in the unique vent system helps her remain comfortable and happy after eating. She is six weeks old now and doing great!

I wanted bpa (bisphenol a) free bottles for my daughter born last October, and at the time, Born Free (BF) were all I found. Fortunately, there are now more options: http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/07/z-report-bisphenol-in-polycarbonate.html. But back to BF.

Pros:
--Bpa free plastic, plus a glass option.
--Silicone nipples are "modern". By this I mean they have a wide base at the bottom of the long nipple (like Avent). As opposed to the Evenflo glass bottles, which still have what I call the "1950's" nipple that our parents used (i.e., short stubby nipple without a "base" of any kind to mimic the breast, by contrast).

Cons:
--The anti-gas "vent": I find this totally worthless. I tried Avent, Adiri, First Years, and Evenflo, to name a few. However by the time I was set to try Dr. Browns, I decided that bpa free trumped everything else, so I went with Born Free and bought a full contingent of these bottles. The Born Free system works no better than Avent (whose bottles don't have a "system" (meaning there are no special inserts or vents)), and less well than the First Years Breastflow bottle (I loved this bottle - very little gas. Wish they had safe plastic!). I don't mind cleaning extra parts if that's what it takes to get bpa free and anti-gas, but boy, you better not make me clean an extra part that provides no material benefit. BTW, the instructions say to make sure the vent is "open." Folks, the vent consists of a vertical slit in what I'll call the "mini-nipple" of the interior silicone vent. If anyone knows how to "open" a slit, I'd be real interested to hear it.

--Cleaning brushes: while one does not need to purchase the BF bottle brush (Munchkin's is more than adequate - better even - at $3 or so), I've found the nipple brush is very useful. Munchkin's bottle/nipple brush consists of stiff bristles. While this is fine for silicone nipples, BF's specialized vent has the aforementioned "mini-nipple" which is very delicate. I've always been afraid that even gentle brushing with the bristle brush would tear the slit (the silicone is very thin here). Thus, if one wants BF's soft foam nipple brush (which does indeed work well), one will pony up $14.99 list for not only the nipple brush, but also the bottle brush. They are not sold separately. They are made of cheap foam with plastic handles - that's IT! - and they wear out quickly. Outrageous to all intelligent parents out there. The cost of producing these has to be infinitesimal. Why gouge the consumer for brushes to clean BF's bottles? Insulting and greedy, and counterproductive to generating brand loyalty.

--Price: more on the subject of greed. While I am eternally grateful to the man who brought these to market (thus putting pressure on other mfgrs to compete), I am grossly offended by Born Free's pricing structure. Let's consider the fact that the only competitive advantage these initially had (as there are now competitive alternatives; again, see link above) was 1) bpa free plastics and 2) a glass bottle with a modern, wide-base nipple. Passing on to the consumer the cost of creating a bpa free bottle is one thing, but when one considers that the other components are no different from other manufacturers (glass is glass - cheap! - and silicone nipples are a dime a dozen), the price structure is insulting to parents' intelligence. For example, on the Born Free website (all my comments are based on list price - you can often get them cheaper on Amazon, for example, but it is the manufacturer's suggested retail that I'm analyzing here), a two pack of 9 oz plastic bottles is the same price as a two pack of glass 9 oz bottles - $19.99. Glass bottles and silicone nipples (with a worthless vent, don't forget). Contrast this with Evenflo's 8 oz glass bottle three pack for $4.99. These come with rubber nipples, so add back in 3 replacement Evenflo silicone nipples at $3.50 (highest Amazon price I saw, for four nipples) and you are at $8.49: less than half the price for one more bottle and two extra nipples. Why, I ask myself? Because of the vent? The wide neck? Neither is the company's top-marketing point, rather, the bpa-free plastic is. In fact, the BF glass bottles should cost LESS than the corresponding BF bpa-free plastic bottles. It just makes sense. And as other reviewers have noted, the replacement silicone nipples (all bottles come with stage 1 nipples; eventually, you need stage 2, 3...) are more expensive than the corresponding silicone nipples of comparable brands. Here again, there is NO COMPETITIVE DIFFERENCE in these silicone nipples. The fact that they are slightly different in diameter from, say, Avent only makes one think you need to buy BF (having now read other reviewers, I'll try Dr. Browns when we get to stage 3). List price for two BF nipples (regardless of flow) is $6.99. A four pack is $12.99. Woo hoo. OUTRAGEOUS! And the $15 bottle brushes? As per above - puh-lease.
--Lack of replacement glass bottle bases - let's face it, these break. It would be REALLY NICE to be able to purchase just the glass base, without the vent, nipple and cap, for a discounted price, as a service to their customers.

The bottom line: there are other options now from MAM (the UltiVent) and Nuby by Luv n' Care. I also see that Dr. Browns now offers glass. In the breast pumping arena, all Medela's parts and containers (which convert to bottles with, unfortunately, 1950's nipples) are also bpa free. Thus, when we need more 9 oz bottles, I won't be buying BF again on principle, which is too bad, as they pioneered the bpa offering (or at least the marketing thereof), and normally that would be enough to buy my loyalty.

Like the bottle that it is bisphenol A free and it looks and feel like the Dr. Brown wide neck bottles we have been using. However, we had repeated issues with nipples collapsing, which frustrates both baby and mom. We contacted Born Free about the issue, and they were very responsive. We tried their suggestions to remedy the issue (made sure the vent system is assembled correctly), however, the nipple collapsing issue still occurs periodically. I think the vent system on some of our bottles are just defective. I gave up trying to make the Born Free vent work, and just replaced the Born Free vent with the Dr. Brown parts, and it has been working great after that.

When I first tried these out I had my doubts that they would work out okay (I had been using Avent and have used Dr Brown in the past). They take a little more time to put together than the Avent and babies don't like to wait when they're hungry! However once I got a system down (I put the two vent pieces together and the nipple/collar/cap together in advance and store them in separate bins where I prepare the bottles) I came to really like them. I instantly got less burps than with the Avent and the Dr Brown and they don't leak like the Avent.

They've gone through the drop test onto a hardwood floor just fine and they quickly passed the most important test: my son took to them right away. He seems to find the shape easy enough to hold now and then. I also like that the caps are easier to center on the nipple than the Avent.

One warning: I tried out the "6 month+ Y Flow" nipples but my son vetoed them instantly. I unwisely had bought a number of nipples which (for now) he won't use. I get a little use out them with my two year old who takes the occasional bottle.

Other than that I'm sold - a better bottle than what I had been using (minus a little ramp time getting used to them) and of course they are BPA free.

These are nice bottles, easy for baby to hold and he doesn't have to interrupt feeding as much, compared with the Avent bottles.

The fact that they're free of Bisphenol-A was the killer feature for me.

My son didn't like the nipples as much so we just use the Avent ones that he is used to.

We have used these bottles since our daughter was born due to the fact that they don't contain Bisphenol-A (BPA). They are fantastic bottles.

Here's a tip. You can use the Dr. Brown nipples with them as they are the same... and much cheaper (good for when you need to move to stage 2 and 3).

We threw away all of our Dr. Brown bottles because of the BPA problem announced on the Baby Bargains website and swtiched to these at their suggestion.

These bottles are a big step down from Dr. Browns in every way except for the BPA-free feature. There are more air bubbles, they are wider than the standard size Dr. Brown bottles which makes it difficult for my baby to hold them, they are harder to clean, and for us the biggest problem has been that the nipples collapse all the time. This is frustrating because nipple-collapse avoidance is mentioned in most of their on-line product descriptions!

My son hates these bottles. He's developed a gas problem he never used to have and cries during feedings when the nipple collapses. I'm about to invest yet again in a new set of BPA-free bottles. Wish me luck.