It's always fun to write a review on those products that not only worked out great but also were a smashing value, to boot. This, along with the 8 oz version that we also used, is one of those products.
When I told my wife how much I loved these bottles, she just shook her head as if to say 'The poor man has gone mental.' Sure, I may spend more time with my power tools than baby bottles, but I quickly grew fond of feeding my baby daughter and I always appreciate a super product at a great value. Also, I figure there ought to be some positive side to my initial, terrifying, experience to shopping for feeding supplies. It was my mission, you see, to get the bottles and accessories necessary for feeding baby when mommy went back to work. (baby was breastfed and went to the bottle for pumped milk...) No problem, I thought. Go to the store, grab some bottles and be home in 20 minutes, I thought. Whoa. First time parents, you know what I am talking about: go into one of those giant baby supply stores and behold the section labeled 'feeding' and there it is - a wall 8 feet high by 40 feet long. (seemed like 100 feet long at the time) Shelves and shelves and shelves of JUST bottles, and we're not even talking about nipples. My wife thought I had instead gone to a bar when I finally got home 4 hours later, exhausted and overwhelmed. With no bottles. OK, so the review...
We wanted bottles with no BPA, which was beginning to make big news a few years ago, so we explored non-BPA options. There were plastic ones, but not all of them indicated on the bottle exactly what type of plastic they were. (you know, PETE, HDPE, LDPE, etc. with those little triangles on the bottom) That made me unsure of plastic. Then we considered glass. Would they break? Sure, if they were dropped far enough on a hard surface, but we decided we'd be careful. So, these glass bottles have no BPA. Another nice benefit is that they also have no printing, so we don't have to worry about what chemicals or heavy metals might also be in the printing. And, another nice thing about not having any printing is that the printing doesn't wear off after hundreds of feedings and cleanings. These bottles have their gradations formed right into the glass, so they'll wear out when the bottle wears out. Which is never.
They are colorless. We like that also. You can see what's in the bottle, and you can also tell when they are clean. I mean, there's nothing so clean looking as clear glass with no water spots, right? We've seen other plastic bottles that were colored or turned cloudy over time, and I don't like not seeing exactly what my baby is drinking.
They are durable. Unless you clean them with steel wool, these bottles won't scratch. Can't say that about plastic. They also won't melt, either, when you boil them to sterilize. BPA-free plastic may be great when it is cold, but I wondered what chemicals they may be releasing at over 212 degrees. Any glass is breakable, but our daughter didn't break a single one in almost two years. And she tried. I found them to be as sturdy, when using and cleaning them, as our drinking glasses. No parent wants their child to be showered with broken glass, but we came to the conclusion that there was no more to fear from this happening with baby's bottles than with any other glass she is around. (car windows, house windows, drinking glasses, dishes, etc.) When baby turned to toddler, however, the deal's off, as she likes nothing better than to hurl everything she can hold. Nowadays it's nothing but titanium plates and bowls for her...
Value. This one's a biggie. Nothing's too good for my daughter, a sentiment shared by every other parent on earth, I reckon. But these are reasonable. You've seen other glass bottles, the ones that ape the 'no BPA' angle, the ones that cost nearly TEN bucks for a measly TWO bottles? Yikes! I looked at them, and they're fine bottles, but we're talking value here and these Evenflo bottles win that argument, for me. Besides, I recall that these bottles came not only with a ring and nipple, but also a top cap, and a seal that goes under the ring so you can shake up formula without spewing it all over the place through the nipple. (ask me how I know)
Other nice things: These come in common-sense sizes, 4 and 8 ounces. Also, they happen to fit perfectly Medela breast pump valves - for those of you so inclined - so you can pump directly into the bottle and then pop it in the fridge. Cool! (yeah, my wife just loves it when I wax enthusiastic about all this) Most importantly of all, they worked great for our daughter. No gas, no fussiness, no issues at all with the nipples, which do vent. (there's a shallow groove on the base of the nipples that allows air into the bottle if you don't over-tighten the ring)
Are these bottles perfect? Not universally, I'm sure, but they were perfect for us and we'll be using them for our next little one. One nice thing is that you can always change nipples to another brand if baby likes those best or to a different flow rate if necessary. (they come with different flow rates?? Who knew?!)