Credit:
Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
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Credit:
Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
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This was our favorite reusable straw thanks to its well-designed carrying case. Read More
The larger circumference makes it good for smoothies or frappes. It is very durable, but care is advised since it is made of glass. Read More
For a no-frills daily drinking straw, look no further than the SipWell. That said, we don't recommend it for smoothies because its thin design makes it hard to suck up the thick drink. Read More
Not only are these silicone straws wide enough to make drinking a smoothie a breeze, they work great with both coffee and water as well. Read More
Wide enough for smoothies, and works great with coffee and water too. The silicone is tasteless and bends like a normal straw. In place of a cleaning brush, they have a unique squeegee. Read More
On average Americans use 500 million plastic straws per day, most of which will end up in landfills or the ocean. With increased focus on our environmental impact, many companies like Starbucks and Disney have been phasing out plastic straws. Some local governments from California to Florida have enacted outright bans.
So, where does that leave straw users who don’t want to add plastic waste? Currently, the best options are to use sippy tops like those found on coffee cups, or bringing along your own reusable one, like our choice for best reusable straw, the FinalStraw (available at Amazon) , or our best value pick, the SipWell Stainless Steel Drinking Straws (available at Amazon). While banning plastic straws is an environmentally friendly option, it's actually really hard to find a good reusable replacement.
Some taste too much like their material, some aren’t a sustainable material, and you actually have to remember to bring it with you which can be tricky as many aren’t easily portable. After testing reusable straws each day and drinking a ton of liquids in the process, we found some significant differences between each one in terms of usability and taste.
The FinalStraw was the best reusable straw we tested overall.
The Hummingbird Glass Straws were our pick for best-tasting (and best-looking) straw.
The SipWell Stainless Steel Straws were our choice for best value.
Easy to clean
Bendable
Difficult to break
Not very portable
Wide and curved design
Kid safe
Easy to clean plus dishwasher safe
Not very portable
Chills your drinks
Spacious carrying case
Well-designed cleaning brush
Not very portable
Leaves a bad flavor
Protects teeth from staining
Hard to use design
Not good for thick drinks
Hard to clean
None that we could find
Easy to break
Packaging isn't eco-friendly
Too large
None that we could find
Poorly designed
Hard to clean
Leaves a bad taste
I’m Courtney Campbell, an e-commerce editor here at Reviewed, and I spend most days sifting through the best deals on the Internet for the best products. I’ve used reusable straws at home for years—although I'm guilty of not bringing them to restaurants or coffee shops. After hearing about the ban on plastic straws, I was curious about what would be the best straw for daily use and whether or not they would be more portable to bring out along.
The testing process involved drinking a ton of liquids. Each day I would drink a smoothie made of kale, frozen banana, cherries, almond milk, and chocolate protein powder (highly recommended), a large iced coffee with almond milk, and two cups of water using one straw.
From there, I would note if I noticed the taste of the straw material and how easy it was to drink with the straw. Before testing and after each type of drink I would wash the straw with the included cleaning brush to see how easy it was to clean.
Other factors that were considered included portability, sturdiness, and any special features or accessories. The straws chosen were made of stainless steel, glass, silicone, and bamboo—each of which was also considered in the rankings. And we made sure to include a mix of straight and bent straws.
The movement against single-use plastic straws—like other environmentally harmful single-use plastics—started as an effort to protect wildlife and the environment by eliminating hard-to-degrade materials and reducing carbon footprints.
The movement against plastic straws, specifically, gained traction after a video of a sea turtle with a straw stuck up his nose went viral. There was soon a wider conversation about the impact of these non-biodegradable materials that often end up in oceans and break down into microplastics, impacting the diets and wellbeing of fish (and thus, humans). Since then, several U.S. cities and companies have banned them, from New York City and Seattle to Starbucks and Alaska Airlines.
There are several materials used to make reusable straws and each has their pros and cons. There’s no perfect reusable straw, so you’ll want to choose one that best fits your lifestyle.
Metal: This is probably the most common material for reusable straws. It’s great for keeping liquids cold and easily shoving in a glass of ice, but it isn’t bendable, can sometimes have a metallic taste, and doesn’t have a good mouthfeel for straw chewers. Sometimes you’ll find a combination of metal and silicone tips, which alleviates some of these issues.
Silicone: Reusable straws made of silicone more closely resemble the feel of a traditional plastic straw. These are probably the best choice for children and can be used with hot or cold drinks. However, they’re not super sturdy, meaning it’s harder to get the last sip of whatever you’re drinking.
Glass: Glass straws are essentially tasteless, which makes your drink more true to taste and therefore more enjoyable. Unfortunately, they aren’t bendable and are more likely to break, which is not ideal for children or traveling.
Bamboo: Bamboo is the most sustainable material for reusable straws, but tends to have a “woody” aftertaste and you’ll need to replace them sooner than the other materials.
While many reusable straws claim to be dishwasher-safe, it can be hard to imagine the residual fruit bits from a smoothie being fully removed by just tossing a dirty straw in your utensil rack. (Although if you're just using your straw for water, that's a different story.)
Luckily, most reusable straw sets you buy will come with a cleaning brush that's long and thin enough to clean through the length of the straw with its bristles. (Just make sure you get all the way in there—from both ends!) If your set didn't come with a cleaning brush, they're easy enough to find online. You can also try dental floss as an alternative, by using it to scrape all sides of the straw after soaking.
Courtney is an editor and shopper with a passion for finding the best things on the internet. She's a foodie and will talk about the latest batch of kombucha she's brewing to anyone who will listen. She has previously worked for Country Living, Woman's Day, and Our State Magazine.
Monica is Reviewed's Kitchen & Cooking editor and an avid home cook; she's been testing a wide range of kitchen products at Reviewed for over a year. Previously the Digital Editor at Culture Cheese Magazine (and a former barista), she's also had her work published in The Boston Globe, Modern Luxury, Boston Magazine, and more.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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