I Use My Stanley Tumblers Every Day. Here's the Size I Like the Most

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 because Amazon is having a sale right now. You can get the ash-colored 45-ounce tumbler for $35, which is $10 off the regular price. Since I've been looking at Stanley cups, I've never seen them drop in price, so these might sell out fast. 

Here's what my experience has been with the Stanley cups. And are you looking for a nice koozie for the summer? This Brumate Hopsulator Trio 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. But nothing ever sticks, and I'm back to chugging water at night to catch up. But the cup that I've actually 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 the Stanley cups

I bought three different sizes of Stanley tumblers to try from Amazon -- the 14-ounce in charcoal ($20), 30-ounce in cream ($35) and 40-ounce in orchid ($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 CNET's Cliff Colby's favorite $20 knife.