In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician

Playtex Anytime Spout Cup Review

Boring cup that leaked when upside down
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playtex anytime spout cup sippy cup review
Playtex Anytime Spout Cup
Credit: Playtex
Price:  $6 List
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Manufacturer:   Playtex
By Juliet Spurrier, MD & BabyGearLab Team  ⋅  Jun 2, 2014
62
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Leakage - 35% 7.0
  • Ease of Use - 25% 6.0
  • Ease of Cleaning - 20% 8.0
  • Eco-Health - 20% 3.0

The Skinny

This sippy ranked 16 out of 21 cups tested. It scored 62 out of 100 points, which meant it was an adequate cup that scored fairly average in every metric. This sippy did okay for leaks, losing some points for leaking while upside down. It also scored poorly for eco-health, because it was made almost entirely of plastic, and required excessive sucking. While it was lightweight and scored well for ease of cleaning, it just wasn't a great cup, nor did it offer any unique wow factors that helped it stand out from the competition. Even though it had one of the cheapest prices, there were still cups that scored better, and had similar price tags. All of this makes the Playtex Anytime Spout cup a sippy we do not recommend.
REASONS TO BUY
Easy to clean
Lightweight
REASONS TO AVOID
Plastic
Leaks
Harder to drink from
Update — January 2017
Playtex has changed the Times line, making some improvements and changing the name. It is now called the Sipsters line. All the new Sipsters cups are divided into different stages. The main difference in useability is that all lids are interchangeable between cups of different stages.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Playtex Anytime Spout cup is a BPA-free plastic cup made by Playtex. It has what they call Twist 'N Click technology, so parents can tell when the cup is closed properly, it claims to be 100% Spill-proof, Break-proof, Leak-proof, and it offers a guarantee to support the claim. It has a spill proof valve that is easy to clean, an ergonomic design for little hands to hold, is top rack dishwasher safe, and comes in several colors. It is widely available online and in stores.

Performance Comparison


playtex anytime spout cup sippy cup review - a variety of toddler sippy cups
A variety of Toddler Sippy Cups
Credit: Micah James

Likes


playtex anytime spout cup sippy cup review - this sippy came in bright colors, with a hard spout design
This sippy came in bright colors, with a hard spout design
Credit: Micah James
This sippy was lightweight and slightly contoured, which meant it was easy for little ones to grasp and hold for long durations. It had few parts that came apart easily, and were also easy to assemble. The parts were easy to clean, and required no special cleaning tools outside of a standard bottle brush or washcloth.

This cup also did well in the sideways leak test earning a 10 of 10 score for this test. Unfortunately, it did not do equally as well in the upside down test, which hurt it in the leakage category as a whole.

Dislikes


This cup scored poorly in the upside leak test with just a 6 of 10. While this might not be a deal breaker for cups that hold primarily water, or for older children less prone to dropping cups, it certainly wasn't a good score for a cup with so many similar sippy cup competitors on the market, and in our tests. In our opinion, standard run of the mill sippy cups with no standout features, should at the very least, be leak-proof or there really is no reason
playtex anytime spout cup sippy cup review - the packaging notes bpa-free plastic, but doe not indicate anything...
The packaging notes BPA-free plastic, but doe not indicate anything else about the cup's composition
Credit: Micah James
to buy them.

This cup also lost points in the eco-health metric because it is made primarily from plastic. We prefer stainless steel and glass over plastic, because the materials are inert and guaranteed not to leach chemicals. Inaddition, it scored fewer points in eco-health for excessive sucking required to use the cup. Excessive sucking could lead to poor oral hygiene and it is not recommended by the American Dental Association, who would really prefer a valve free cup.

Conclusion


There really isn't anything to love about this cup. It is a fairly average cup, at a really cheap price. However, given there are very similar cups, at similar prices, that scored higher overall and in most metrics, it really was a cup we could not recommend. While we did love the simple design and straight forward characteristics of this cup, we just didn't feel like it measured up to the other cups we tested. If you are going to be boring, you should at least be good at it.

Juliet Spurrier, MD & BabyGearLab Team