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See why.Reusable Straws
We tested stainless-steel, silicone, and bamboo straws to find the best one for sipping everything from water to iced coffee to smoothies.
Published June 22, 2020. Appears in America's Test Kitchen TV Season 22: Holiday Dessert and Salad
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What You Need To Know
The backlash against plastic straws has grown in recent years. In 2018, Seattle banned plastic straws, making it the first major city in the United States to do so. In 2019, Portland, Oregon, established a policy that would fine restaurants up to $500.00 if they gave plastic straws or cutlery to customers. And the European Union will ban many single-use plastics, including plastic straws, by 2021. Still, people enjoy drinking from straws, and for some it is an accessibility issue.
Enter reusable straws, which can be made from a wide range of materials, including stainless steel, silicone, bamboo, and glass. As people have tried to curb their use of single-use plastics, reusable straws have increased in popularity, with more and more models hitting the market. So which reusable straw out of the ever-expanding list of options is the best? To find out, we tested 12 straws, priced from about $4.50 to about $30.00, and used them to drink ice water, iced coffee, and smoothies; we also evaluated how portable they were and how easy they were to clean. Five of the straws were made from stainless steel, six from silicone, and one from bamboo. We did not include glass straws because of the potential for shattering or chipping. We included only straws that fit in vessels with a 16-ounce capacity—the size of an average travel mug or to-go iced coffee cup.
Which Material Was Best?
We found big differences in usability depending on the material of the straw. The one bamboo straw we tested made anything we sipped through it taste woody. And while the outside of the straw was sanded down, the inside of the tip was not, so it felt scratchy when we sipped from it.
As for the silicone straws we tested, their sturdiness varied, and this played a large role in their performance. Some of them were too floppy, especially when we tried to push them into a to-go cup. This was problematic: If we applied too much force, we risked splashing or tipping over the whole drink. We preferred models with thicker walls—0.88 to 1.42 millimeters—which made for sturdier straws. Our favorite silicone straw, which was one of the thickest silicone straws we tested, was thick enough to keep its shape when we drank from it yet thin enough that it didn’t feel too heavy in our mouths.
The stainless-steel straws were the most durable of all the models we tested but were not ideal to drink from—we felt that we could easily chip a tooth on them. Some of the models got around this by adding silicone tips to straws, combining the durability of stainless steel and the comfort of silicone. We liked this design and preferred longer silicone tips—3 to 3.4 inches—...
Everything We Tested
Recommended
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 1 stars out of 3.
This straw set came with two 8-inch-long and two 10.5-inch-long straws. Both were very comfortable to drink from, thanks to their 3-inch-long silicone tips. Because the silicone tips were detachable, both the straws and the tips were easy to clean. The 8-inch straw fit comfortably in a glass, a to-go cup, and a travel mug and came with an effective cleaning brush that had plentiful bristles and a grippy handle. These sturdy straws did not dent when we placed a weight on them for an hour and ably punched through the lid of a plastic to-go cup. The 10.5-inch-long straw is ideal for to-go cups and tumblers larger than 16 ounces. The downside is that this set did not come with a carrying case (OXO said it plans to release a set with one later this year); however, we felt that its performance, easy cleanup, and durability outweighed this drawback.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 1 stars out of 3.
These six staff-favorite silicone straws were fine to drink from, but they were not as thick as other silicone models, so they collapsed a tiny bit when we drank from them. They were plenty long to fit in a glass, to-go cup, and travel mug; they resisted staining; and they were sturdy. It took a little more effort, but these straws were able to punch through the to-go cup lid. They did not come with a carrying case or a cleaning brush. Still, we found that they were easy enough to clean by following the manufacturer’s instructions of rubbing the straws between our fingers in warm, soapy water and then rinsing.
Recommended with reservations
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 1 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 2 stars out of 3.
Not Recommended
- Cleanup: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Portability: 1 stars out of 3.
These two identical bent straws had oddly short necks, which made them awkward to drink from. Despite the manufacturer’s listing saying it came with an 8-inch-long and a 10-inch-long straw, we received two 6.5-inch-long straws, making them the shortest of all the straws we tested. This meant they fit decently lengthwise in the glass and the to-go cup, but not in the travel mug, which had a taller lid. These straws had very narrow openings, which allowed only a tiny bit of water, iced coffee, or smoothie to be sipped at a time. The straws were not able to punch through the to-go cup’s lid. Their short, bent necks and narrow openings retained more of the smoothie after cleaning, but the straws did come with a cleaning brush. And while they did not become stained by the turmeric or become misshapen during the durability testing, they did not come with a carrying pouch, making them tougher to transport.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
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