Sippy cup without a valve

June 20, 2016 7:51 AM

We have a sippy cup that operates without the internal addition of a valve. Instead it seems to have a rubber gasket built into the sippy portion that keeps water from spilling until suction is applied. It is unbranded. Can anyone point me to sippy cups that are two pieces (cap and cup), rather than three (cap, valve and cup)?
posted by OmieWise to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

The Nuby sippy cups that we have are like that, though I believe in addition to suction you have to bite the spout a bit to get the liquid to come out, so I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for. Linking is a pain from my phone, but just do a search for "Nuby sippy cups" on Amazon.
posted by amro at 7:58 AM on June 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

First Years makes these -- I most often see the Disney insulated ones at Target & such, but it looks like they have un-charactered ones, too.
posted by ThatSomething at 7:59 AM on June 20, 2016

We raised both our kids using Tupperware sippies.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:16 AM on June 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Yeah, you should be able to buy the first years ones at any grocery store, target, etc. That said, they're crap. The little gasket doesn't hold up to a beating and most importantly they leak when turned upside down.

For a younger kid, I really would recommend what's sometimes called a "spoutless" sippy cup. The Munchkin Miracle 360 is what we have. Your kid can drink from any angle on the cup, and it supposedly avoids the teeth problems kids can develop as a result. They are close to leak free, durable, 100% machine washable. The entire top of the cup lid is the valve. Technically it is separate but YOU WANT THIS, because it can be removed and washed very easily. When a valve or gasket cannot be removed or washed, it will inevitably become disgusting and probably develop mold.

Think about it this way: if you have a two-part cup with a soft insert, either the soft insert isn't going to retain liquid well(in which case it leaks) or it does retain liquid well, in which case you'll never be able to wash it well enough.

For older kids, I just try and train them on an adult style water bottle with a button they can press down.
posted by selfnoise at 8:31 AM on June 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

If you're interested in valve-free, the Ikea sippy cups are great. We had this frog one and it worked well. Nuk brand also has special built-in valves, if you just want a non-separate valve. One word of caution: the removable valves do make it easier for cleaning and making sure you're really removing all the last juice or milk traces in the tiny nooks and crannies. Valves can get so gross with mold (even with a cup used solely for water). So tricky!
posted by LKWorking at 9:04 AM on June 20, 2016

I also came in to suggest the Munchkin Miracle 360. I used to just take the valves out of the 3-piece sippies, but like you said, the water would spill out. We really like the Munchkin one because baby can drink from any angle, it's super easy to clean for a 3 piecer because of it's straightforward cup shape and removable silicone. There's nowhere for liquid to get trapped and become moldy. Here's a picture of one taken apart so you can get a better idea of what the parts look like.
posted by ohmy at 9:39 AM on June 20, 2016

Another three piecer (sorry!), but we have really liked the Nalgene Grip-n-Gulp. You can replace the sippy lid with a more traditional water bottle cap when the tot is larger. It's been reasonably easy to clean and the valve rarely falls out.
posted by TheKevinFlynnEffect at 9:48 AM on June 20, 2016