You may have heard a lot of hype about reusable straws and how you just HAVE to switch. You may have even seen a devastating video about straws penetrating turtles or heard about Starbucks’ ban of plastic straws. Or maybe you’re just tired of the compostable paper straws that chains are using now and looking for a different option (or maybe you realized some of those paper straws can’t actually be recycled).
Irregardless reusable straws in metal, BPA free plastic, and silicone are exploding onto the market and easy to find just about anywhere. And long-story short, they’re well worth it. They reduce the amount of plastic in landfills and oceans, and they’re easy to rinse and carry.
Let’s cut straight to the chase, I’m going to tell you my favorite reusable straws for on-the-go and at home.
On-The-Go
Winner: Five Two Silicone Straw set ($25)
The Five Two silicone straw set from Food52 ($25) contains ten foldable silicone straws, four travel cases, and four straw cleaners. I’ll admit that when I bought them I was a bit of a skeptic. I was sure that the bendy and soft straw would collapse as soon as I tried to drink something thick like a smoothie. These delighted me every. darn. time. Smoothie, coffee, water, it didn’t matter they worked beautifully. They also come in a lovely set of colors and the value (4 travel cases, 4 cleaners, and ten straws) is hard to find elsewhere at the same quality. The case does leave a little to be desired, it’s also made of a soft silicone, and as a result doesn’t always close all the way which makes me wonder how much city grime might sneak in.
But the real wow moment - well that would be the cleaners. The little silicone squeegees enclosed not only cleaned my silicone straws, but also all of my other reusable straws better than I’ve ever seen with a standard brush.
I hook these onto my keychain clip and simply swap whenever one needs a wash. I love them so much I can overlook the case. As an added bonus the packaging is biodegradable! Pro Tip: If you go this route, sip your beverages without the top, traditional plastic tops may pinch the straw and disrupt your sipping.
Runner-up: Final Straw ($29)
Final Straw was the other brand I considered. You get only one straw (as opposed to ten of Five Two’s) for the price point, but the straw is made of stainless steel (and thus more rigid, a little better in thicker drinks) and splits into four connected segments so that it will collapse into a rigid recycled HDPE case. The case is a draw, because it’s tougher, closes entirely, and seems a little better for heavy wear and tear.
But in the end - I’m a person likely to lose things, so I was attracted to the volume of Five Two. I also appreciate that the straws are an uninterrupted, full straw, so you don’t lose any suction like you may through the cracks in the collapsable metal straws.
At Home Reusable Straws
These are my work horse straws - I drink fruit smoothies on the regular at home and my reusable straws need to be able to deal with a “milkshake” thick smoothie and get clean.
Winner: 11″ BPA Free Clear Reusable Plastic Straws ($8)
We’ve reused these straws over and over again and they hit that sweet spot of fitting in our tall Swell Water bottles and pint jars while being easy to clean. Most of these straws can be bought in a twelve pack and the fact that they’re clear makes it exceptionally easy to see if they’re clean. They’re also light, and if you’re the type to chew on your straw a bit they don’t strain your teeth.
I’ve tried the metal bendy straws ($19) seen often in trendy home stores (still have some in fact) and though I like them, they’re almost impossible to truly clean. You have to trust that your little bristle brush did the job, which I can tell you after seeing how it cleaned the clear straws… is less than ideal. And the metal straws were also harder on our glassware.
So if you only bought one of the above, I’d recommend the Five Two straws, they’re large enough for thick liquids, you get straws for home and travel, and get some of the best straw cleaners I’ve ever seen.
