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An enormous thermos mug with a handle arrived in the UK last year and now we're well and truly 'peak Stanley'... but is it worth the hype? Flip Lids Stainless Steel Bottle
I was bemused when I overheard WH’s social media editor Jess enthusing to our colleagues about a cup she had received for her birthday.
They were all so excited… what could be so special about what just sounded like a giant travel mug with a handle?
I don’t use TikTok, so I was blissfully unaware of the 1.2L Stanley Quencher Cup, and how it had developed a cult following in the US - i.e. not a single one of the 262.8 MILLION views of ‘Stanley Adventure Quencher’ content on the platform came from me.
But, from my (younger, hipper) colleagues, I found out it’s a must-have piece of kit for the hot young Mormon Wives of TikTok, and from listening to their impassioned descriptions, I got the impression that every glamorous woman in Utah has at least one of these highly coveted vessels.
So when Stanley announced that ‘the cup’ was headed to the UK in April last year, priced at £44.95, I was eager to get my mitts on one and see what all the fuss was about.
Fast forward to 2024, and not only have they released two new colours, a classy neutral cream and a gorgeous lilac hue called 'Orchid', but in the US – where they’ve released a limited-edition pink version of the viral Stanley Quencher cup (designed with Starbucks) – there has been total chaos at multiple Target stores, with customers vying to get their hands on the product.
Admittedly, I was very, very cynical about this 'giant cup', but I decided to use it consistently for a week, putting it to the test in a variety of scenarios, at home, at work, out and about, and on a press trip to St. Lucia. Here are my honest thoughts...
The Stanley Quencher H2.0 Flowstate™ Tumbler is made from 90% recycled stainless steel, and when it arrived at the office, I was really impressed to see that it was packaged in fully recyclable cardboard.
There’s nothing worse than thinking you’re taking your fight against single-use plastics up a gear and then being confronted with reams of unrecyclable plastic film and a chunky styrofoam sarcophagus when you open the box.
I was pleased to see there was none of this, just boring brown cardboard.
A classic double-edged sword; the cup's selling point is its huge size, but its huge size does mean that it can be quite cumbersome to fill.
I took the Quencher with me for an overnight stay at Bowood House Hotel and Spa. Here I discovered that if you’re faced with a water dispenser on a counter rather than a full tap, the only way to fill it up is to pour it in a mini plastic cup by plastic cup… too much effort!
And ahead of my flight to the Caribbean... well, I let a lot of people use the water point at Gatwick before me in case they were in a rush to catch a flight!
I’ve never been one to struggle with drinking enough water but I definitely think the Quencher is helping me stay super-hydrated - and it is probably due to the straw.
Research has found that people who drink through a straw consume more liquids as it's easier than tipping a glass or cup up to our mouths, and we can suck up more than we could otherwise sip.
The Government's recommended minimum water intake for adult women is 1.2L a day - so if you are one of the people who struggle, all you need to aim for is one Quencher-ful a day.
Personally, I've been finding myself refilling at least three times, regardless of whether I've been at home, at work or abroad.
To be honest I am a bit disappointed that the Quencher isn't leak-proof. The cup's lid has three settings, and you can use it without a straw, although it has a special opening designed to resist splashes while holding the reusable straw in place. It also has a drink opening and a full-cover top.
I found my bag had turned into a bit of a portable pond after carrying the cup in there as I ran errands, which was annoying and limited the amount I could take it out and about with me.
It is a PITA to carry around unless it’s empty - which sounds pointless but it turned out to be very handy when a gin tin I took on a train journey sprung a leak. I was able to decanter it straight into the Quencher to drink at leisure rather than suck its sticky contents from the fissure like I was saving someone’s life from a snake bite.
Due to it leaking, you can’t just shove it in your bag and carry it around, and if you need two hands for something then you are a bit stuck if there’s nowhere to dump the cup quickly. This made me think it might need some sort of carrying strap, but I haven’t seen anything specific for the size and shape of this mug on Amazon or elsewhere.
This might be because one of the main selling points of the Stanley Quencher Cup is that it has a tapered bottom that lets it fit neatly into any car cup holder.
I do not actually have a car but this hasn’t stopped me from telling everyone about this “amazing feature”. And the next time I’m in one? Well, I’ll be bringing the Quencher to see if it’s true.
During my time at The Body Holiday, I regularly filled the cup with iced water from the dispensers around the resort – and not once did I find myself sipping on water that was even a few degrees warmer. Knowing I had an ice-cold drink to hand encouraged me to drink even more – and you can never be too hydrated.
I haven't tried it with hot drinks (yet), but Stanley claims that its superstar double-walled insulation mug can keep drinks hot for eleven hours, or ice cubes intact for two days.
From the moment I start to enjoy relaxing at home, my furry overlords are close by to make sure I don’t get too comfortable and to remind me that what’s mine is theirs. Any sort of drink I have to hand gets sniffed - green juice, red wine, coffee - and if it’s a glass of water? That’s getting lapped up, with them usually eyeballing me over the rim as they drink as much as they can before I notice and need to return to the tap for a fresh one - which they will also try and get their snouts into.
Thankfully the Quencher, which is about the same height as them, has been perfect for keeping their dirty little mouths out of my H2O.
There’s plenty to like about the Stanley Quencher Cup, including the fact that its comfortable-to-grip handle makes it more convenient to lug around, the tapered bottom fits into cupholders, and it keeps drinks cold for hours, so you never have to sip on lukewarm water again.
I also really liked that because it’s so large it holds basically a full day's worth of liquid — I can fill it up in the morning and sip throughout the day without running to the tap for constant refills.
Of course, for some, its ridiculous size means it will be more cumbersome than useful – when I took it to my gym class I must admit I felt a little embarrassed to be toting around something so big. And then there’s the price. At £45, the Stanley Quencher Cup isn’t exactly cheap. For me, I use it enough (read: every day it sits on my desk at work) to justify that cost. But for those looking for something a bit cheaper, remember that it’s not the only great tumbler out there.
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