Thermos have long been a market leader in the flask industry – I don’t know about you but the brand is the first one I think of when I think of a flask.
They don’t just do the traditional 1litre or bigger flask anymore. This post is about the small 355ml flask (holds slightly more than a can of drink) with integrated straw designed to keep your drink cold for 12 hours, and I have been sent one by CafePress to review for Splodz Blogz.
FUNtainer Thermos Bottle
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+crazy_music_lady_pink_funtainer_thermos_bottle_12,481419639
£15.00
A “FUNtainer” is a small flask for cold drinks, with a straw, ideal for carrying about with you. It seems perfect to take to school or work alongside your lunch box, so that you can have a cold drink at lunch time. The straw means it’s great for kids – but us adults don’t mind drinking through a straw so it’s ideal for us too. It’s only designed for cold drinks -the FUNtainer can’t hold hot liquids because of the straw, which is a shame, but then drinking tea (or tomato soup) through a straw might be a bit too strange.
The first test I did was to see if my drink was cold for the 12 hours Thermos state. The instructions say for best effect to put cold water in the flask for 5 minutes to pre-cool, and then empty and fill with your desired drink. So at 9pm on the day I got it I filled the flask with cold water (from our filter kept in the fridge), I tasted a bit through the straw to get an idea of the temperature it went in at, and then left the FUNtainer on the side overnight. At 7am – 10 hours later – I tasted the water again and there was no denying it was still cold and definitely refreshing. Although it’s winter and so overnight the kitchen will have got very cold itself, the heating was on when I filled the flask and had been on for an hour by the time I checked it in the morning. Excellent, it was still cold after 10 hours. The label says 12 hours… I can imagine it will do that no problem.
The next test was taking a drink on the move – there is no point filling a flask to use at home after all. So I filled the FUNtainer with lemonade. Ok so a real test… will it keep its fizz?! When I carry a can of drink in my bag I always let it settle before opening it – to avoid the obvious – so when I got to work I sat the flask on my desk until I wanted to drink it. To open the FUNtainer there is a grey button, which lifts up the lid to reveal the straw… which I did, carefully, but still the lemonade squirted across the room. Oops! Thankfully not on my paperwork on my desk! Had I filled it too much? Not sure – so I drank some (was definitely still fizzy – and fridge cold), clipped shut the lid, and waited some more. Then a bit later I pushed the grey button again, being really careful to open the lid slowly, and while I didn’t get a lemonade shower this time, the fizz wasn’t keen on staying inside the FUNtainer! So… don’t put fizz in your FUNtainer because you’ll end up with it all over your face and none left to drink! (Oh and of course when I checked the instructions it does say “not designed for carbonated beverages”… I know that now!!!)
Ok, so the next day I tried it with juice instead, which worked much better. I filled the FUNtainer at around 7am and when I came to have lunch at 1pm or so it was lovely and cold still. It was a good day to test it too as I was out of the office at an event all day… no kitchen containing a fridge meant this was the only way I could have a very cold drink at lunch time. And it was perfect.
So I will continue to use my FUNtainer for still soft drinks, especially when I won’t be able to get a cold drink any other way at lunch time. And now I really want to try the other design of FUNtainer – the Thermos for Food, so I can have warm food at lunch time without the need for a microwave – like this one.
This FUNtainer reviewed for Splodz Blogz is available in many different designs, I reckon there is pretty much something to suit everyone… does Crazy Music Lady suit me?! To see the full range of FUNtainers on CafePress go here!
CafePress is an absolutely massive website that has a really varied range of products – all with a huge choice (pages and pages) of logos, icons, images, slogans or even personalised messages. Take a look at http://www.cafepress.co.uk/ – but only when you’ve got more than a few seconds to spare, it’ll draw you in!