No decision is ever easy. Especially choosing between different water bottles. There’s so many options on the racks at Target. Should I get the big or small one, blue or pink, ones with straws or not? The stress is immense. There’s too much pressure built into these bottles that linger in the halls of Viator.
There are two specific types of water bottles that have captured the attention of Saint Viator students: Stanley cups and Owala cups. Both have their pros and cons, but what do the students think?
“Honestly, I don’t use either,” said Senior Nathan Sison, carrying around a Burks Place coffee. “But if I had to choose I prefer Stanley cups because they look cooler.”
Stanley cups have been a staple in stores, growing in popularity due to media trends and positive reviews. Reports from retailers indicate significant increase in sales of Stanley products over the past few years. This is due to the fact that they sell out fast and have risen in price from about $25 to a whopping $45. Even with the added expenses, the Stanley cups are favored due to their durability and its high quality insulation. Influencers leave high reviews of the cups and use media footage of their own cups to prove their invincibility, usually with outdoor activities. One specific clip from Tik Tok displayed a video of a car battling an internal fire. The footage captured the aftermath of the incident and coincidently the Stanley cup, that was in the car during the accident, did not appear to be damaged at all. The person filming even claimed that the water in the Stanley cup was still cold.
“I would choose the Stanley cup any day! Especially because I know it wouldn’t melt in a fire,” said Senior Brianna Santucci.
While the whole idea of invincibility rests upon the Stanley cups, there are also some cons. Stanley cups were designed to be skinnier on the bottom in order to fit into cup holders, then the top of the bottle is bigger to accommodate larger amounts of water. However, even with this, they tend to weigh more and still don’t quite fit right into cup holders or backpack pockets. The Stanley company has manufactured many different sizes of bottles, ranging from 20 ounces to 40 ounces. This is a good thing, that the manufacturers see the need of their consumers and create lots of different sizes and styles to suit them. Though, the aesthetic of the Stanley cup is not the same within the smaller versions than it is with the original 40 ounce bottle.
“That’s why I use an Owala,” Junior Reese Jandris claims. “They’re smaller and easier to carry around.”
Owala cups, in contrast to Stanley cups, are a smaller, more innovative product that seem much more suitable for the average student. These bottles fovcus more on a modern design of water bottles. A wildly popular feature of these water bottles is that they give people the ability to choose how they want to drink their water: through straw or not. (Stanley cups only give the option to drink through a straw.)
“Owala cups give you the option to use a straw or chug it,” Senior Michael McCormick states, “that seems better to me.”
This small sense of freedom that the buyers have helped grow the product’s popularity. Another great advantage of this water bottle is that it closes. Since the Stanley cups have a built in straw there is no way to close the bottle without buying a straw capper separately. Also the cost is a major factor because Owala cups are generally cheaper, making them more accessible to the student body. While Owala cups are not as strong and popular as Stanley cups they do have contrasting qualities that make it a great product.
Looking at the strong arguments from these two bottles has made it a hard decision but Owala cups are coming in for the win at Saint Viator. While Stanley cups are “invincible,” proven by a Tik Tok, the Owala cups exceed many of the students’ specific needs. Such as being easily accessible, innovative, and easily portable. The students of Saint Viator never seem to be satisfied, which continues their mission of success, so until a new water bottle product is released we are going to stick with Owala cups.