Students beware, we dared to compare

Our Buyer Beware team took on the task of coffee tumbler testing (that’s me kneeling with the goofy grin in the red and white fleece). We wanted to know which tumbler out of the five we tested would be the best buy for your stretched-thin student dollar. We sought out to see which one would perform the best under the harshest of conditions. We called our test:

Survivor: “Tumbler Island”

Our mission was to put these five different coffee tumblers through a set of tests that would ensure one of two things. Complete and utter failure or tumbler superiority. The five competitors we chose were:

1. Sears tumbler

2. Starbucks tumbler

3. Tim Hortons tumbler

4. Superstore tumbler

5. Dollarama tumbler

The four tests we used to challenge these five tumblers were:

-leak test

-heat retention test

-car cupholder test

-drop test (our favourite)

Test #1: Will it leak?

People are active. We move everywhere. And when we do, we sometimes make a mess. A leaky coffee tumbler can ruin anyone’s day, especially if it leaks onto your clothes or your laptop computer. We tested to see how well the seals on the lids of our coffee tumblers held up under severe conditions.

We filled up each tumbler with water about one inch from the top and put the lids back on. We had a good idea about how these would perform due to their design. The Superstore and Starbucks tumblers had screw-top lids and likely wouldn’t leak. The other three had lids that pressed or snapped on. The Dollarama tumbler had no closer for the hole in the lid. It would not fare well.

We brought all five outside and shook them in three different ways to simulate different conditions. We first shook the tumblers vertically side to side, then held them upside down, then shook them upside down. Each test was about ten seconds long. We did these tests over a concrete driveway so any droplets that fell would be seen easily. The results were:

1st place: Superstore tumbler; no leaks during any test.

2nd place: Starbucks tumbler; a couple of drops lost during shake tests.

3rd place: Tim Hortons tumbler; mild leaks during shaking, drops fell upside down.

4th place: Sears tumbler; leakage during shaking, dripped steadily upside down.

Last place: Dollarama tumbler; leaked at every opportunity.

Test #2: To cool for school?

We boiled enough water to fill all five tumblers and tested each one to make sure they all started out the same temperature. Before each lid was put on a tumbler, we used a thermometer to ensure an equal 199 F. We tested each tumbler at three intervals: 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 1 hour. The results at the end were:

1st place: Starbucks tumbler at 164 F. (a loss of 35 degrees)

2nd place: Superstore tumbler at 155 F. (a loss of 44 degrees)

3rd place: Sears tumbler at 148 F. (a loss of 51 degrees)

4th place: Tim Hortons tumbler at 145 F. (a loss of 54 degrees)

Last place: Dollarama tumbler at 143 F. (a loss of 56 degrees)

Test #2.1: Will it freeze?

Okay, okay, not freeze exactly. Our team realized that we needed to conduct a test to simulate a cold winter. We pictured a student waiting for a transit bus, coffee in hand, and what it would take to cool their coffee before they had a chance to enjoy it.

We repeated the same start-off method as the previous test, but when the clock started ticking, these little tumblers were placed in a chest freezer. We tested the tumblers at two intervals this time: 15 minutes and 30 minutes. Like really, who’s waiting for a bus more than 30 minutes, right? Our start off temperature was 200 F this time around, likely due to residual heating from the previous test. The results at the end were:

1st place: Starbucks tumbler at 174 F. (a loss of 26 degrees)

2nd place: Superstore tumbler at 169 F. (a loss of 31 degrees)

3rd place: Tim Hortons tumbler at 158 F. (a loss of 42 degrees)

4th place: Sears tumbler at 157 F. (a loss of 43 degrees)

Last place: Dollarama tumbler at 140 F. (a loss of 60 degrees)

Test #3: Will it fit?

In this test we tested the cup holders of two common models of cars that you are likely to see on our city streets. Heck, you may even own one of these types of vehicle. With so many different cars out there we can’t test them all, but it will give you something to consider when you go out to buy your next tumbler. (much easier than buying a new car)

Out of the five tumblers tested, two of them were not the best fit for the cup holder of a 2005 Toyota Corolla. The Sears tumbler was a bit wobbly, and the handle on the Dollarama tumbler wouldn’t let the tumbler seat properly at all.

The second car we used to test-fit coffee tumblers was a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire. In this case we had very different results. The only tumbler that fit into the cup holder, and then gain reasonable access to, was the Sears tumbler.

One piece of advice we can pass on from this test is to make sure you hang onto your receipt until you try your tumbler in your cars cup holder. What really determines how well your tumbler fits is the type of car you own. Again, much easier to to a buy new tumbler than a new car. I can’t stress this enough.

Test #4: Will it break?

This test was the most fun to conduct. I guess because it panders to a base human nature to see things crash and burn. Well, crash anyways. In this test we wanted to see how well our tumblers held together if they were dropped from reasonable, everyday heights. No hijinks like SCTV televisions falling from rooftops. (as fun as that might be)

The first drop test we conducted on our unsuspecting tumblers was from waist height. This would represent the height which a tumbler would fall if a person was walking with it. Tumblers in hand and full of water, we took to the sidewalks outside Red River College and proceeded to wreak destructive forces. Here’s how they measured up.

1st place: Starbucks tumbler; hardly a scratch, no leaks.

2nd place: Superstore tumbler; lid loosened a little, no leaks, hardly a scratch.

3rd place: Tim Hortons tumbler; exterior crack down side, lid stayed on, no leaks.

4th place: Dollarama tumbler; lid came off, but no breakage.

Last place: Sears tumbler; lid came off, base broke from main body of tumbler.

For the second drop test we wanted to perform, we needed a sturdy set of stairs. Not wanting to endanger the public at large, we chose the stone staircase of the Public Safety Building across campus. (it was already drizzling outside, so a little more water wouldn’t hurt) Our team went to the top of these stairs, about seven in total, and walked towards them as if we were about to descend. When we reached the edge, we each let go of our tumblers and let calamity ensue. These were the results.

1st place (tie): Starbucks and Superstore tumblers; minor scuffs, stayed intact.

At this point of the results, the rest all pretty much came up losers. The lid flew off the Dollarama tumbler, the Tim Hortons lid flew off and the handle cracked, and the Sears tumbler broke apart even more with the slide mechanism on the lid disassembling before our eyes to lay at our feet. All of our scientific data now compiled, we cleaned up our mess and headed back to campus.

Conclusions

If you’ve read all this, you’re likely seeing a pattern and can draw your own conclusions. Here are the clear winners in terms of the testing our team conducted. I’ve included the price of each tumbler we tested to help you make your best decision.

1st place: Starbucks tumbler $21.95; best overall performance.

2nd place: Superstore tumbler $14.99; slightly underperformed, didn’t retain heat quite as well, had a minor lid issue during first drop test.

3rd place: Tim Hortons tumbler $4.69; did not lose lid from first drop test, but body cracked, heat retention was average.

4th place: Sears tumbler $9.99; broke on first drop test, second drop test broke even further, heat retention only slightly better than Tim’s tumbler.

Last place: Dollarama tumbler $1.25; leaked consistently (no closer on lid), poor heat retention, lid came off for both drop tests.

So there you have it! The skinny on how these tumblers stacked up. The big question for any student out there is whether or not they want to shell out the most money (Starbucks) for performance, or buy a tumbler (Superstore) that only slightly underperformed our first place winner. The difference being seven dollars between the two, I can field a guess which might be the better buy. If you’re loyal to what some people might call ‘Canada’s coffee’, you could go with the Tim Hortons tumbler. Just don’t drop it or the relationship is over. The Sears tumbler just didn’t seem to have the reliability we might have thought. The Dollarama tumbler should only be considered for gag gifts or for throwing at the head of an ex-lover who’s done you wrong.

The best word of advice I can give any student or consumer is to find a stainless steel tumbler with a screw-top lid and then shop for the best price. Our top two competitors both had these design features and ensured their success in our tests.