In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician

Munchkin Click Lock Insulated Review

Good insulated cup for parents on a budget that prohibts buying stainless steel
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Munchkin Click Lock Insulated Review
Credit: Micah James
Price:  $5 List
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Manufacturer:   Munchkin
By Juliet Spurrier, MD and Wendy Schmitz  ⋅  Mar 4, 2014
72
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Leakage - 35% 10.0
  • Ease of Use - 25% 5.0
  • Ease of Cleaning - 20% 8.0
  • Eco-Health - 20% 4.0

Our Verdict

The Munchkin Click Lock insulated cup won our Best Value award. It is an economical, insulated sippy with an audible clicking feature that tells you when the cup is properly closed to help avoid accidental spills. The cup is lightweight for an insulated up, has a Slim body design perfect for cup holders, and keep contents cooler than no-insulated cups. This cup ranked 7 out of 21 and was the highest ranking plastic insulated cup we tested. It is a good economical cup for parents on a budget. We would recommend this cup for those unable to purchase the Thermos Foogo cup, an insulated Editors' Choice award winner.
REASONS TO BUY
Insulated
Easy to clean
Audible Click Lock feature
Slim cup holder shape
Leak proof
Attractive price
REASONS TO AVOID
Plastic construction
Somewhat harder to drink from
Update — July 2020
The Munchkin Click Lock Insulated sippy cup has been discontinued.

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Munchkin Click Lock Insulated cup is a BPA free plastic cup made by Munchkin. The cup features an easy to clean, spill proof, once piece valve lid, snaps closed with an audible clicking sound, and is top-rack dishwasher safe. This cup holds approximately 9 ounces of fluid and comes in a variety of popular characters, as well as simple designs. This relatively economical sippy is widely available in stores and online.

Performance Comparison


munchkin click lock insulated - a variety of toddler sippy cups
A variety of Toddler Sippy Cups
Credit: Micah James

Likes


We liked that this cup was truly leak-free. It failed to leak in either leak test, which gave it a perfect score of 10 of 10. When compared to other plastic insulated cups, like the Playtex Playtime Insulated Spout Cup and The First Years Insulated Sippy, it performed better in this metric. Those cups earned a 9 and 8 of 10 respectfully.

munchkin click lock insulated - click lock feature
Click lock feature
Credit: Micah James
This cup also earned a higher ease of use score than its completion, with a 5 of 10. While it lost some points for being harder to drink from than some cups, it was still easier to drink from than the other plastic insulated sippies.

The audible, and touch-sensitive click lock feature, ensures that parents know without a doubt, that this cup is indeed closed. Not only did we like this for peace of mind, but it did seem to lead to fewer leaks related to cup/lid user errors. Some users felt it made the cup harder to close, but once mastered, it was a cinch.
munchkin click lock insulated - the internal valve of the munchkin click lock prevents liquid from...
The internal valve of the Munchkin Click lock prevents liquid from spilling out but it also requires additional sucking to draw fluids out.
Credit: Micah James
This cup also did well for ease of cleaning. We liked that it is comprised of only two parts, that are both easy to clean and assemble. The cup requires no special cleaning tools to ensure it is cleaned properly; always a plus in our book!

Dislikes


Like all the other cups we tested, this cup lost points for being made of plastic. It was nothing personal to the Munchkin cup, we just prefer stainless steel and glass over plastic for eco-health reasons. While this cup is BPA-free plastic, the package and website offer no other details on what kind of plastic is used in this cup.

We feel it is better to err on the side of caution when it came to plastics. Both steel and glass are inert materials that do not leach chemicals. Not all plastics leach, not all plastic types are a problem, but due to lack of information about which plastics were used, it gave us pause.

munchkin click lock insulated
Credit: Micah James

Conclusion


Outside of this cup being made of plastic, and somewhat of a challenge to drink from it, it was a nice little economical insulated cup. In fact, we preferred it to the other two insulated plastic sippy cups in our tests. Overall, it ranked significantly higher than the Playtex or First Years options, and if the budget doesn't allow the purchase of the more expensive stainless steel insulated cups, then this cup really is the clear choice. Ranking 7 out of 21, and below the Thermos Foogo Phase 3 Insulated, we would recommend this cup for parents who need an insulated cup at a cheaper price. In general, the stainless steel cups we tested were all about 3 times the price of the Munchkin, which meant that while we liked their materials better, and one of them even won an award, that for the budget conscious parent this cup really is the best choice.

Juliet Spurrier, MD and Wendy Schmitz