In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician

Kid Basix Safe Sporter Review

We really liked this bottle, but wished it were insulated and leaked less
gearlab tested logo
kid basix safe sporter kids water bottle review
Kid Basix Safe Sporter
Credit: Kid Basix
Price:  $16 List
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Manufacturer:   Kid Basix
By Juliet Spurrier, MD & Wendy Schmitz  ⋅  Nov 11, 2014
74
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Leakage - 35% 8.0
  • Ease of Use - 25% 7.0
  • Ease of Cleaning - 20% 7.0
  • Eco-Health - 20% 7.0

The Skinny

This bottle scored 4th out of 11, which made it a pretty good bottle in our eyes. We liked that it is stainless steel and that Kid Basix does a lot of research about materials and using safe products for kids. We think the silicone sleeve is a nice touch and increased the grip factor for little hands which was a bonus for little hands that might have trouble picking up such a big bottle. While the bottle wasn't insulated, something we do prefer, it is still a nice bottle. If it hadn't lost points for leaking when tipped on its side, it might have won awards and really been a bottle we loved. As it is we like it, and it is a bottle we recommend, it just isn't perfect.
REASONS TO BUY
Stainless steel
Silicone grip sleeve
Attached lid
Easy to drink from and clean
REASONS TO AVOID
Leaked on its side
Heavy

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Kid Basix Safe Sporter is designed for children over 3 years old, and is made with single walled food grade stainless steel. It has a sport top lid, and a mud cap that helps keep the drinking spout clean and stores on the back of the bottle when not in use. The silicone grip band around the middle offers some insulation properties, and helps little hands get a grip on the bottle. The rubberized bottom is good for stability when setting the cup down, and helps it fit well into most cup holders. This bottle holds 16 ounces, has a wide mouth for accommodating ice cubes, and an easy to pull sport spout. This bottle comes in a few different silicone sleeve colors.

Performance Comparison


kid basix safe sporter kids water bottle review - kids water bottle review contenders (klean kanteen kid sports bottle...
Kids Water Bottle Review Contenders (Klean Kanteen Kid Sports Bottle not shown)
Credit: Micah James

Likes


kid basix safe sporter kids water bottle review - this bottle has a stainless steel body and silicone grip sleeve
This bottle has a stainless steel body and silicone grip sleeve
Credit: Micah James
We liked that this body is made of safe materials including a stainless steel body and medical grade silicone. Kid Basix continues to be a pioneer in the field of trying to make products safer for children. The body has a nice silicone sleeve that offers some insulation properties (though not truly insulated) and it helps little hand keep a grip on the bottle). The contoured shape of the bottle is also a nice feature for helping children keep ahold of this relatively heavy bottle.

This bottle also offered an easy to use spout that comes with an attached lid that helped keep the spout clean when not in use. It would have been better if the spout didn't require touching to use it, but the cap is better than nothing, and we will take what we can get in an imperfect world of bottles. The spout has a relatively easy rate of flow that doesn't require excessive sucking to drink from.
kid basix safe sporter kids water bottle review - the sport spout needs to be directly touched to open, but the...
The sport spout needs to be directly touched to open, but the attached lid does help keep some dirt and debris from collecting on the spout
Credit: Micah James
We liked that this bottle is easy to clean and assemble. It has few parts and they are easy to take apart and clean. It doesn't really require any special cleaning tools, but it is easier to clean with a bottle and straw brush.
kid basix safe sporter kids water bottle review - there are not a lot of parts on this bottle so it is easy to...
There are not a lot of parts on this bottle so it is easy to assemble and clean
Credit: Micah James

Dislikes


This bottle leaked when tipped on its side. This is a big draw back to the kids water bottles and could result in wet backpack contents or ruined projects. This is less of a factor if the bottle is properly closed and the lid is on, but we sort of feel like the bottles should be able to withstand a fall without giving up their contents so freely. It didn't earn the lowest score in this metric, but it did only come in at 4 of 10 for the sideways test and 8 of 10 overall.
kid basix safe sporter kids water bottle review - this bottle leaks enough to pour fluid into another vessel. hey...
This bottle leaks enough to pour fluid into another vessel. Hey, look mom, this is cool!
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
While the silicone sleeve does insulate somewhat, according to the Kid Basix website, it is not a truly insulated bottle and we wish it was. It would have given this bottle more points and possibly pushed it into the realm of winning awards.

Conclusion


kid basix safe sporter kids water bottle review - kid basix has a nice easy to grip silicone band around the middle of...
Kid Basix has a nice easy to grip silicone band around the middle of the bottle.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
The Kid Basix Safe Sporter isn't a bad water bottle for kids, it just isn't the best. It has lots of attributes we look for in a bottle like being made of stainless steel and easy to drink from, but given its poor performance in the side leak test it made it hard to truly love the bottle or give it an award. If the bottle was insulated or had scored better in the side leak test it probably would have been closer to second place instead of 4th, and it might just have won some kind of award for awesomeness. As it is it isn't a cup we love, but we don't hate it either, and we would recommend it for children that can be extra cautious about keeping it closed and the cap on to avoid leaking mishaps.

Juliet Spurrier, MD & Wendy Schmitz
 

Honest, objective reviews. Led by a Pediatrician.

BabyGearLab was founded by a Pediatrician Mom with a mission to provide a reliable, independent, source of information to new parents. Our experts have tested thousands of baby and kids products to share key performance, health, and safety findings. We spend tens of thousands of dollars crash testing car seats to inform our ratings. And, we combine our review work with gobs of expert parenting advice. To assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing by people who care.

Learn More